At least 13 dead as militias clash in Libya capital

TRIPOLI: At least 13 people were killed and nearly 80 wounded in fierce clashes Friday between forces loyal to the UN- backed unity government and rival militiamen, the Health Ministry said.

A security official for the Government of National Accord (GNA) separately gave a toll of 23 loyalist forces killed and 29 wounded, but medical sources were not immediately available to confirm those figures.

The city has been gripped by a power struggle between dozens of militias since a NATO- backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.

Earlier, an official at a Tripoli hospital gave a “provisional” toll of five dead and several wounded, including civilians.

AFP journalists heard explosions and artillery fire as fighting broke out in the Abu Slim, Al-Hadhba and Salaheddin districts in the south of the city.

A militia loyal to the unity government, the Abu Slim Deterrence Force, said on its Facebook page that it lost five fighters.

UN envoy Martin Kobler issued an appeal for a halt to the fighting.

“Voices of reason should prevail for the benefit of the country,” he said. “Political aims must not be pursued through violence. Civilians must be protected.”

Witnesses said tanks had been deployed in the fighting.

British Ambassador Peter Millett tweeted that he could hear explosions and artillery in south Tripoli.

He condemned “action by these militias who threaten security” in the runup to Ramadan, which begins on Saturday in Libya.

Groups hostile to the GNA said they had attacked loyalist forces.

The fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as the headquarters of militias loyal to former Prime Minister Khalifa Ghweil.

Ghweil was ousted from power when the GNA took office in March 2016, and has refused to recognize the new administration.

Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital.

Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate — including several that support Ghweil.

The GNA has won the support of various militias since it took office in March last year, but several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.