CAIRO: Clashes between two heavily armed militia groups in Libya's capital have terrorized residents and killed around a dozen people, the latest violence in the North African country that has not according to the law, the official said on Saturday.
The hours-long clash, which included heavy weapons, took place on Friday in the eastern part of Tripoli in Tajoura between the Rahba Al-Duruae militia, which is led by the fighter Bashir Khalfallah – known under the name of Al-Baqrah — and another militia Al-Shahida Sabriya, to help the officials.
The Health Ministry's Ambulance and Emergency Services said at least nine people were killed and 16 others injured in the hours-long clash.
The clashes stemmed from an assassination attempt in Al-Baqrah on Friday, which its militia blamed on Al-Shahida Sabriya, according to local media reports.
Khaled Al-Meshry, the newly elected president of the Western-based Supreme Council, condemned the assassination attempt and called for an investigation to hold those responsible.
The warring parties are allies of the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The UN mission in Libya on Saturday deplored the conflict, the use of heavy weapons in populated areas and the military buildup in and around the capital.
“These clashes are a reminder of the great need to unite arms and security, to build legal and responsible institutions,” he said in a statement. “They also stress that there is an urgent need to speed up the integrated political process towards credible elections.”
The violence underscored the fragility of war-torn Libya after an uprising turned civil war in 2011, which toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Amidst the chaos, militias have grown in wealth and power, especially in Tripoli and the western part of the country.
Libya has been divided for years between rival regimes in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. It is currently run by the government of Dbeibah in Tripoli and the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.
Western Libya is controlled by a group of lawless militias with the government of Dbeibah, while the forces of Khalifa Haftar control the east and south of the country.
Friday's clash between militias is the latest in a series of clashes between militias vying for power in the west of the country.
In May, militia clashes rocked the coastal town of Zawiya, trapping families from their homes, killing at least one person and injuring 22 others. And in August last year, a 24-hour battle between rival militias in Tripoli left at least 45 dead.
The clashes in the capital came as Haftar's forces said they had sent troops to the southwest to secure Libya's southern border. The deployment prompted militias in western Libya to mobilize amid growing fears of a new war between eastern and western Libya.
The United Nations and Western embassies in Libya have expressed concern that military operations could erupt into full-scale war between Haftar's forces and Western militias, four years after a ceasefire agreement. a battle that ended a 14-month war between the two sides. side.
“Such actions could escalate into violent conflict and threaten the 2020 ceasefire,” said a joint statement by the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US.
