BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter said Saturday they
seized control of the main airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces
to seize the seat of Libya’s U.N.-backed government.
Hifter’s media office said in a post online that they took full control of the Tripoli international
airport and were working to secure the facility. They posted photos of troops apparently inside the
airport, saying "we are standing at the heart of the Tripoli international airport."
Hifter’s offensive on Tripoli could plunge the oil-rich country into another spasm of violence, possibly
the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The
country is governed by rival authorities: The internationally backed government in Tripoli and the
government in the east, which Hifter is aligned with. Each are backed by an array of militias.
Fayez Sarraj, chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, said his government had offered concessions
to Hifter "to avoid bloodshed and to end divisions" and was surprised by Hifter’s order to
take the capital.
"We were stabbed in the back," he said Saturday in televised comments, adding that his forces
would confront Hifter’s troops with "force and determination."
The Tripoli airport has not been functional since fighting in 2014 destroyed much of the facility.
The media office said that troops also captured the area of Wadi el-Rabeia, south of Tripoli, amid
clashed with militias loyal to Sarraj.
Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army lead by Hifter, said 14 troops were
killed since Hifter declared the offensive. He said rival militias launched four airstrikes Saturday
targeting Hifter’s position in the town of al-Aziziya. He said no causalities reported from the
airstrikes.
Al-Mesmari said Hifter’s forces declared Tripoli a no-fly zone for warplanes.
Hifter, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army, announced Thursday he was deploying his forces
toward Tripoli, sparking fears that the tensions could be escalating out of control as militias from the
western cities of Zawiya and Misarata said that they have mobilized to confront Hifter.
He also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. aimed at drawing a
roadmap for new elections.
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday called on Hifter forces to halt all military movements and urged
all forces in Libya "to de-escalate and halt military activity."