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Libya: 22 killed in Tripoli airport clashes

A man evacuated from Libya carries his baby as he arrives at a port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. A Greek navy frigate carrying embassy staff and nearly 200 people from Greece, China and other countries evacuated from the conflict in Libya returned early Saturday to the port. The Greek Defense Ministry the ship transported 77 people from Greece, 78 from China, 10 from Britain, seven from Belgium, one each from Russia and Albania. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A man evacuated from Libya carries his baby as he arrives at a port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. A Greek navy frigate carrying embassy staff and nearly 200 people from Greece, China and other countries evacuated from the conflict in Libya returned early Saturday to the port. The Greek Defense Ministry the ship transported 77 people from Greece, 78 from China, 10 from Britain, seven from Belgium, one each from Russia and Albania. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A man evacuated from Libya carries his baby as he arrives at a port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. A Greek navy frigate carrying embassy staff and nearly 200 people from Greece, China and other countries evacuated from the conflict in Libya returned early Saturday to the port. The Greek Defense Ministry the ship transported 77 people from Greece, 78 from China, 10 from Britain, seven from Belgium, one each from Russia and Albania. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

By Associated Press 1 min read

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) – Libya’s interim government says a day of militia fighting for control of the international airport in the capital Tripoli has killed 22 people.

In a statement early Sunday, it said “heavily armed groups” have shelled “civilian targets” endangering thousands of citizens and leaving hundreds of families displaced. The 22 people were killed on Saturday alone, the latest casualties in fighting that has claimed more than 200 lives in recent weeks.

Libya is in the grip of its worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Islamist militias from the coastal city of Misrata have led the assault on airport, seeking to seize it from militias from the mountain town of Zintan. The fighters are mainly former rebels who toppled Gadhafi with the aid of NATO airstrikes.