Libya's Tripoli sees worst militias clashes in 2 years

Clashes continued for the second day among heavily-armed militias in the Libyan capital Tripoli, vying for power and control over the city, with one dislodging another in at least two posts, a five-star hotel and a barracks, in what appears to be the worst outbreak of violence the city has seen in two years.

Competing militias have chopped Tripoli up into fiefdoms and power centers after longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's ruler for 42 years, was ousted and killed in an uprising in 2011.

They maintain what observers describe as a "balance of terror."

Witnesses in Tripoli said today that gun battles rocked the southeastern Nasr Forest district and adjacent neighborhoods as residents were advised by a local emergency body affiliated with the Interior Ministry to remain home and away from windows.
 

The clashes started yesterday and have reportedly killed at least eight, according to state news agency LANA.

During a lull in the violence late last night, panicked residents could be seen lining up outside gas stations to stock up on fuel.

In a statement today, UN Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler called for halt to the fighting, saying he is "extremely alarmed."

"It's completely unacceptable for armed groups to fight to assert their interest and control, particularly in residential areas, terrorizing the population," he said.

Reached by phone, a female resident in Tripoli told The Associated Press that families had locked themselves in their homes.

"We haven't slept all night and we haven't left the house since yesterday. All we are hearing is screaming, bombings and gunfire," she said, "the security situation is going from bad to worse."

"We just want the militias to leave," she pleaded.

The UN-brokered unity government has not commented ongoing fighting and, given the fluidity of the situation, it remains to be seen whether the victors of the clashes will back the internationally-recognized body.

"This is a struggle over power. Each of the warring parties has its political and ideological agendas," said Sami al-Atrash, a Tripoli resident and a legal expert. "The clashes are belated. They expected at any moment and finally happened," he said.