Unidentified war planes, blasts heard in Tripoli

Demonstrators protest against the Libyan parliament's decision to call on the United Nations and the Security Council to intervene to protect civilians and state institutions in Libya, in Misrata, east of Tripoli August 15, 2014. Photo: Reuters

Unidentified war planes flew over the Libyan capital Tripoli early on Monday and explosions could be heard, residents said.

A Libyan TV channel said planes targeted positions in Tripoli where militias have been fighting for control for over one month. Government officials could not be reached for comment in the middle of the night.

Tripoli residents said they could hear several explosions but said the cause was unclear. The city was quiet afterwards.

Militias from the city of Misrata and fighters allied to the western town of Zintan on Sunday again traded gunfire in parts of Tripoli, part of growing chaos in the oil producing nation three years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

None of the militias is believed to own war planes, while the weak government has no functioning national army and almost no control over Tripoli.

Most officials work from Tobruk in the far-east where the new parliament has set-up to escape the violence.