Libya’s Tripoli-based Mitiga Airport closed after missile attack

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 between rival armed groups.

The source of Tuesday’s missile attack was unclear and there were no casualties reported, the officials said.

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 on 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.

“There is readiness by the international community to deal firmly with those who manipulate or violate the cease-fire,” Salame said in the meeting.

The missile attack followed recent fighting in Tripoli between rival armed groups, which left at least 61 people dead. A cease-fire has been in place since last week.