At least 28 dead as militias clash in Tripoli

TRIPOLI: At least 28 people were killed and nearly 130 wounded in fierce clashes in the Libyan capital Friday between forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government and rival militiamen, the health ministry said.

Tripoli has been gripped by a power struggle between dozens of militias since a Nato-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Health ministry spokesman Anwar Frajallah gave a provisional toll of 28 dead and 128 wounded but could not say if they included any civilians.

Hashem Bishr, a security official for the Government of National Accord (GNA), separately gave a toll of 23 loyalist forces killed and more than 29 wounded.

Medical sources were not immediately available to confirm the figures.

In the south of Tripoli, an armed group loyal to the GNA seized a prison holding senior officials of the Gaddafi regime, a judicial source said.

Guards at al-Hadhba jail were forced to withdraw after the attack, said the source who requested anonymity, adding that two guards were killed.

By late Friday the GNA interior and justice ministries said in a joint statement that all the prisoners had been handed over to them and were ‘in good health’.

More than 30 senior figures of the toppled regime were held in the prison, including Gaddafi’s last prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi and his former intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi.

Both were condemned to death in 2015. — AFP