Libyan parliament meets in Tobruk, violence rages throughout country
The Libyan parliament has come together in the coastal town of Tobruk after violence in the country's largest cities of Tripoli and Benghazi made them unviable locations to hold parliamentary debates and votes.
Reuters reports the parliamentary meeting took place in a hotel guarded by heavily armed troops from both the Interior Ministry and what remnants of Libyan Army remain loyal to the parliament.
Many factions of the Libyan Army have joined renegade ex-general Khalifa Haftar in his battle against Islamist militias they claim have exerted too great an influence in the goings on of parliament. Some of the military forces that have joined Haftar include elements of the Libyan Air Force and Special Forces.
The decision to hold the meeting in Tobruk comes as the United Kingdom became the latest in a string of nations to suspend its diplomatic operations in Libya. The United States, Turkey, and others have already closed down their diplomatic outposts and evacuated their staff.
As the chaos in Libya continues to grow, Tunisia has closed its border crossings with Libya as thousands of people try to flee the violence, according to Reuters.
The current epicenter of the fighting is the Tripoli International Airport. The fighting has left the airport severely damaged. Fires have raged there for days after a rocket hit a storage facility for jet fuel. Firefighters have been unable to contain the blaze because of the continuous fighting.
A satellite image taken from above the airport reveals the extent of the devastation.
This is how #Tripoli Airport looks like from above a #BurnedGround via @asmasiyala #Libya pic.twitter.com/dFlK04gngP
— Hilana Ali (@Hilanaak) August 2, 2014
