Armed group clashes shut airport in Libya capital

Clashes broke out around Mitiga airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli today causing the suspension of all flights, Reuters reported.

Heavy gunfire could be heard from the centre of the capital and Mitiga airport said all flights had been suspended until further notice.

The fighting pitted the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), one of the most powerful groups in the city, against a rival group based in Tripoli’s Tajoura neighbourhood.

Rada acts as an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit and controls Mitiga airport and a large prison next to it.

It is occasionally targeted by rivals whose members it has arrested.

Libya descended in lawlessness when Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was killed in a NATO-backed revolution in 2011. Uncontrolled factions have since fought for power with war breaking out between different alliances and Libya’s tribal factions. The UN-backed Government of National Accord chosen to implement law and order in the country has failed to ensure its legitimacy.

Read: Death toll in Libya last year was 433