According to the Libyan Center for Emergency Medicine, at least 55 people were killed and more than 100 others injured. This is the heaviest fighting in Tripoli since the beginning of the year. The facility did not explain how many civilians were among the victims. However, a spokesman said that around 230 families had had to leave their homes because of the fighting, which had also been taking place in residential areas of the capital Tripoli since Monday evening.
local head of government
On Wednesday it was mostly calm again. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaiba from the Tripoli-based government drove to the affected districts, also to get an idea of the damage.
The fighting broke out after a militia arrested the commander of the so-called 444th Brigade. This is allied with the Interior Ministry in Tripoli. Air traffic at the capital’s airport and classes at the university, near which the fighting took place, were temporarily suspended. Classes are scheduled to resume on Saturday.
Civil war for more than a decade
Civil war broke out in Libya in 2011 after the fall of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Countless militias are still struggling for power and influence in the oil-rich state. The conflict is additionally fueled by foreign states. Two hostile governments are currently fighting for power in the country. All diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully have so far failed.
haz/qu (dpa, afp)
Source: DW
