© AP
Islamist-led militias launched an attack on Tripoli's international airport on Sunday against units allied to Khalifa Haftar, the former general who has vowed to defeat the jihadis.
Buildings and fuel tanks were set ablaze by artillery, rocket and anti-aircraft fire in the worst fighting seen in the Libyan capital since the 2011 revolution. Thick plumes of smoke rose into the sky and staff and passengers huddled for safety inside airport buildings as battles left at least six dead and 25 wounded.
TV footage showed vehicles on fire after rockets struck the car park. Smoke swirled around planes abandoned on the tarmac. All flights to and from the airport have been cancelled.
The airport is held by militias from the mountain town of Zintan, allied with Haftar, whose forces, backed by sections of the air force, have been battling Islamist brigades in eastern Libya for several weeks.
The attack marks a significant widening of the struggle between Haftar and his opponents. "It is not good, not good, people are just staying at home, waiting to see what happens," said Tripoli resident Abu Baker.
The US appealed for calm, with US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki warning: "The United States is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Libya and dangerous posturing that could lead to widespread conflict."
In London, the Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, Hugh Robertson, urged all sides to begin dialogue, saying: "The violence that has broken out around Tripoli international airport is deeply concerning."
The offensive, Libya Dawn, was launched by the Libya Safety and Stability force, a coalition of Islamist and Misrata militias, who claimed to have captured the airport perimeter. Zintani units insisted it remained under their control.
Separate clashes broke out 12 miles away at the entrance to the airport highway with fighting close to the interior ministry. The fortified US embassy building, guarded by armed marines and sandwiched between the two battles was reported to be in lockdown.
Meanwhile local militias and armed residents set up roadblocks across much of Tripoli to protect their neighbourhoods.
In the eastern capital Benghazi, rocket fire has destroyed the recently-renovated buildings of the city airport, leaving both Libya's principal airports out of action. Also closed was Tripoli port, with many container ships remaining at sea.
The fighting pits former allies of the Nato-backed 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi against each other, with both groups nominally under government control and on the state payroll.
Zintani units have garrisoned the airport since capturing it in the revolution, and reinforcements from the town were rushed to bolster the garrison.
There was no sign of intervention by Libya's small police and army regular forces and the government of the prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, could not be reached for comment.
Battles between the two sides have been expected for several days. Last week the United Nations evacuated many of its 200 staff from its Tripoli base. The UK closed its British Council education centre in a coastal compound.
The offensive came on the day foreign ministers from neighbouring states met in Tunisia to review Libya's worsening security situation.
Libya's new parliament, the House of Representatives, elected last month, is due to take office in Benghazi in August, but faces a herculean task in establishing control without significant security forces of its own.
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