Meeting in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for ceasefire to come into effect at midnight on Sunday.

The Turkish and Russian presidents were attending  the inauguration of the Turkestream pipeline carrying Russian gas through Turkey to Europe.

The 920 km pipeline that crosses the Black Sea is part of Russia’s efforts to avoid using  Ukraine to export its gas.

Turkey and Russia support opposite sides in the Libya conflict.

Vladimir Putin backs the rebel leader Khalifa Haftar whose forces have taken the strategic coastal town of Sirte and have set their sights on Tripoli.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is deploying troops to support the United-Nations-backed Government of National Accord in the capital. 

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US Air Force planes twice struck so-called Islamic State terrorists in Libya at the weekend.

Yesterday, US drones hit an Al Shabaab training base in Somalia.

Africom spokesman Lieutenant Commander Anthony Falvo says the US drones killed more than 100 Al Shabaab fighters in the Bay region north west of the Somali capital Mogadishu.

He said in Libya the US planes straffed  so-called Islamic State position in Fuqaha.

The militants have seized control of ousted dictator Muammar Gadaffi’s capital of Sirte along the coast from Tripoli and imposed their strict fundamentalist law on the local population.

The strikes were carried out in collaboration with the Libyan government forces.

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The fighting started when armed  residents and forces from Misrata stormed the arsenal being held by the militia.

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It is not known exactly what caused the explosion in Garabulli.

Speculation is the militia inside realised they were trapped and took a suicide option.

Tripoli has only lately fallen under control of the internationally supported interim government.

In addition to the 29 people killed,  dozens were wounded in the explosion.

Further along the coastline, which has been completely blocked by military action, 34 members of pro-government forces have died  in the fight against the Islamic State group besieging the center of their stronghold of Sirte – birthplace of former dictator Muammar Gadaffi.

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