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Dozens Killed As Libyan Militias Battle For Tripoli's Airport

A damaged building and debris outside are seen Sunday after heavy fighting broke out between rival militias near the airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Hani Amara
/
Reuters /Landov
A damaged building and debris outside are seen Sunday after heavy fighting broke out between rival militias near the airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

At least 47 people have been killed in fighting over the past 24 hours between rival Libyan militias battling for control of Tripoli's international airport.

The country's health ministry said late Sunday that the fighting also wounded 120 people. The Associated Press reports:

"The weeklong battle over the airport is being waged by a powerful militia from the western city of Zintan, which controls the facility, and Islamist-led militias, including fighters from Misrata, east of Tripoli. The clashes resumed Sunday after cease-fire efforts failed.

"Television footage broadcast Sunday showed a mortar shell striking a Libyan Arab Airlines plane and a column of black smoke billowing from inside the airport, which has been closed since last Monday."

The fighting in the North African country is some of the worst since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

As we told you last week, Libya's foreign minister asked the U.N. Security Council for help to protect the country's airports, oil installations and ports "before it is too late."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.