BENGHAZI: Islamist fighters attacked an army base in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi yesterday, triggering fierce clashes involving helicopters and jets that killed at least seven people and wounded 40 others after days of escalating violence.
Benghazi’s clashes followed a week of fighting between rival militias for control of Tripoli International Airport in the capital that has prompted the North Africa country to appeal for international help to stop Libya becoming a failed state.
Tripoli was calmer yesterday, but in Benghazi, militants linked to Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia attacked an army camp and were repelled by troops and forces loyal to renegade retired general Khalifa Haftar, who has been carrying out a self-declared war on Islamist fighters, security sources said.
“Ansar Al Sharia tried to take over one special forces camp, but the special forces and Hafter’s forces fought back, using helicopters and military aircraft in their attack,” one source said, asking not to be identified for security reasons. Since the 2011 civil war that toppled autocrat Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s fragile government and new army have been unable to assert authority over rival brigades of former rebels fighting for political and economic influence.
Ansar Al Sharia is listed by Washington as a foreign terrorist organisation, and has entrenched itself in Benghazi, where it has often been blamed for assassinations and attacks on soldiers.
Reuters
