Missile strike halts traffic at Tripoli airport, kills worker

Missile strike halts traffic at Tripoli airport, kills worker

Missiles hit the only functioning airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday, killing one worker, the airport said.

Mitiga airport halted traffic and diverted flights to Misrata, a city some 200km to the east of Tripoli, the airport said in a statement.

The airport has been repeatedly hit since eastern forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to take the capital, now held by the internationally recognized government but there had been rarely casualties.

The United Nations had brokered last week a truce accepted by both Haftar and the Tripoli government, but fighting has continued as the chaos afflicting Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 continues.