Fresh clashes in Tripoli as toll from anti-militia protests rises

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE's Foreign Minister, condemns the violence and gives his support to the Libyan government as it tries to quell its latest crisis.

People carry a man who was injured when Libyan militiamen opened fire into a crowd of protesters in Tripoli on Friday. At least four more people were killed on Saturday as fighting in the Libyan capitShow more

TRIPOLI // Fresh clashes erupted in Tripoli on Saturday as the death toll from fighting sparked by an anti-militia protest rose to 47 and the weak, postrevolutionary government appealed for restraint.

More than 450 people were wounded when Friday’s protest sparked clashes in the capital between rival militias that continued through the night, the justice minister Salah Al Marghani said.

Ali Zeidan, the prime minister, appealed for “restraint and a halt to the clashes”, warning that the entry of more armed groups into the volatile city could only “further complicate the situation”.

“The coming hours and days will be decisive for the history of Libya and the success of the revolution,” said Mr Zeidan, who was himself abducted by militiamen and held for several hours last month.

The UAE yesterday condemned the violence and deplored the loss of lives. Sheikh Abdullah, the Foreign Minister, also expressed support for the Libyan government’s efforts to establish stability and security in the country, the Wam state news agency reported.

Libya has seen a surge in unrest as former rebels who helped end Muammar Qaddafi’s four decades of dictatorship have scoffed at government demands to lay down arms or join the security forces.

The latest violence erupted when protesters carrying white flags marched on a cluster of villas that serve as the Tripoli base of the Misurata brigade – made up of battle-hardened fighters from the western city of the same name – and demanded that they leave the capital.

Gunmen opened fire from inside the villas, killing several protesters and prompting rival militias to attack the base, setting part of it ablaze and briefly expelling the Misurata fighters.

Reinforcements rolled into the capital overnight from the militia’s headquarters in Misurata, 200 kilometres away, and retook the base in Ghargour as explosions and gunfire echoed across the city.

The Misurata brigade attacked an army barracks early on Saturday, setting off clashes in which one person was killed and eight wounded, according to Colonel Mosbah Al Harna, commander of a brigade nominally under the authority of the defence ministry.

A hospital official reported three more deaths in the raid.

Col Harna said the Misurata militiamen looted the base, taking away vehicles, weapons and ammunition.

Another column of Misurata reinforcements tried to enter Tripoli from the east, setting off clashes with rival militias.

Military police restricted access to the Gharghour district on Saturday, warning motorists of the risks.

“Heartbreaking to hear continuing gunfire. An insult to the memory of the martyrs,” the US ambassador Deborah Jones tweeted.

The United Nations mission in Tripoli also condemned the violence, urging Libyans to “exercise maximum restraint and resort to peaceful means to resolve their differences”.

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press