Rival Libyan militias battled for Tripoli International Airport on Sunday, leaving nine people dead and 25 others wounded, the government said.
Shelling was threatening civilians as violence stretched along the airport road, which is dotted with residential neighborhoods. All flights in and out of the airport have been suspended.
While the government issued a statement calling for calm, Libya’s government is weak and militias outnumber and outgun its security forces. Many of the armed groups are on the state’s payroll.
These circumstances make it very difficult for the government to gain control over this latest increasingly volatile and violent situation.
Late Sunday morning, the sounds of fighting could also be heard in the vicinity of a Zintan base in a western suburb of Tripoli.
