The hostilities took place in Warsaw, a district in the western part of Tripoli where fighting has erupted repeatedly in the 11 years of violence and chaos since the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in the wake of the uprising backed by NATO member states.
Armed factions were involved in fighting in a western suburb of Tripoli on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday, as forces close to the government of Abdulhamid al-Dabaiba sought to further consolidate their control of the Libyan capital.
The hostilities took place in Warsaw, a district in the western part of Tripoli where fighting has erupted repeatedly in the 11 years of violence and chaos since the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in the wake of the uprising backed by NATO member states.
The hostilities, as well as the seizure by a paramilitary group close to the Dubai government of a military installation in a southern sector of Tripoli, were reported a week after the deadliest incidents of the past two years involving various armed groups in and around the Libyan capital.
Last week’s fighting, which left 32 dead and 159 wounded according to the health ministry, pushed back factions supporting Mr Dbayba’s rival, former interior minister Fathi Batsaga, who was named the new prime minister by the eastern Libya-based parliament. .
The showdown between the two men has been going on for months. Political forces in eastern Libya, especially Marshal Khalifa Haftar, side with Mr. Batsaga. The armed forces that control Tripoli and northwestern Libya are divided.
After last week’s fighting, both Mr Batsaga and Mr Dbayba visited Turkey, the country that had helped western Libyan factions repel an onslaught by Mr Haftar’s forces in 2020.
Turkey maintains a military presence in Tripoli and deployed UAVs, which could play a decisive role in any conflict if Ankara chooses sides.
Last week — according to unconfirmed reports — drones were used against pro-Mr Batsaga groups.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Libya have reached an impasse. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday named a new special envoy for Libya, but with the Security Council divided, it remains unclear how much influence Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Batili will have.
In the battles from Friday to Saturday, an eyewitness reported that mortars were used. No casualties have been reported so far.
Last week, a faction close to Mr Batsaga based in Zawiya was said to have been pushed out of the capital’s suburbs.
In the Ain Zara district, in the southern part of Tripoli, a faction that sided with Mr Dbayba in last week’s clashes seized a military headquarters. Fighters and vehicles with its insignia were guarding the facility yesterday morning and had set up checkpoints around it.
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