MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2023) Clashes between armed groups that broke out on Thursday morning near the international airport of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, have subsided, the Al Hadath broadcaster, which covers events in Arab countries, reported, citing a defense source.
Earlier in the day, Libyan media reported on clashes that broke out in the town of Qaser bin Ghashir, located near the airport. Skirmishes with the use of small arms reportedly occurred between two different military units of the same government of politically-divided Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli.
"The clashes stopped after we intervened to resolve the conflict between the two sides and blocked the road between them," a source in the GNA defense ministry's 444 Brigade was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
The area and the road adjacent to Tripoli International Airport often becomes a site of clashes for influence in the Libyan capital between armed groups whose inclusion in the UN-led political reconciliation process is widely considered only nominal.
Libya has been in turmoil since a NATO invasion helped topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. His death led to a decade-long rivalry between the UN-backed administration in Tripoli and the parliament in Tobruk. The UN-brokered reconciliation process put a caretaker unity government in charge in 2021, but the interim authorities failed to hold elections and the chaos continued.
