Deadly clashes shake Libya’s capital Tripoli, killing 23 and injuring 87
- Sustained fighting in Tripoli over the control of government would likely plunge Libya back into full-blown war after two years of comparative peace
- A months-long stand-off has pitted the Government of National Unity under Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah against a rival administration under Fathi Bashagha
Rival factions battled across Libya’s capital Tripoli on Saturday in the worst fighting there in two years as a months-long political stand-off burst into urban warfare that threatens to escalate into a wider conflict.
A health ministry source said 23 people were killed in Saturday’s fighting including 17 civilians. The ministry earlier said 87 people had been injured.
Sustained fighting in the city over the control of government would likely plunge Libya back into full-blown war after two years of comparative peace that brought an abortive political process aimed at holding national elections.
The stand-off for power in Libya has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah against a rival administration under Fathi Bashagha that is backed by the eastern-based parliament.
Forces aligned with Bashagha tried to take territory in Tripoli from several directions on Saturday, but his main military convoy turned back towards Misrata before reaching the capital, eyewitnesses said.
Dbeibah later posted a video online showing him visiting fighters in the city after clashes stopped.
Fighting had erupted overnight and intensified through the morning, with small-arms fire, heavy machine guns and mortars deployed in central areas. Columns of black smoke rose across the Tripoli skyline and shooting and blasts echoed in the air.