Powerful militias from the city of Misrata announced their support Thursday for Islamists in their battle against another armed group for control of the Libyan capital's international airport.

The fighting erupted on Sunday when Islamist gunmen launched an attack on the airport, which has for the past three years been held by liberal, anti-Islamist fighters from Zintan, southwest of the capital.

Libya's navy said it retrieved the bodies of three would-be migrants and rescued almost 100 others after their boat sank on Thursday.

"One of the migrants called us on a satellite telephone to tell us that their boat was about to sink off Garabulli," east of Tripoli, navy official Issa Zarruk told Agence France Presse.

Tripoli international airport came under rocket fire Wednesday for a fourth straight day, in attacks aimed at ousting anti-Islamist fighters who control the facility, a Libyan security official said.

"The airport was again targeted by mortar fire and rockets for several hours," the official said, asking not to be named.

Tripoli international airport came under rocket fire Wednesday for a fourth straight day, in attacks aimed at ousting anti-Islamist fighters who control the facility, a Libyan security official said.

"The airport was again targeted by mortar fire and rockets for several hours," the official said, asking not to be named.

Libya's government said on Tuesday it was considering calling for international forces to help restore security, as fighting between rival militias around Tripoli airport pushed the country closer to civil war.

With liberal and Islamist militias locked in a brutal power struggle, the country's main international airport, which was shut down on Sunday for security reasons, came under renewed attack late Monday.

Libya's government said on Tuesday it was considering calling for international forces to help re-establish security after deadly clashes closed Tripoli airport, severing air links with the outside world.

On Monday, the United Nations announced it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of the deteriorating security situation.

The Libyan government said Tuesday it was considering calling for international forces to help re-establish security, after a flare-up of violence in the capital Tripoli.

"The government is looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority," a government spokesman said in a statement.

The United Nations announced Monday it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of a deteriorating security situation, a day after deadly clashes closed the country's main airport.

"UNSMIL (United Nations Support Mission in Libya) temporarily withdrawing staff from Libya because of security situation," the mission, which already pulled out dozens of personnel last week, said in a statement.

Libya's neighbors called Monday for dialogue in the North African nation, which has been wracked by violence since the 2011 overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi that has intensified since a controversial June election.

The six governments agreed to set up twin commissions to broker talks and attempt to prevent any spillover of the unrest from the key oil producer, which remains awash with weapons from the NATO-backed uprising against the longtime dictator.

Deadly clashes raged Sunday around Libya's main international airport, closing in down, as Islamist militia attacked liberal rivals in their Tripoli bastion, in an intensifying power struggle.

Exchanges of fire with heavy weapons forced the closure of Tripoli airport, as foreign ministers from the North African nation's neighbors were to meet later in Tunisia to consider how to aid chaos-riddled Libya.