Raw Video: Fighting Reported as Armed Group Takes Control of Tripoli Airport

June 04, 2012 from Tunisia Live

The international airport of the Libyan capital Tripoli is closed and gunfire has been reported. Zied Mhirsi, one of the founders of Tunisia Live, is currently near the airport. He said that he could see "large clouds of dark smoke coming from an area near the control tower," and that all flights had been redirected to the military airport of Mitiga. He further reported that hundreds of armed men from the town of Tarhuna occupied the runway with dozens of armed pickup trucks, forcing passengers off planes. "Government police have left the area and the Tarhuna occupies the airport totally," he said. Reuters were also reporting that buildings at the airport were surrounded by tanks and no one was being allowed in or out.

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Libya

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. With an area of almost 1.8 mill... Explore this topic

Tripoli International Airport

Tripoli International Airport is an international airport that serves Tripoli, Libya. It is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the nation's largest airport. Located in the town of Ben Ghashir 34 kilometres south of the city centre, the airpor... Explore this topic

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital city and the largest city of Libya. As of 2011, the Tripoli metropolitan area had a population of 2.2 million people. The city is located in the northwestern part of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterran... Explore this topic

Militia

A militia, generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters; citizens of a nation or subjects of a state or government that can be called upon to enter a combat situation, as opposed to a professional force of regular soldiers o... Explore this topic

National Transitional Council

The National Transitional Council of Libya, sometimes known as the Libyan Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council, is the de facto parliament of Libya, established by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan civil war, which pit... Explore this topic

Tarhuna

Tarhuna to the southeast of Tripoli, in the Murqub District. The city derives its name from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, a Berber tribe. The city was known as al-Boirat during the 19th through mid 20th century, but assumed it current name after Libyan independence. T... Explore this topic

2011 Libyan Uprising

The Libyan civil war, also referred to as the Libyan revolution was a 2011 armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginnin... Explore this topic

Libyan rebel forces

The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organised and armed militia groups, participants in the Libyan civil war, Libyan diplomats who switch... Explore this topic

International airport

A customs airport is an airport notified by the appropriate customs authority of the country as an airport which shall be airports for the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods or any class of such goods. Such places the places which alone shall be inland... Explore this topic

Control tower

Wieża kontroli ruchu lotniczego – integralna część lotniska. Jest to specjalny wysoki oszklony budynek, lub wywyższony oszklony fragment budynku, z którego odbywa się kontrola ruchu lotniczego na polu manewrowym lotniska i w otaczającym lotnisko obszarze. Małe lotniska mogą mi... Explore this topic

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Libya

Tripoli International Airport

Tripoli

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