Islamist-led militiamen stepped up their assault on Sunday on libya’s main airport, two days after the collapse of a truce with rival ex-rebels who control the facility, a security official said.
The renewed fighting, which killed at least five civilians, was condemned by the European Union, which urged restraint and dialogue.
A coalition of militias led by Islamist fighters launched an assault on Tripoli international airport, with clashes later spreading to the road leading to the capital.
“The airport was attacked this morning with mortar rounds, rockets and tank fire,” airport security official Al-Jilani al-Dahesh told AFP. “It was the most intense bombardment so far,” since a week-old battle for control of the airport erupted on July 13.
Dahesh said the militia which controls the airport, based in Zintan, southwest of the capital, and seen by Islamists as the armed wing of liberals within the Government, responded with heavy fire.
Islamist militias have been joined by other armed groups, including the powerful Misrata Brigades which played a key role in the 2011 UN-backed revolt that toppled and killed strongman Moamer Kadhafi.