TRIPOLI: Clashes raged on Monday on the outskirts of Libya’s capital Tripoli trapping residents indoors and hampering rescue efforts, as the UN called for talks after more than a week of deadly violence.

Fighting since Aug 27 between rival militias in the southern suburbs has killed at least 47 people and wounded 129 others, most of them civilians, according to an updated toll put out by the health ministry Sunday night.

Following a failed ceasefire on Friday, the United Nations Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) invited the “various Libyan parties” to Tuesday talks for an “urgent dialogue on the current security situation in Tripoli”.

UNSMIL did not give further information on the guest list, but analysts said the chaos of changing alliances on the ground made it difficult to predict who would be at the table. “The situation is too fluid and the alliances are still volatile and changing,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert at the University of Paris 8.

The Libyan capital has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since the ouster and killing of dictator Muammar Qadhafi in 2011.

Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNA) on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Tripoli and its surroundings, as the violence cast doubt on general elections set for the end of the year. The clashes initially pitted GNA-linked groups in the capital against the so-called 7th Brigade, a militia from the town of Tarhuna southeast of Tripoli the GNA says it presented with orders in April to disband.

In statements and videos, the 7th Brigade has claimed to be the true “army” and said it is carrying out an “operation to liberate Tripoli” from militias.

Since the fighting broke out, other armed groups championing the same cause as the 7th Brigade have been drawn into the clashes against pro-GNA security forces.

As clashes spiralled last week, the GNA called in an armed group from Zintan, 170kms southwest of Tripoli, to help guard against a security vacuum in capital’s west.

On Sunday, it also called up the “anti-terrorist brigade” to intervene between the rival camps. But by calling other militias into Tripoli, some analysts believe the GNA is playing with fire.

“The entry of more armed groups into the capital can only exacerbate the situation,” a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2018