Fresh Clashes Erupt in Libya's Tripoli

2018-08-29 20:20:36
Editor: Shi Yinglun

TRIPOLI, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Fresh clashes erupted on Wednesday in the south of Tripoli between forces of the UN-backed government and militias from the nearby city of Tarhuna, some 80 km southeast of the capital.

"Our forces used heavy weapons and attacked a number of sites in Qasr Ben Ghashir area, the southern outskirts of Tripoli. We want to restore the sites controlled by the Seventh Brigade gunmen of Tarhuna," a source of the joint security chamber told Xinhua,

The clashes have continued since the morning, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in the day, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) warned against military actions in Tripoli.

Southern Tripoli has been witnessing violent clashes between government forces and armed militias over the past few days, killing at least five and injuring 33 others, according to the Ministry of Health.

Interior Minister Abdulsalam Ashour told a local TV channel on Monday that a cease-fire agreement in Tripoli had been reached.

Witnesses, however, said gun firing could still be heard in southern Tripoli occasionally, even after the cease-fire announcement.