TRIPOLI – One person was reported dead on Tuesday after the high-profile Corinthia hotel in central [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]Tripoli was targeted by a car bomb and stormed by three gunmen.
Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Musca, one of the casualties, said government was working closely with Corinthia following the bomb explosion.
He said all Maltese at Corinthia are currently in a safe location and government was following events closely with hotel operators.
In Valletta, a spokesman for the Malta-based Corinthia Group said all guests were safe and denied any hostage situation.
He said attackers were holed up in one of the top floors of the hotel and occasional gunfire could be heard.
Essam al-Na’as, Chief of Tripoli Security Committee, said the initial bomb attack had caused only minor injuries to some hotel staff, and that Libyan security forces have surrounded the hotel.
Meanwhile, UN was currently hosting talks in Geneva with the Tripoli-based parliament and other representatives from the Islamist-Misrata alliance, aimed at resolving the conflict.
The General National Congress has so far stayed away.
Federica Mogherini, EU Foreign Policy Chief, described the attack as “another reprehensible act of terrorism which deals a blow to efforts to bring peace and stability to Libya”.
“Such attacks should not be allowed to undermine the political process,” he said.
The North African country has suffered from persistent instability since the 2011 overthrow of former leader Muamar Gaddafi.
Successive governments have failed to rein in the plethora of revolutionary militias that sprung up during the revolt against Gaddafi.
Over the past year, the militias have increasingly linked up with one or other of the two main factions, bringing the country closer to outright civil war. (dpa/NAN)
- Latest
- Trending
