As UN pulls staff from chaotic Libya, a nascent appeal for foreign peacekeepers
Rival militias are battling for control of Libya's international airport, which is closed after rocket fire destroyed most of the planes on the ground.
Rival militias are battling for control of Libya's international airport, which is closed after rocket fire destroyed most of the planes on the ground.
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Heavy fighting between rival militias in Libya has prompted the United Nations to withdraw its staff from the country, and the government to consider calling for foreign peacekeepers to quell the deadly clashes.
Fighting is ongoing in Tripoli, where rival militias have been battling for control of the international airport since Sunday, and in the eastern city of Benghazi, where a renegade army general is trying to crush Islamist militias.
On Monday the Libyan government released a statement saying it was 鈥渓ooking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority,鈥� according to Agence France-Presse.
A government spokesman confirmed with reporters Tuesday that it was considering making an appeal, but offered no details.
Also on Monday, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced that it was temporarily withdrawing its full staff, due to deteriorating security. The mission, which had begun reducing its staff over the past week, said employees would return 鈥渁s soon as security conditions permit.鈥澛�
Militias and rebel groups have grown strong in the three years since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled former strongman Muammar Qaddafi, and Tripoli has struggled to control the weapons and rival groups that are moving freely across the country. 聽
The latest clashes started Sunday in capital city Tripoli, in what in what the Associated Press calls one of the city鈥檚 鈥渨orst spasms of violence since the ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Qaddafi in 2011.鈥� At least seven people have been killed since Sunday, and the airport is closed, halting international flights into the country, Reuters reports.
The Economist explains the situation on the ground in Tripoli:
Government spokesman Ahmed Lamine says 90 percent of the planes at the airport have been destroyed, according to Al Jazeera.
And in the country鈥檚 east, at least six people have been killed and 25 wounded in Benghazi since Sunday, where a renegade army general is leading troops in fights against Islamist militias, according to Reuters.
The Economist writes that the situation 鈥渋s no better 400 miles away at Benghazi鈥檚 Benini airport.鈥�
Libya鈥檚 neighbors 颅鈥� Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia 颅鈥� called Monday for dialogue and agreed to talks near Tunis that are aimed at preventing spillover violence, AFP reports.
Libya鈥檚 neighbors and Western countries fear that turmoil in Libya 鈥渨ill allow arms and militants to flow across its borders,鈥� Reuters reports.