LIBYAN authorities have regained control of Tripoli internationalairport after a militia seized the tarmac and grounded all flights. "The authorities have complete control over the airport," deputyinterior minister Omar al-Khadrawi told journalists in the capital,adding that dozens of assailants were arrested and stripped oftheir weapons. Earlier militia who fought against Col Muammar Gadaffi in the ArabSpring uprising seized control, forcing all flights to be grounded,in protest at their leader who has disappeared. Officials said aircraft were surrounded by cars mounted withanti-aircraft guns, while some passengers were also forced to leaveplanes. The gunmen reportedly seized the airport to pressure the governmentto explain the whereabouts of Abu Ajila al-Habshi, leader of theAl-Awfya brigade from Tarhouna, 50 miles southeast of Tripoli, whohas disappeared. They believe that he is being held in the airportby the Tripoli Security Committee. Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) is stillstruggling to fully integrate the Libyan militias who foughtMuammar Gaddafi's forces in last year's uprising. The former rebelshave remained in organised armed brigades, taking it uponthemselves to ensure law and order in the absence of fullyfunctional police and armed forces. In a separate development on Monday, a military tribunal convictedand jailed 24 men from the former Soviet Union on charges ofserving Col Gaddafi as mercenaries, rejecting claims they wereinnocent oil workers. A Russian national accused of being the group's ringleader wassentenced to life in prison. The other men – a secondRussian, three nationals from Belarus and 19 Ukrainians –were given 10-year jail terms with hard labour. The convictions were the first that Libya's transitional governmenthas managed to secure against foreigners accused of serving in thelate dictator's armed forces as snipers and hired gunmen duringlast year's uprising. More than 5,000 people were arrested as the victorious rebels sweptinto Tripoli last summer. But human rights groups said that most ofthem were innocent migrant workers wrongly identified asmercenaries and many are thought to have been released. The convicted men, who were not named, were said to have primedground-to-air missile batteries used to target Nato warplanessupporting the rebels. They were described as engineers working ata repair and overhaul facility for the Libyan air force, which wasdestroyed during the first days of the Nato mission. The men denied the charges, saying they were working for a jointoil venture between Russia and Libya. - Adrian Blomfield Telegraph.co.uk. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Silicone Coin Purse Manufacturer , Scalar Energy Pendant for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Hologram Wrist Band.
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