Tripoli’s international airport was occupied by militia from the western town of Tarhuna on Monday, in retaliation for the kidnapping of their commander, Abu-Alija Habshi, by unknown assailants on Sunday afternoon.
The arrival of government-controlled security forces late this afternoon has resulted in a gun-battle that saw the government retake control of the airport, with a number of militia reportedly captured.
The militia, known as the Al-Awfia brigade, used armoured vehicles, heavy machine guns and a tank to close down the airport for several hours, grounding a number of flights and forcing others to be diverted to Tripoli’s Metiga air base.