Shootout erupts at Tripoli foreign worker compound

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A shootout involving members of one of Libya's heavily armed militias broke out at a Tripoli gated compound used by foreign workers late on Monday, witnesses said, highlighting security risks persisting in post-war Libya.

A group of around 20 men from the Libyan town of Misrata began firing guns when they were refused entry into "Palm City," a complex of luxury villas and flats on the outskirts of Tripoli, two witnesses said.

Two Libyan guards were injured when the 30-minute fight broke out at the front gate, one witness said.

The incident was the latest in a series of cases where militias who fought for months to oust Gaddafi, and now roam Libyan cities in armored pick-up trucks, have used their weapons to try to get their own way.

Monday night's attack was the first time foreigners have been caught up in the violence, and it is likely to make foreign companies and governments - whose help Libya needs for its economy to function - even more reluctant to send in staff.

The militia group from Misrata had previously stayed at the residence but were not allowed back in, a witness said. The housing is used by many U.N. and oil workers.

"I was in my room when I heard shooting," the witness said. "They were using rifles and heavy machine guns."

A Reuters reporter was refused entry into the complex but could see bullet holes on the walls of the building closest to the entrance gate, as well as on a glass door of a balcony on the ground floor. Bullet shells lay scattered outside.

Managers of the complex was not immediately reachable for comment.

A European worker, who declined to be named, said he was in the compound when the shooting broke out. "I was on the phone ... and I could hear the gunshots," he said. "They didn't know what was going on."

Three months after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted from Tripoli, post-war Libya is still grappling with a lack of order and bristling with weapons.

Prime Minister designate Abdurrahim El-Keib will announce his new government on Tuesday, which will have the tough task of asserting its control of a fractured country, building institutions from scratch and disarming militias.

Celebratory gun shots can still be heard sporadically across Tripoli and late on Monday anti-aircraft fire could be briefly heard in the city.

Armed militias are acting as a pseudo-police force: setting up road checkpoints, directing traffic and arresting those they regard as criminals.

Earlier this month, heavy fighting between local armed groups killed several people on the outskirts of Tripoli.

(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Andrew Heavens)