At least 12 dead in armed clashes on outskirts of Libyan capital

At least 12 people were killed and several others injured in armed clashes that broke out west of the Libyan capital, Al Hadath TV channel reports.

According to it, the clashes on the outskirts of Tripoli began after an attempt by an unknown armed group to assassinate commander of the 55th brigade Muammar al-Dawi, loyal to the Government of National Unity of Libya. According to the channel, al-Dawi was not injured.

The 55th Brigade operates on the western outskirts of Tripoli, including in the town of Az Zawiyat, located 40 km from the capital. Its commander is one of the influential military leaders in western Libya. None of the armed groups has yet claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on al-Dawi.

In late July, the leader of another strong Western group, Ramzi al-Lafaa, was killed in clashes in Tripoli. According to the Al Hadath, al-Dawi was blamed for his murder.

After the overthrow and assassination of the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya ceased to function as a single state. Over the past few years, there has been a standoff between the authorities in Tripoli in the west of the country and the authorities in the east, who were supported by the Libyan National Army.

In 2021, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva, under the auspices of the United Nations, elected a transitional executive authority to run the country until the general elections, which have not yet been held. Currently, there are two governments operating in Libya that do not recognize each other. The first one, supported by the United Nations and led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, is located in Tripoli. The second, under the leadership of Osama Hammad, was initially based in Benghazi, but later moved to Sirte.