Libya Military bans Benghazi flights

Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s military banned flights Saturday over the eastern city of Benghazi, a day after troops loyal to a rogue general attacked Islamist militias in violence that killed 51 people, authorities and medical officials said.

The North African nation’s weak central government already described the offensive Friday by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, which included military air support, as tantamount to a coup. And as militiamen reported a separate helicopter attack on one of their bases Saturday, the violence again showed how precarious government control remains after the 2011 civil war that toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

In a statement, the Libyan military’s central command said it will target any military aircraft flying over Benghazi, where the country’s uprising against Gadhafi began. The city’s airport remained closed Saturday for a second day, though stores reopened.

Despite government warnings, Hifter vowed to press on with his campaign in Benghazi to restore security, charging that the current interim Cabinet has no mandate. In comments to the press aired on television, Hifter said: “Today is the start of a national battle. It is not a coup, it is not a quest for authority.”

He added: “All Libyan blood is sacred, but the terrorism and its servants wanted a battle.”

Hifter’s forces withdrew to the city limits after attacking the bases of two Islamist militias, Rafallah al-Sahati and February 17. Libya’s Health Ministry said Saturday that the offensive killed 36 people and wounded 139. Medical officials in Benghazi later said the death toll had climbed to 51.