One of the leaders of the Libyan rebels, Ahmed Mehdi, told the AFP agency last night that the insurgents near Tripoli captured five Serbs who explained that they were construction workers, but that the fighters of the transitional government were checking whether they might be Gaddafi's snipers.
"We arrested five Serbs who told us they were construction workers, but we think they could be Progaddafi's snipers. They are safe, inside the international airport," said Mehdi, AFP reported.
Mehdi's statement comes as rebels are trying to secure the road leading from the capital to the international airport, which is under their control but under heavy fire from Gaddafi's forces.
He also said that journalists cannot see the prisoners until "the investigation is completed" and added that the rebels are checking with the company the men said they work for, whether they are its workers.
"We also arrested a number of African fighters," Mehdi said, adding that the airport was not damaged but that there were "problems" on the road leading to it.
The Serbian Embassy in Tripoli has no information about the alleged arrest of Serbian citizens in Libya, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Beta Agency today.
The fight for the airport
It is estimated that there are around 120 Serbian citizens in Tripoli who remained after the first waves of evacuation when the riots in Libya began in the spring.
Among them is a group of seven doctors, medical technicians and nurses who work at Subrate Hospital and did not plan to return to Serbia.
It is not known that some construction workers with Serbian passports remained in Libya.
The rebel commander, who gave a statement to the AFP agency about the arrest of five Serbs, added that the anti-regime insurgents have been controlling the Tripoli airport for four days, although according to eyewitness reports, "Grad" rockets are falling all around and smoke is rising from the affected vehicles.
The exit from Tripoli is uncertain and unpredictable, the rebels at the checkpoints instruct where to go or warn of snipers and rockets, France Press reported.
The international airport in Tripoli is located thirty kilometers south of the center of the capital.
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