Libyan government retakes Tripoli airport

Libya's government has retaken control of the country's main airport from disgruntled militiamen who stormed the Tripoli site with heavy machine guns and armored vehicles, Deputy Interior Minister Omar al-Khadrawi said on Monday.

"Now the airport is under the state control of military services and security services and the revolutionaries have decided to release control of the airport," he said.The militiamen from the city of Tarhouna had stormed the airport, forcing airport authorities to divert flights.

The assailants occupied the runway and flights were diverted to Metiga air base in the city's center, according to a security official."We have arrested a number of attackers and terrorists and we have captured some of their vehicles and weapons that were used in the attack," al-Khadrawi said.

The militiamen were said to be angry over arrest of their commander, Abu Oleija al-Habishi, on Sunday.

Tarhouna in central Libya was widely seen as a favourite of deposed ruler Moammar Gadhafi.Its dominant tribe, also called Tarhouna, held many positions in the Libyan military under Gadhafi.The city's residents are viewed with suspicion by former rebels.

Tribal rivalries have swept Libya since Gadhafi was overthrown last year.Much of the fighting has pitted militias that fought him against those who remained loyal to his regime.The Tarhouna group has been engaged in sporadic clashes with other militias from cities like Misrata and Tripoli.Al-Habishi is said to have been arrested in Tripoli but circumstances of his arrest were not immediately clear.

The attack on the airport came just two weeks before the date of the country's first general elections since 1969, when Gadhafi took over power in a military coup.On June 19, Libyans are scheduled to elect 200-member assembly to oversee writing a new constitution and form a government.

Election commission and government officials have recently given contradictory statements about the possibility that elections might be delayed, given the fragile security situation in Tripoli and many other cities.Also, there have been calls to boycott the election in the eastern part of the country, where the uprising against Gadhafi started.Many easterners are demanding more representation in the assembly.

APTN