Tripoli airport closed as Libyan militias clash

Heavy fighting between rival militias vying for control of Libya's main airport in Tripoli has left at least seven people dead and halted all flights. The airport has been closed and is not expected to receive flights before Wednesday.

Islamist militias attacked the rival Zintan group, which controls Libya's international airport in Tripoli, triggering fierce clashes that halted flights, officials said.

The exchanges with heavy weapons, which rival armed groups retain from the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that toppled the longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, were heard in the city centre, 25km away.

The violence comes as the country awaits the results of the 25 June parliamentary elections.

Earlier the US warned that the conflict in Libya could be "widespread" following an acknowledgement by electoral officials that fraud had clouded the poll.

"The United States is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Libya and dangerous posturing that could lead to widespread conflict there," Jen Psaki, of the US state department, said on Saturday.

Officials and Libya's partners had hoped the vote would give a push to state building and ease political tensions.

British Airlines and Turkish Airways cancelled their flights, while thick smoke could be seen near the airport, residents said. An airport official said rockets had struck inside the airport perimeter at about 6am local time, interrupting flights. "Clashes followed between the Zintan militia who control the airport and rivals who want to drive them out," the official added.

At the moment, reports have emerged that Zintani forces have managed to rebuff the attack and fighting has spread to the outskirts of the city particularly to the south west. The sounds of explosions can be heard across Tripoli and plumes of smoke can be seen rising.

In the early hours of the morning a car bomb exploded at the apartment blocks on the capital’s airport road. It is not known how the explosion was linked to this morning’s clashes.

The former rebel militia from Zintan, a hill town south-west of the capital, is the main supporter of liberals in parliament who are trying to resist attempts by powerful Islamists hoping to gain power in the vacuum left after Gaddafi was ousted.

The attack was claimed by the Operations Cell of Libyan Revolutionaries, a coalition of Islamist militias considered the armed wing of Islamists in parliament. "The revolutionary forces arrive within the perimeter of Tripoli airport and clash with armed groups inside," it said on its Facebook page.

The fighting comes weeks after a general election. Libya has been plagued by growing lawlessness while on the political front rival cabinets are jostling for power.

UN pulls out of Libya

On Thursday, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced it was pulling out dozens of staff because of security concerns.

Libya, an OPEC member, is divided between rival militias from urban communities and tribes, as well as Islamist and more moderate forces.

Oil production has fallen to a fraction of the 1.4 million barrels a day that Libya produced before July 2013 when a wave of protests erupted at oilfields and ports.

The loss of oil revenues has caused a budget crisis as Libya depends on energy exports.