Libya seeks foreign help to battle Tripoli fuel tank fire [WATCH]

The Libyan government is appealing for "international help" after several oil tankers caught fire amid fighting in the capital, Tripoli.

This development came as European nations called on their citizens to leave Libya amid heavy fighting that the Libyan government said has killed more than 150 people in Tripoli and Benghazi during two weeks of fighting.

A statement posted to the government's website on Monday warned of a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" after fighting between rival militias over the country's international airport caused the huge blaze.

Officials said that firefighters sent to the scene had been unable to put out the fire. Six million litres of fuel were set ablaze by a rocket late on Sunday, AFP reported.

"Firefighters have been trying for hours to put out the blaze but to no avail. Their water reserves finally ran out and they've had to leave," Mohamed al-Hrari, spokesman for the state-owned National Oil Corp, told AFP.

As Libyan TV stations called on residents to evacuate areas near the aiport, social media sites posted images of black smoke billowing over Tripoli's skyline.

Earlier on Sunday, France, Britain, Germany and Spain called on their nationals to leave Libya due to the deteriorating security situation.

The US, the UN and Turkey have pulled their diplomats out of the North African country.

The US evacuated its embassy on Saturday, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia under heavy military protection because of clashes near the embassy compound in Tripoli.

A British embassy convoy was hit by gunfire during what an embassy official described as "an attempted hijack" as the convoy was on its way to the Tunisian border. No-one was injured in the incident.

In Tripoli, 23 people, all Egyptian workers, were killed when a rocket hit their home on Saturday during fighting between rival militias battling over the city's main airport, the Egyptian state news agency reported.

Since the clashes erupted a fortnight ago, 94 people have died in the capital, and more than 400 have been injured as militias exchanged rocket and artillery fire across southern Tripoli, the Libyan Health Ministry said.

"Most of the victims we have noticed are civilians as the fighters have their own hospitals on the battlefield," a Benghazi medical source told Reuters news agency.

Another 55 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Benghazi since the clashes have intensified over the last week between regular forces and militias entrenched in the city.

A new Libyan parliament was elected in June and Western governments hope warring parties may be able to reach a political agreement when the lawmakers meet in August for the first session.