Intense fighting erupted in the Libyan capital overnight and lasted into Saturday morning, with the country’s rival governments exchanging accusations over the deadly violence.
A medical source told The Libya Update that at least four people were killed and at a dozen wounded so far as militias are battling to take over control of the capital.
The violence was the latest escalation to threaten the relative peace after nearly a decade of civil war in Libya, where two rival sets of authorities are locked in a political stalemate.
The rivalry over Libya’s leadership between the two began when 60-year-old Fathi Bashagha was selected by the House of Representatives to lead the country as interim premier last February, thus effectively terminating the legislative legitimacy of his 63-year-old rival Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh whose government failed to hold national elections in December 2021 as per the U.N.-led peace plan.
The government of Dbeibeh, who refused to relinquish power and remains recognized as the country’s leader by the international community, condemned the clashes and accusing Bashagha-backed forces of initiating hostilities.
In a statement released via its official Facebook page, the Dbeibeh government said it deplores “treachery and betrayal” by Bashagha, claiming that both sides were engaging in “negotiations to spare the capital the bloodshed” before the latter “evaded” talks.
On the other hand, Bashagha’s media office released a statement as a response, in which it denied that Bashagha refused to negotiate with Dbeibeh as claimed by the latter’s government.
“For 6 months, Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha has welcomed local and international initiatives to resolve the crisis of peaceful transition of power,” reads the statement by Bashagha’s media office.
A spokesman for the ambulance and emergency services in Tripoli, Osama Ali, held parties involved in the clashes responsible for the safety of civilians. He called on those involved to cease all violence.