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Tripoli: Dozens of Victims in Violent Clashes Between ‘Buqarah,’ ‘Deterrent’ Militias

A plane, that was damaged during clashes, is seen at Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya, January 15, 2018. Reuters
A plane, that was damaged during clashes, is seen at Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya, January 15, 2018. Reuters
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Tripoli: Dozens of Victims in Violent Clashes Between ‘Buqarah,’ ‘Deterrent’ Militias

A plane, that was damaged during clashes, is seen at Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya, January 15, 2018. Reuters
A plane, that was damaged during clashes, is seen at Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya, January 15, 2018. Reuters

The Libyan capital witnessed Monday heavy arms clashes near the International Airport and a local prison, killing up to 16 people, injuring dozens of others and disrupting air traffic amid information that the attackers were seeking the release of radical prisoners.

"The criminal militia known as Bashir Khalafullah, aka Bashir Buqarah, and all the criminals wanted by the Deterrent Force attacked the International Airport after escaping (jail) and joining the militia," the Special Deterrent Force (Rada) in charge of securing the airport said in a statement.

Militias led by Khalafullah, loyal to the former Salvation Government led by Khalifa al-Ghawil and based in the Tajoura district of the eastern suburb of the capital, launched an attack using heavy arms at dawn on Mitiga International Airport and a nearby prison.

The attack was repelled by the Special Deterrent Force, led by Abdul Rauf Kara, and an operation to secure the area was ongoing.

Photographs of the streets surrounding the airport were posted on Rada’s official Facebook page, showing pick-up trucks mounted with guns, armored vehicles and a tank.

Rada noted that the attackers are being dealt with "until they are defeated and expelled from the Mitiga airport and the prison, where more than 2,500 inmates are detained on various charges."

Mitiga is a military air base near the center of Tripoli that began hosting civilian flights after the international airport was put out of service in 2014.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said the attackers sought the release of al-Qaeda and ISIS prisoners held at a major jail in the airport facility. Two cargo planes were hit in the fighting and a nearby highway was shut.

He denounced what he called a “premeditated” attack on the airport.

At least 20 people were killed in the clashes and 60 wounded, including civilians, a health ministry official said.

Heavy gunfire could be heard outside the airport and all roads to Mitiga were closed.

Security forces reporting to the interior ministry said both civilians and military areas of the airport were under control and undamaged, and that “a group of outlaw attackers has been apprehended”.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.