CAIRO: Clashes between two heavily armed militia groups in Libya's capital terrorized residents and left around a dozen people dead, the latest outbreak of violence in the largely lawless North African nation, officials said Saturday.
Hours-long clashes, which included heavy weapons, broke out on Friday in Tajoura, an eastern neighbor of Tripoli, between the Rahba al-Duraoue militia, led by Bashir Khalfallah, a fighter known as al-Baqrah – and another militia, al-Shahida Sabria. Officials added.
The Ministry of Health's ambulance and emergency services said at least nine people were killed and 16 others injured in the hours-long clash.
The clashes on Friday stemmed from an assassination attempt on al-Bakrah, which his militia blamed on al-Shahida Sabria, according to local media reports.
The newly elected head of the Western High Council, Khalid al-Mesri, condemned the assassination attempt and called for an investigation to hold those responsible accountable.
The warring parties are aligned with the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dabeh. Its spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The UN mission in Libya condemned Saturday's clashes, the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas and the military build-up in and around the capital.
“These clashes serve as a reminder of the critical need to unify the military and security apparatus, establish legitimate and accountable institutions,” it said in a statement. “They also stressed the urgent need to accelerate an inclusive political process leading to credible elections.”
The violence underscored the fragility of war-torn Libya since the 2011 coup-transformation civil war, which later killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Amid the chaos, militias grew in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the western part of the country.
Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Currently, it is governed by Dabebah's government in Tripoli and Prime Minister Osama Hammad's administration in the east.
Western Libya is controlled by a series of lawless militias allied with the government of Dbeibah, while the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar control the east and south of the country.
Friday's militia clash was the latest in a series of clashes between militias vying for influence in the west of the country.
In May, militia clashes rocked the coastal city of Zawiya, trapping families inside their homes, killing at least one person and injuring 22 others. And in August last year, at least 45 people were killed in a 24-hour battle between rival militias in Tripoli.
The clashes in the capital came as Haftar's forces said they were deploying troops to the southwestern region to secure Libya's southern border. The deployment prompted militias in western Libya to mobilize amid growing concerns of a possible new war between east and west Libya.
The United Nations mission and Western embassies in Libya expressed their concern that the military movement could explode into an all-out war between Haftar's forces and Western-based militias, four years after a ceasefire agreement ended a 14-month war between the two. aspects.
“Such movements risk escalating and violent confrontations and could jeopardize the 2020 ceasefire,” said a joint statement issued by the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US.
