5 killed as rival militias clash in Libya’s Zawiya

By Moataz Wanees
TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Five people were killed in clashes between rival militias in Libya’s western city of Zawiya, according to the Health Ministry on Monday.

“Two children were among the victims, while more than 16 people were injured,” Osama Ali, a spokesman for the ministry’s Emergency and Ambulance Service, told Anadolu Agency.

Local sources said the violence, which first erupted on Saturday, came to a halt on Monday after a cease-fire between the fighting militias.

At least 32 people were killed and dozens injured last month in clashes between rival militias in the capital Tripoli.

Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.

The situation has escalated in the country since March when East Libya-based Parliament appointed a new government led by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, but Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, leader of the Tripoli-based National Unity Government, insists he will cede authority only to a government that comes through an "elected parliament," raising fears that Libya could slip back into a civil war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar