Armed Clashes Leave 13 Dead and 30 Wounded in Libya

On Friday, the Government of National Unity (GUN), which is led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah from Tripoli, dismissed Interior Minister Khaled Mazen. This happened after a night of armed clashes that left at least 13 dead and 30 injured people.

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Dbeibah appointed Local Government Minister Badreddine Al Toumi to replace Mazen, who had held that post for 18 months.

"All the parties to the clashes are requested to immediately cease fire and return to their camps. The Attorney General and the Military Public Prosecutor must start an investigation immediately into the reasons for the clashes," the Presidency Council ordered.

"The GUN ministers of defense and interior must take the necessary procedures to secure the capital," it added.

"Clashes broke out late Thursday in the densely populated neighbourhood of Ain Zara, in eastern Tripoli, between the Rada force, one of the most powerful armed groups in the capital, and the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade. The clashes spread to other areas of the city in the early hours of Friday," the Middle East Eye outlet explained.

According to the EFE agency, clashes were triggered by the kidnapping of a colonel by the Presidential Guard, which thus responded to the arrest of one of its members. Subsequently, indiscriminate shelling and shooting spread in some areas of Tripoli, prompting emergency services to ask citizens to move away from balconies and windows.

Tensions in Libya have risen since February, when Parliament created a parallel government by appointing Fathi Bashaga as Prime Minister.