TRIPOLI: The United Nations condemned a new round of fighting between rival militias around Tripoli international airport, saying the clashes were undermining Libya’s political process.
The new clashes in Tripoli raged on Friday and Saturday, forcing hundreds of people to flee, residents said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The confrontation between nationalist militiamen from Zintan and pro-Islamists from Misrata focused on a bridge leading to the capital’s airport, which is controlled by the Zintan forces, residents added.
Grad missiles and artillery were used in two days of battle which subsided yesterday after an unconfirmed claim by the Misrata fighters that they had seized the bridge and an army barracks.
State news agency Lana said that around 1,000 families had fled the Tripoli fighting and were taken in by local officials in the town of Tarhuna, south of the capital.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the clashes and once again urged both parties to lay down their arms and observe a ceasefire.” It said the two days of violence had “inflicted casualties among civilians, forced them out of their homes and caused damage to property.”
UNSMIL “warns that the continued fighting poses a serious threat to Libya’s political process, and to the security and stability of the country,” the statement said.
REUTERS
