http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/06/201264125943640669.html
Clashes erupt at Libya's Tripoli airport
Attack by Tarhouna brigade, in protest over missing commander, disrupts flights
and causes panic among travellers.
Last Modified: 04 Jun 2012 19:59
Clashes have erupted at Tripoli's international airport after Libyan
government-backed forces tried to take back the facility from an armed group.
A government official said on Monday that the group, called al-Awfea Brigade,
from the town of Tarhouna, 80km southeast of the Libyan capital, was demanding
the release of their leader who they said disappeared two days ago.
The official news agency LANA, citing witnesses, said that the motive of the
brigade was to pressure the government to explain the whereabouts of their
commander, Colonel Abu Ajila al-Habshi.
LANA said the armed men fired into the air, slightly wounding an airport
employee and causing panic among travellers.
Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Benghazi, said the group "has heavy
weapons and they are not allowing flights to land or take off. All flights have
been diverted".
A Libyan government official earlier told AFP news agency that "cars mounted
with anti-aircraft guns and armed men [surrounded] the aircraft and [prevented]
them from moving", adding that some passengers were forced to leave planes.
Intermittent shooting was heard just before sunset but it was unclear whether
it was a two-way exchange of fire or a bid by the newly arriving forces to
force the brigade out of the airport.
A member of a Tripoli brigade said the gunfire was just a "scare tactic".
'Assault on the state'
Ali al-Sheikhi, an army spokesman quoted by LANA, said that "negotiators were
trying to persuade the assailants to leave the airport through pacific means in
order to avoid the use of force".
He denounced al-Awfea Brigade's offensive as an "assault on the state and its
institutions".
Mohammed al-Harizy, a spokesman for the ruling National Transitional Council
(NTC), said Habshi was kidnapped by unknown armed men while travelling between
Tarhouna and Tripoli.
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He also said that an investigation had been launched to determine the
circumstances of Habshi's disappearance.
Tripoli's security commission, which answers to the interior ministry, said it
had nothing to do with "the disappearance and abduction" and that it was still
tracking those responsible.
The NTC is still struggling to fully integrate many Libyans who fought forces
loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime ruler who was overthrown and killed in
October last year.
The former rebel fighters have remained in organised armed brigades, taking
upon themselves to ensure law and order in the absence of fully functional
police and armed forces.
Monday's incident at Tripoli airport comes as Libya prepares to hold elections
for a 200-seat constituent assembly by June 19, as pledged by the NTC.
Violent incidents, such as a deadly raid on government headquarters last month,
have raised concerns over the capacity of authorities to secure the first
election after decades under Gaddafi's rule.
Ethnic unrest in the south, calls for greater autonomy in the east, and
corruption are just some of the challenges facing the NTC.
A Libyan official has publicly said that the assembly elections would be
delayed until the first week of July at the earliest.
Sghair Majeri, the official, told Al Jazeera last week that "holding elections
by June 19 is a mission impossible" as vetting the candidates and printing and
distributing the ballots across the country would take weeks.
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