Libya fighting displaces thousands as battle reaches airport

BEIRUT - Thousands of people scrambled to flee the violence in and around Tripoli, the United Nations said Monday, as a warplane attacked the Libyan capital's only functioning airport amid an escalation in fighting.

Maria Valle Ribeiro, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator for Libya, said in a statement that about 2,800 people had fled the clashes since late last week, when Gen. Khalifa Haftar began his onslaught to seize the capital.

The violence in some areas was so intense that civilians were unable to leave and emergency services were unable to reach them, according to another U.N. report. An additional 1,300 refugees and migrants in detention