TRIPOLI: Gun battles between the two leading armed groups in Tripoli killed two people and forced the closure of the Libyan capital’s only civilian airport, officials said on Tuesday.

Libya has seen more than a decade of stop-start conflict since the 2011 Nato-backed revolt that toppled strongman Muammar Gaddafi, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers.

A period of relative stability had led the United Nations to express hope for delayed elections to take place this year, and the latest fighting triggered international calls for calm.

The clashes between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, erupted on Monday night and carried over into Tuesday, an interior ministry official said.

“Tensions arose” soon after it was announced “the Al Radaa Force had arrested the head of the 444 Brigade, without explaining whether this was on judicial orders or for other reasons”, the official said.

In May, the two sides had clashed for hours in Tripoli, also after the arrest of a 444 Brigade member. Both groups are aligned with the divided country’s UN-backed government of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli.

So far, two people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in the violence, a hospital source said, as the fighting showed no signs of abating.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said in a statement it was “following with concern” the security deterioration in the Libyan capital and its impact on civilians.

“All parties must preserve the security gains achieved in recent years and address differences through dialogue,” UNSMIL said.

The embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, France and the European Union echoed the UN call for de-escalation.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2023