Gunmen Kill Policeman Guarding United Nations Building in Libya’s Capital

Men with an armed group of Libyan people hold weapons to defend their local area from Islamic militias in Benghazi, Libya. (File Photo: AP).

By Ulf Laessing | Reuters, Tripoli
Saturday, 24 January 2015

Gunmen opened fire on Libyan police guarding a U.N. building in the capital Tripoli, killing one officer, state media and the U.N. said on Saturday.

On Friday gunmen shot from a passing car at policemen on duty outside the office of the U.N. development agency UNDP in Tripoli, a state news agency and the U.N. mission to Libya (UNSMIL) said.

One officer died of his wounds in hospital.

"U.N. staff were not involved in the incident," the U.N. said in a statement.

Tripoli is controlled by a faction called Libya Dawn, which has set up a rival government and forced the internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to the east.

The United Nations and most Western and Arab countries evacuated their diplomats in the summer during fighting between rival factions who are battling for control of the oil-producing state four years after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi.

Bombs exploded in November near the Egyptian and United Arab Emirates embassies and last week outside Algeria's mission.

Last Update: Sunday, 25 January 2015 KSA 23:55 - GMT 20:55