90% of aircrafts at Tripoli airport destroyed

Ninety per cent of aircrafts parked at Tripoli International Airport have been destroyed and two people were killed during an attack against the airport on Monday night, government spokesman Ahmed Lamine said on Tuesday.

Lamine pointed out that the Libyan government is considering the possibility of requesting the intervention of international forces to stop the violence.

A guard in the airport, Abdul Rahman Al-Jundi said: “Several aircrafts and private cars have been damaged”, adding that “the customs hall has also been damaged in the shelling.”

The missile attack at the airport on Monday damaged the control tower, after the Libyan authorities suspended all flights from the international airport of Misrata, west of the country, citing “technical reasons” a day after the closure of the capital’s airport following bloody confrontations.

A security official at Tripoli airport, Al-Gilani Al-Dahish said: “Dozens of rockets were fired at the airport.”

Later, images circulated on social networking sites showed a burning plane and an aviation source saying the plane belongs to the private Libyan Buraq Air, according to AFP.

Another Libyan official said that several Grad rockets landed in Tripoli International Airport on Monday, causing damages to the control tower.

A Reuters journalist said he heard anti-aircraft weapons and other heavy weapons at the airport.

Rival militias have been fighting to control the airport since Sunday.