Tripoli authorities appeal for help after embassy attacks

Authorities in the Libyan capital vowed Monday to boost security after twin attacks on foreign embassies but warned their fight against jihadists was hindered by a lack of international recognition.

Most of the international community recognises a rival government based in the east of Libya not their administration in Tripoli which was formed after an Islamist-backed militia alliance seized the capital last August.

Gunmen opened fire on South Korea’s embassy compound from a passing car on Sunday, killing two Libyans and wounding a third.

Hours later, a bomb exploded outside the Moroccan embassy, causing no casualties but damaging nearby cars, a security official.

Both attacks were claimed by the Tripolitania branch of the Islamic State jihadist group which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.

A security official said that “increasing numbers of checkpoints” would be set up across Tripoli in a bid to restrict the jihadists’ ability to carry out attacks.

A member of the Tripoli parliament, Mahmud Abdulaziz, told AFP that every effort would be made to improve security but appealed to the international community to “help us fight IS”.

“The world doesn’t recognise us while we are fighting IS on behalf of the world,” the General National Congress member complained.

The South Korean foreign ministry said three of its nationals — two them diplomats — were in its compound at the time of the shooting.

The Moroccan embassy is currently inactive, like many others in the Libyan capital.

The foreign ministry in Rabat condemned the bombing as a “flagrant breach of international law and diplomatic norms.”

But it vowed Morocco would continue to host UN-brokered peace talks between Libya’s rival governments and parliaments.

The kingdom “reiterates its support for the dialogue process,” said a ministry statement carried by the official MAP news agency.