Missile strike shuts down Libya airport

BENGHAZI, Libya — Missiles were fired at Libya’s capital, Tripoli, including the city’s only functioning airport, forcing authorities to divert flights to another airport to the south, government and airport officials said Wednesday, less than a week after the U.N. brokered a cease-fire among rival armed groups.

The source of Tuesday’s missile attack was unclear and there were no casualties reported, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Mitiga International Airport posted on its Facebook page late Tuesday that the airport was closed and all flights were being diverted to Misrata International Airport.

Pilots were called Tuesday night to fly planes out of Tripoli to Misrata so they would not be hit, said one official.

“This was the only option to make sure they were not destroyed after the missiles landed on the airport grounds,” he said.

Also Wednesday, the U.N. envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, met with the head of the U.N.-backed government, Fayez Sarraj, and military commanders in the western town of Zawiya to discuss a “Tripoli security arrangement,” according to the U.N. mission in Libya.

Salame was set to meet with diplomatic missions and ambassadors to Libya later Wednesday to “discuss the latest cease-fire violations and those behind them.”