Battle for Libya airport leaves at least 47 dead

TRIPOLI: Islamist-led militiamen have stepped up their assault on Libya´s main airport, controlled by rival fighters, which the health ministry said Monday had left at least 47 dead in a week.

The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until Saturday.

The European Union condemned a fresh outbreak of violence Sunday, two days after the collapse of a truce with the militia controlling the airport, which left five civilians dead according to local media.

A coalition of militias led by Islamist fighters launched an assault on the airport on Sunday, with clashes later spreading along the road to the capital.

By Sunday evening, fighting had subsided around the airport, security official Al-Jilani al-Dahesh told AFP, but clashes continued in the western suburbs of the capital, witnesses said.

"The airport was attacked this morning with mortar rounds, rockets and tank fire," Al-Dahesh told AFP.

"It was the most intense bombardment so far."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.

The fighting has halted all flights and caused extensive damage to planes and airport infrastructure, with aviation officials saying Tripoli airport could be closed for months.

Pictures posted on social media showed a Libyan Airlines plane on fire as plumes of smoke billowed over the airport.

The carrier said on its Facebook page that one aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ900, was destroyed.

Another aircraft, an Airbus A330, was also later reported to have been destroyed by fire.

Loud explosions were heard in the city centre, 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) away, as battles raged along the airport road with rockets striking nearby homes.