Turkish Airlines, the last remaining foreign carrier offering flights to Libya, is suspending all flights to the conflict-wracked country as the security situation deteriorates.
The Turkish flag-carrier said it had suspended flights to Misrata, its only remaining destination in Libya, after it had earlier pulled its flights to the capital, Tripoli, as well as Benghazi and the inland desert city of Sebha.
“We have suspended our Misrata flights until further notice, due to operational issues,” a company spokesman said. “Turkish Airlines is not operating any scheduled flights to Libya at the moment.”
Libya has descended into chaos since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in a 2011 Nato-backed uprising. There are now rival governments and parliaments and the number of arms and militias has grown considerably.
Libya’s internationally recognised government said on Monday that its aircraft bombed an oil tanker off the Islamist-held port of Derna, killing two crew members. One of them was Greek, which drew condemnation of the attack from Athens.
