Residents report warplanes over Libyan capital

Unidentified warplanes and explosions reported in Libyan capital, Tripoli

Tripoli residents have reported that unidentified warplanes flew over the Libyan capital early on Monday and explosions were heard.

A Libyan TV channel said planes targeted positions in Tripoli where militias have been fighting for control for over one month, however government officials could not be reached to confirm the attacks.

Tripoli residents said they could hear several explosions but said the cause was unclear.

Misrata militias and rival fighters allied to the western town of Zintan traded gunfire in parts of Tripoli on Sunday, turning the capital into a battlefield.

None of the militias engaged in the battle for Tripoli are believed to own warplanes, while the weak government has no functioning national army and almost no control over the capital.

A separate battle in the eastern city of Benghazi has complicated Libya's security, with an alliance of Islamist fighters and ex-rebels forcing the army out of the city.

A group of Islamists in Benghazi including Ansar al-Sharia issued a statement on Sunday rejecting the idea of democracy and secular political parties in Libya.

"We don't fight for the sake of democracy...but for God and to defend the land", the statement said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives (HoR) which is meeting in the far-east city of Tobruk formed a committee tasked with attempting to achieve a ceasefire in the fighting between the warring militias in Tripoli.

Speaking live on television President Ageela Issa said that the committee would be in contact with “all sides in the conflict” in an effort to achieve “an immediate ceasefire”.

Furthermore, he added that the committee would be “at an equal distance from all sides (independent)” and urged all parties in the conflict to heed the parliament’s resolution calling on all sides to observe an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and to stop all the violence and attacks on civilians and their residential areas.

He added that “international parties welcomed the decision” to call for foreign intervention, adding that Libya and its foreign partners agreed on the need to achieve an immediate ceasefire.

However, Ageela did not reveal any specifics of the international offers of help in achieving a ceasefire.

Around 30 MPs, mainly from the Islamist parties, have so far boycotted Parliament and its meetings in Tobruk, raising doubts on the newly elected legislature’s legitimacy and constitutionality.