Head of the Libyan Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj vowed on Monday to take strict security and legal action against those targeting Tripoli’s international airport.
Sarraj’s statement breaks the GNA silence on clashes and condemns all indiscriminate bombardment carried out against carriers that led to “endangering the lives of civilians and damaging state installations.”
“GNA’s head Sarraj holds armed elements committing these atrocities fully responsible and will pursue action against their crimes at national and international levels,” Sarraj Spokesman Mohammed al-Salak said in a Monday press conference.
Salak pointed out that “cooperation between the Interior Ministry and Attorney General Office will form a joint committee to address matters with firmness and all means available.”
Bashir al-Baqarah militia is believed to have perpetrated the airport assault by firing a mortar and causing damage to a Libyan A380 Airbus.
Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport is occasionally targeted by armed militias trying to free prisoners held in a nearby prison. The Special Deterrent Force operates the prison and is in charge of securing the airport.
One rocket hit an Airbus 320 of state-run Libyan Airlines, and others struck the arrivals hall at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport at around 2 a.m.(0000 GMT), but no one was injured, a spokesman for the Special Deterrence Force said.
In 2017, GNA PM Sarraj ordered the decommissioning of the Bashir al-Baqarah Battalion and demanded it hands over all weaponry and military vehicles in its possession, but the militia defected and bypassed orders.
Tripoli suffers greatly from a grueling war, as armed militias remain out of government control and without any legitimate recognition.
On the other hand, two people were killed in clashes pitting Libyan National Army Forces under the command of Marshal Khalifa Haftar and security Interior Ministry members of the interim government based in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"Clashes broke out between the army's 21 battalion and the criminal investigation force of the interior ministry in Benghazi," the source told Xinhua later on Sunday.
"The clashes involved light and medium weapons and lasted for hours, killing a captain of the battalion and a civilian who was at the site of clashes. Calm returned to the area after the joint security chamber of Benghazi interfered and stopped the fighting," the source added.
"There are some security elements of the interior ministry involved in criminal cases. We have repeatedly asked that they be referred to prosecution and clarify their position officially on the charges against them," the source said when asked about the reasons for the clashes.
The North African country has suffered unrest in the past seven years after its former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by an uprising in 2011.
It is currently run by two rival administrations, one in the capital Tripoli and the other in the northeastern city of Tobruk.
