The World in Brief

Black smoke billows over the skyline as a fire at the oil depot for the airport rages out of control after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield, in Tripoli, Libya Monday, July 28, 2014. The latest violence to plague the country has so far killed scores of people and wounded hundreds as foreigners flee the chaos. Libya's interim government said in a statement that the fire could trigger a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" in Tripoli, appealing for "international help" to extinguish the inferno. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ben Khalifa)
Black smoke billows over the skyline as a fire at the oil depot for the airport rages out of control after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield, in Tripoli, Libya Monday, July 28, 2014. The latest violence to plague the country has so far killed scores of people and wounded hundreds as foreigners flee the chaos. Libya's interim government said in a statement that the fire could trigger a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" in Tripoli, appealing for "international help" to extinguish the inferno. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ben Khalifa)

Libya asks for help as oil inferno spreads

CAIRO -- A fire at the oil depot for the airport in Libya's capital raged out of control Monday after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield.

Libya's interim government said in a statement that the fire could trigger a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" in Tripoli, appealing for "international help" to extinguish the inferno. It did not say what it specifically needed.

The blaze had spread to a second depot by Monday afternoon, the government said. It was unclear whether there were any injuries from the fire.

Mohammed al-Harari, the spokesman for the Libyan National Oil Co., said the oil depot had a capacity of 1.6 million gallons and that if the fire was not brought under control, it could ignite liquid gas nearby.

The battle for control of the airport began two weeks ago when Islamist-led militias -- mostly from the western city of Misrata -- launched a surprise assault on the airport, which has been under control of a rival militia from the western mountain town of Zintan. It wasn't clear whose fire started the oil depot blaze.

The Health Ministry said Sunday that the fighting has so far killed 79 people and wounded more than 400.

U.S.: Cowed, Aruba freed Venezuelan

CARACAS, Venezuela -- U.S. officials said Monday they believe Venezuela used "threats" against Aruba to pressure it to release a powerful former general who is wanted by the United States for alleged drug trafficking.

"We are disturbed by credible reports that have come to us indicating the Venezuelan government threatened the governments of Aruba, the Netherlands, and others" to obtain the release of former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, said a statement from U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

The State Department did not elaborate on the nature of the threats it believes were used.

Carvajal returned to a hero's welcome in Venezuela late Sunday, shortly after he was freed from custody in Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean territory that is 15 miles off the coast of the South American country.

Aruban authorities had acted on a request from U.S. prosecutors when they arrested Carvajal last week as he arrived to become his nation's consul. Venezuela protested the detention, citing diplomatic immunity, but an Aruba judge Friday determined Carvajal had yet to be accredited and ordered that he be held pending extradition to the United States.

Shots, blasts kill 27 in Baghdad area

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi police found 17 bullet-riddled bodies in different areas of Baghdad, officials said Monday, raising fears of more sectarian bloodletting at a time of soaring tensions as other attacks around the capital killed 10 people.

Authorities found the bodies of 14 men and three women dumped in the streets late Sunday and early Monday, two police officers said. Some had suffered gunshot wounds in the head and chest, with others blindfolded and bound, they said. Some showed signs of being tortured.

Officers found no identification cards on the bodies, and police could not offer a motive in their killings.

Also Monday, drive-by shooters, armed with pistols fitted with silencers, killed four men in different areas in Baghdad, police said.

Shortly before nightfall, a bomb exploded in a commercial street in a Madain-area town, just south of Baghdad, killing four shoppers and wounding nine, police said. Minutes later, a bomb blast near a line of shops killed two people and wounded 12 in Baghdad's northwestern district of Shula, police said.

All 118 on Algiers jet said 'pulverized'

PARIS -- The remains of the 118 victims from the Algerian passenger jet that went down in Mali last week have been "pulverized," making identification extremely difficult, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

The two black boxes arrived in France on Monday, and six engineers are working on them, Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier said.

Analysis of the data and voice recorders will be crucial in trying to determine why the Air Algerie flight fell from the sky Thursday. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the boxes were in decent enough shape to be read. French authorities say extremely bad weather was the likely cause.

Fabius said the pilot of the MD-83 had asked to turn back after telling the control tower he wanted to change route because of the weather -- the first time an official said the pilot wanted to abandon the trip from Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria.

Fabius reiterated that "it is too soon to [say with] certitude" why the aircraft went down some 50 minutes after takeoff.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 07/29/2014

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