Suicide bombers killed at least two civilians in the attack on Libya’s foreign ministry in the capital, Tripoli. 18 other bystanders had been injured, according to the Ministry of Interior. The health department even estimated three dead and 21 injured.
According to Libyan news agency LNA, two of the attackers blew themselves up. A third man had been killed in a shooting incident with the security staff of the State Department. The images circulating online revealed thick smoke above the building, which is part of the country’s internationally recognized government.
Since the death of long-time ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011, the country has fallen into chaos in North Africa. In Tripoli, there are repeated fights by militias and warring factions and violence against the weak official government of Libya, which sits in the capital. The country is deeply divided, a counter-government in the East claims power as well for itself.
The interior minister of the official government, Fathi Ali Baschaga, spoke at a press conference on Tuesday of a security chaos. He also blamed foreign intelligence services. Some of them would be in contact with armed groups in Libya, but not with the government. Regarding the origin of the perpetrators, he said that no group had known each other, but from the appearance of „Africans“ was. In North Africa, this often means dark-skinned people from the countries south of the Sahara.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Tuesday. All the people who were in the building during the attack were taken to safety. „The Libyan population is fighting the world for terrorism,“ it said in a statement.
It was not until autumn that heavy clashes between hostile militias had occurred in Tripoli. Within a month more than 100 people died. About 500 more were injured. The violence could only be stopped by the mediation of a ceasefire by the United Nations. Terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS) are also active in Libya. Two weeks ago, the jihadists had attracted attention with the killing of six Libyan hostages.
