By Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli, 23 November 2014.
There was confusion today when the government denied that there was any closure of airports and . . .[restrict]ports in areas controlled by Libya Dawn. The disavowal of this action by the Thinni government suggests, at the least, a breakdown in communications between the government and its military.
Yesterday the Libyan Army High Command announced that these closures and warned that any aircraft or vessel that ignored the ban would be considered “a military target”.
The LANA operation based in Beida carried a statement that appeared to come from Chief of Staff Major-General Abdul Razzaq Nazhuri.
The head of Operation Dignity’s airforce, Saqr Geroushi confirmed the order to the Libya Herald, saying that it was designed to stop the flow of foreign fighters, ammunition and weapons to Libya Dawn forces.
Today however the government put out a statement on its website saying no airports and ports were closed.
“There were rumours on social media claiming that ports and airports on the western side of Libya are closed”, read the statement, “But the government wants to reassure people that it cares about the interests of citizens and foreign visitors. ”
It stressed that it had not issued any orders. Were any such closure to be decided, it would be announced on the relevant ministry websites.
The statement ended by asking the media to double-check statements before publishing them.
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