Libyan soldiers use artillery in Tripoli clashes

Two Libyan army units used heavy artillery in an exchange of fire overnight centering on a barracks in a densely populated area of southeast Tripoli, the military command said.

An attack early on Friday saw members of a security group set up by ex-Premier Fayez Al-Sarraj target Al-Tekbali barracks, the headquarters of the 444 Brigade, Tripoli military commander Abdelbaset Marouane said on Facebook.

The elite 444 Brigade posted on Facebook that one of its officers, Second Lt. Omrane Belgassem, was killed.

Brig. Gen. Marouane said in a video message that the security group attacked the barracks after midnight on his orders after 444 Brigade “ceased to obey military orders.”

The noise of heavy artillery in action was heard throughout the city from just after midnight and lasted until early on Friday morning.

Columns of smoke still hung in the air near the barracks after the fighting stopped, a resident of the heavily populated Salaheddine area in the suburbs said.

Presidential council chief and supreme army commander Mohamed Al-Manfi ordered “all forces which have clashed or are still clashing in Tripoli to immediately cease fire and return to their barracks without delay.”

Also using Facebook, he threatened those who fail to obey his orders with criminal prosecution and warned: “Further such incidents will no longer be tolerated.”

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in a statement expressed its “grave concern” about the clashes and urged all parties to “exercise maximum restraint.”

UNSMIL also called on “all relevant authorities to assume their responsibilities in ensuring the protection of civilians and in exercising control over their respective units.”