Libya clashes over Tripoli escalate

BENGHAZI, Apr 09 (AP): Clashes between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli escalated on Monday as the death toll from days of fighting rose to at least 51, including both combatants and civilians, and the city's only functioning airport said it was hit by an airstrike.

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter who last week launched the push on Tripoli, acknowledged striking the Mitiga airport, barely 8 kilometers (5 miles) east of the city center.

Hifter's forces have clashed with rival militias which support the UN-backed government that controls Tripoli and the western part of the country.

The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured North African nation deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The UN said the latest fighting has displaced some 3,400 people and blocked emergency services from reaching casualties and civilians.