CAIRO: Clashes between two armed militias in the Libyan capital have left residents terrified and about a dozen people dead, officials said Saturday, the latest in a spate of violence in the North African country where lawlessness is rare.
Officials said heavy weapons were used in the clashes that lasted several hours, adding that clashes broke out on Friday in the Tajoura area east of Tripoli between the Rahba al-Durueh militia led by warlord Bashir Kalfallah, also known as al-Baqra, and another militia, al-Shahida Sabriyah.
The Ministry of Health, Ambulance and Emergency Services said at least nine people were killed and 16 injured in the hours-long clashes.
According to local media reports, the clashes stemmed from an assassination attempt on al-Bakra on Friday, which his militia blamed on al-Shahida Sabriyah.
The newly elected head of the Western National Council, Khaled al-Mesri, condemned the assassination attempt and called for an investigation to hold those responsible to account.
The warring parties are allied with Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah's government. A spokesman for the government did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.N. mission to Libya on Saturday condemned the clashes and the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas, and denounced the increased military presence in and around the capital.
“These clashes serve as a reminder of the urgent need to integrate the military and security apparatus and establish legitimate and accountable institutions,” the statement said. “They also highlight the urgent need to expedite an inclusive political process leading to credible elections.”
The violence has highlighted the fragility of war-torn Libya after a 2011 uprising turned into a civil war that overthrew and later killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Amid the chaos, militias have grown in wealth and power, especially in Tripoli and the west.
Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by armed groups and foreign governments. Currently, the Dbeibah government rules in Tripoli, while the eastern government is ruled by Prime Minister Osama Hamad.
While western Libya is controlled by a number of lawless militias allied with Dbeibah's government, the forces of powerful military leader Khalifa Haftar control the eastern and southern parts of the country.
Friday's militia infighting was the latest in a series of clashes between militias vying for influence in the country's west.
In May, militia clashes rocked the coastal city of Zawiya, trapping families in their homes and leaving at least one person dead and 22 wounded. And in August last year, 24-hour fighting between rival militias in Tripoli left at least 45 people dead.
The clashes in the capital came as Haftar's forces said they had deployed troops to southwestern Libya to protect its southern border. The deployment prompted militias in western Libya to mobilize, raising fears of a potential new war between eastern and western Libya.
The U.N. mission in Libya and Western embassies have expressed concern that the military action could erupt into an all-out war between Haftar's forces and Western-based militias, despite a ceasefire agreement four years ago that ended 14 months of war between the two sides.
“Such moves risk escalation and violent clashes and could jeopardize the 2020 ceasefire,” a joint statement from the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States said.
