Death toll climbs to at least 50 as rival armed factions battle in Libya’s capital

THE DEATH toll from fighting between rival armed groups in Libya’s capital has climbed to at least 50 people, including civilians, as the UN mission steps up efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Fighting erupted last week when the Seventh Brigade, militias from Tarhouna, a town about 40 miles south of Tripoli, attacked southern neighbourhoods of the capital.

The Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigades and the Nawasi Brigade militias which support the Tripoli-based UN-backed government – have come to the city’s defence.

At least 138 people, including civilians, have since been wounded, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that overthrew ruler Muammar Gaddafi and led to his death.

The country is currently governed by rival authorities in Tripoli and the country’s east, each of which are backed by an array of militias. Other armed groups have carved out fiefdoms across the country, profiting from smuggling and extortion.

The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva fears for the impact of the fighting on migrants and internally displaced people.

Spokeswoman Liz Throssell said some of the nearly 8,000 arbitrarily detained migrants are trapped in detention centres in areas where fighting has taken place, without access to food or medical treatment. She said at least 21 civilians have been killed, including two women and two children, since August 26.

Yesterday the UN Refugee Agency called on parties to the fighting to “spare civilians and civilian infrastructure and allow safe passage for those seeking refuge in safer areas”.

The clashes have forced the UN-backed government to declare a state of emergency, saying the fighting is “an attempt to derail peaceful political transition”.

The government said it “could not remain silent over the attacks on Tripoli and its suburbs, which is a violation of security”.