The only civilian airport in Tripoli, Libya, was forced to close due to gunfights between the two main armed groups, according to officials on Tuesday.
An interior ministry official said that on Monday night, fighting broke out between the powerful 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa Force, also known as the Special Deterrence Force.
“Tensions arose shortly after it was announced the Al-Radaa Force had arrested the head of the 444 Brigade,” the official said. “It was not made clear whether this was due to judicial orders or for other reasons.
In a statement, the UNSMIL said it was “following with concern” the deterioration of security in the capital of Libya and how it was affecting civilians.
Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011, Libya has been riven by divisions fueled by an increasing number of armed groups with shifting allegiances.
Beginning in February 2011, a NATO-supported uprising turns into a bloody armed conflict. Gaddafi was killed in October while attempting to flee his hometown of Sirte as rebels closed in. He had been on the run since the rebels took over the capital in August.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.