Week-long ceasefire in Tripoli collapses as shells fall around airport

A week-long ceasefire in the Libyan capital Tripoli broke down after a recently emerged militia fired shells into areas near the city’s only functioning airport.

The shelling is likely to have come from a group known as the 7th Brigade or the Kaniyat, which was blamed for starting clashes that killed 63 people in Tripoli this month.

The group comes from the town of Tarhuna, 65 kilometres south-east of the city centre, and its leaders are mainly from the same family, with the surname Kani.

They say they want to rid Tripoli of corruption and the state-sanctioned militias who plague the capital and operate with impunity.

Yesterday, the 7th Brigade insisted they had no ideological or political agenda and simply wanted to liberate Tripoli from gangs.

The 7th Brigade was previously incorporated into the Defence Ministry, but the UN-backed government has since said they relinquished all ties in April.

Sources within Rada, the pro-government brigade controlling Metiga airport, confirmed the incident but said no shells fell inside the perimeter fence and no aircraft were hit.

At least three people were believed to have been slightly injured by the shelling.

Flights to the airport were redirected to the city of Misrata, about 210km away.

There was no direct combat and the shelling abated early yesterday morning in the area of Abu Salim.

No group has claimed responsibility but it underlined the fragility in Tripoli as competing groups, most of whom are ostensibly under the UNbacked government, fight for territory.

Complicating matters is the arrival of militiaman Salah Badi and loyalists of his Samoud battalion, who have also tried to purge the so-called Tripoli Cartel.

During the 2011 revolution, Mr Badi was a senior commander of a rebel unit from Misrata when the city was surrounded by the army of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

But in 2014 Mr Badi was a key figure in the coalition known as Libya Dawn, which razed Tripoli’s airport and held the city for a couple of years.

Mr Badi was staying in Turkey but returned to Libya. Some blame him for assisting the Salafist group Ansar Al Sharia, many of whom defected to the ranks of ISIS in 2015.

The Kani-Badi coalition has repeatedly clashed with pro-government militias this month. The Salafist group Rada, which calls itself the Special Deterrence Force, operates under the Interior Ministry and controls a prison holding about 2,500 men.

These include common criminals, members of ISIS and the brother of the Manchester bomber, Hashem Abedi.

Rada members see themselves as an anti-terrorism unit and work with a smattering of nominally pro-government militias under the Tripoli Cartel banner. All are accused of corruption and extortion. The most powerful is the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, who were involved in the clashes at the start of the month.

There are rumours that their leader, Haithem Tajouri, has met officials from the Libyan National Army – which opposes the UN-backed government and is based in Benghazi – in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to try to negotiate a settlement.

Perhaps the most hated Tripoli Cartel militia leader is Abdul Ghani Al Kikli, who is leader of Abu Salim Central Security. Mr Al Kikli and his troops are said to be brutal.

The final major faction of the Tripoli Cartel is the Nawassi, who run the capital’s most densely populated area – Souq Al Juma – and lean towards Salafism.

Pro-government brigade confirms attack but says no shells fell within airport perimeter and no planes were hit