Fire rages as Libya warplane crashes during Benghazi fighting

A huge blaze was still raging at a fuel depot near Tripoli's airport today while a Libyan paramilitary fighter jet crashed in the eastern city of Benghazi during fighting with Islamist groups.
Amid increasing lawlessness and uncertainty, France, Portugal and the Netherlands became the latest nations to ship out their citizens or close their embassies in Tripoli.
Authorities said the Italian government and national energy giant ENI were to send seven fire-fighting planes to help combat an inferno that has been blazing since Sunday at an oil depot on the outskirts of the capital.
Italy will also send teams to help firefighters tackle the blaze, which was sparked during fighting between rival Libyan militias, a government statement said.

In Benghazi, General Sagr al-Jerouchi, chief of air operations for dissident ex-general Khalifa Haftar, said it was not immediately clear if the fighter jet had been hit by gunfire or suffered a malfunction before crashing and exploding.
He added that the pilot had safely ejected, which was confirmed by a witness who said he saw a parachute open before the plane crashed.

The witness said the warplane had just attacked Islamist positions.
Two weeks of fighting between militias for control of Tripoli airport and between Islamists and a former general in Benghazi has killed scores of people and prompted several countries to urge their citizens to leave Libya.

The Tripoli fire broke out when a rocket struck a tank containing more than six million litres (1.6 million gallons) of fuel before spreading to a second storage site in what the government called a "very dangerous" development.
The authorities feared the blaze could spread still further to a natural gas reservoir, where 90 million litres are stored, amid fears that a huge fireball could cause carnage over a wide area.
While the oil burns, motorists in Tripoli are suffering severe petrol shortages, as service stations have closed over fears for the safety of staff in light of the fighting.

Yesterday, the government appealed to several countries for help and Italy, as well as Greece, said aid would be contingent on a halt in the fighting.
In its statement today, the government again called for a ceasefire.
Combat raged overnight, with a number of explosions heard, but these had died down by morning.