Blast at ammunition depot kills dozens in Libya

More than 20 civilians have been killed in an explosion at an ammunition store in the Libyan town of Garabulli in the restive east, officials have said.

"The number of casualties is rising and we are working hard to transfer them to nearest hospitals," Mohamed Assayed, a municipal official told the Reuters news agency. Some 30 people had been wounded, he added.

Tuesday's blast in Garabulli, a town 50km east of the capital, Tripoli, happened as residents entered the depot, though it was not immediately clear what had triggered the blast.

Assayed said the store was under control of an armed group from the city of Misrata, but the group had left the depot after clashing with local residents.

A Garabulli resident, who also confirmed the deaths, said the clashes erupted following a dispute in a shop between locals and a member of the armed group who was refusing to pay.

Libya has descended into chaos after the toppling and death of Muammar Gaddafi five years ago and has turned into a battleground of rival groups battling for powers.

Libya's nascent military has struggled to secure army bases and curb armed groups, with the power vacuum allowing the Libyan chapter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) to expand its presence. The group is estimated to have around 5,000 "fighters" in the country...
 aljazeera.com
21/6/16