Libya's Mitiga Airport Closed as Rival Factions Clash

Mitiga airport, pictured on July 22, 2014, is a military airfield used for civilian traffic after Tripoli's international airport was seriously damaged last year (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)
Mitiga airport, pictured on July 22, 2014, is a military airfield used for civilian traffic after Tripoli's international airport was seriously damaged last year (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)
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Libya's Mitiga Airport Closed as Rival Factions Clash

Mitiga airport, pictured on July 22, 2014, is a military airfield used for civilian traffic after Tripoli's international airport was seriously damaged last year (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)
Mitiga airport, pictured on July 22, 2014, is a military airfield used for civilian traffic after Tripoli's international airport was seriously damaged last year (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)

As clashes intensified between Libyan rival factions, the country's Mitiga airport, located in the capital, was evacuated.

According to officials flights were suspended repeatedly, leading up to a full shutdown.

Reuters wrote that flights had restarted around midday on Tuesday after being suspended for several hours during the morning and the previous evening, Mitiga spokesman Khaled Abukhrais said. But by late afternoon heavy gunfire resumed and the airport was shut.

“Unfortunately the air space has closed again and the airport has been evacuated for the safety and security of passengers and workers, due to renewed clashes,” an airport statement said.

Mitiga is a military air base near the centre of Tripoli that has also hosted civilian flights since the international airport was largely destroyed by fighting in 2014.

The clashes began when the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), a group that controls Mitiga and operates as an anti-crime unit aligned with the UN-backed government, conducted raids in the nearby neighborhood of Ghrarat.

Rada spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem said the group targeted in the raids had tried to attack the airport area after a wanted drug dealer had been killed when he fired on a Rada patrol.

“The area of Ghrarat is now under the control of our forces and it’s being treated as military zone so we can clear any resistance,” Bin Salem said.

One member of Rada had been killed and two wounded, and there were several casualties among their opponents, he said.

Tripoli is split among various armed groups that have built local power bases since Libya’s 2011 revolution.

There have been fewer heavy confrontations in the capital since groups linked to a previous, self-declared government were pushed out of the city earlier this year, but armed skirmishes, kidnapping and other criminal activity are still common.



Trump to Attend Security Meeting on Friday after Israeli Strikes on Iran

US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks during a rally in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks during a rally in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Trump to Attend Security Meeting on Friday after Israeli Strikes on Iran

US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks during a rally in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks during a rally in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

US President Donald Trump will attend a National Security Council meeting on Friday morning, the White House said late on Thursday after Israeli strikes on Iran that have put the Middle East on edge.

The meeting will be held at 11 am ET (1500 GMT) on Friday, the White House said.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Israel said early on Friday Middle East time and late Thursday US time that it had struck Iran to block Tehran from developing atomic weapons, and Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country's main uranium enrichment facility.

US top diplomat Marco Rubio called Israel's strikes against Iran a "unilateral action" and said Washington was not involved while also urging Tehran not to target US interests or personnel in the region.

The US State Department said late on Thursday that the US Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice.

CONTEXT

Trump had been seeking a new nuclear deal to place limits on Iran's disputed uranium enrichment activities but the talks have appeared to be deadlocked.

Trump said earlier on Thursday an Israeli strike on Iran "could very well happen" but reiterated hopes for a peaceful resolution.

The US military is planning for the full range of contingencies in the Middle East, including the possibility that it might have to help evacuate American civilians, a US official told Reuters.

SECURITY ALERT BY US EMBASSY

A security alert by the US embassy in Jerusalem said the security environment was complex and could change quickly.

In response to security incidents and without advance notice, the US embassy may further restrict or prohibit US government employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the State Department said.