Four Libyan militiamen were killed on 18 May while attempting to storm a government building in Tripoli on the same day their group kidnapped several lawmakers. Lawmaker Omar Bushah said gunmen had entered the General National Congress (GNC) and set the building on fire. State news agency LANA said unidentified gunmen had closed the streets leading to parliament. Gunfire rang out through several parts of Tripoli.
“The army forces and revolutionaries thwarted the attempt to storm the parliament building and adjacent state buildings by Al-Qaaqaa and al-Sawaaq militias,” Khaled al-Sharif, the defence ministry undersecretary, was reported as saying.