Libyan militants capture army headquarters in Benghazi

A group of Libyan militants overran a military garrison that formerly belonged to the Libyan army in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday following a violent showdown.

The militants involved included members of the Ansar Al-Sharia militia, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, and the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council. 

A leader of the council told Anadolu Agency that his fighters had managed to capture the garrison, having controlled five more Libyan army garrisons in Benghazi the past few days.

A Libyan army officer, meanwhile, confirmed the capture of the garrison by the militants.

"We had to pull out of the garrison, because we had not received any reinforcements for two weeks," the officer said.  

"Special forces under the command of (Colonel) Wanis Abu Khamada withdrew after several attacks," said the army official after the biggest loss yet for the armed forces in its fight against the country's powerful militias.

The special forces are one of the units of Libya's regular armed forces that support rogue Libyan general Khalifa Haftar but have not placed themselves under his command.

"Even with this, the battle has not come to an end yet," he told AA on condition of anonymity. 

The Libyan government had earlier called on warring parties to suspend their hostilities.Fighting in Bengahzi has claimed around 60 lives since Saturday, according to medical officials in the city. 

It added in a statement that it held a meeting in northern Libya on Tuesday to discuss means of bringing about a ceasefire and a comprehensive deal in Benghazi.

Even with this, thunder from the launching of missiles continues to be heard in different parts of the eastern Libyan city, according to an AA reporter.

Kidnappers free former deputy premier

Former deputy prime minister and newly-elected MP Mustapha Abu Shagur was meanwhile freed by his kidnappers, hours after they snatched him from his Tripoli home, his family said.

The kidnapping highlighted the failure of authorities to rein in dozens of militias that sprang up during the 2011 uprising which overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

"Doctor Abu Shagur has been freed. He is tired but in good health," his nephew Isam al-Naass told AFP. "He was not treated badly" by his kidnappers, he added.

Shagur would not talk about his ordeal or the identity of his kidnappers.

Ongoing turmoil

Amid the increasing lawlessness and uncertainty, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada and Bulgaria became the latest nations to ship out their citizens or close their embassies in Tripoli.

The blaze at the Tripoli fuel depot near the international airport erupted on Sunday when a rocket fired during clashes between rival militias battling for control of Tripoli international airport struck a tank containing more than six million litres (1.6 million gallons) of fuel.

It then spread to another fuel storage site nearby.

Authorities warned the fire could spread still wider to a natural gas reservoir, where 90 million litres are stored, amid fears a huge fireball could cause widespread carnage.

While the oil burns, motorists in Tripoli were suffering severe petrol shortages, as service stations closed over fears for the safety of staff in light of the fighting.

Libya has appealed for international help, but former colonial master Italy and Greece have said their involvement would be contingent on a halt to the fighting.

Rome has also denied a report by Tripoli authorities that it was ready to send seven planes to combat the inferno.

On Tuesday, the Libyan government again called for a ceasefire in the battle for the airport that has killed around 100 people and wounded 400 since 13 July.

In Benghazi, General Sagr al-Jerouchi, chief of air operations for dissident ex-general Haftar, said it was not immediately clear if a warplane that crashed during fighting with militants had been hit by gunfire or suffered a malfunction.

He said the pilot had safely ejected, which was confirmed by a witness who said he saw a parachute open before the jet crashed and exploded.

The witness said the plane had just attacked militant positions.

Two weeks of fighting around Tripoli airport and between Islamists and Haftar's forces in Benghazi have killed scores of people and prompted several countries to urge their citizens to leave Libya.