TRIPOLI, Libya – Libya's justice minister says that an attempted jailbreak at a prison outside Tripoli left two prisoners dead.
Salah al-Marghani said Saturday that the prisoners tried to overpower their guards and burn the main building late Friday. One of those killed was a non-Libyan, he said, without specifying the nationality.
Al-Marghani also said that a day earlier, 10 prisoners escaped when a group of gunmen attacked a vehicle transporting them from the Ayn Zara prison to a Tripoli court.
Libya has experienced a security vacuum since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, including a series of prison breaks. In the absence of a strong police and military, the government relies on militias to bring order.