Tripoli airport changes hands

The Libyan government has taken control of Tripoli’s international airport from the militia that has run it since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed last year, a major step in its struggle to assert its authority over armed groups.

The ruling National Transitional Council now faces the challenge of showing it can maintain security and operate the country’s busiest airport, which reopened last November in the hands of the powerful Zintan militia.

“We have today transferred power to the interior, defence and transportation ministries,” a Zintan militia spokesman said.