TRIPOLI : Libyan armed factions fought in the western outskirts of Tripoli late on Friday and early Saturday as forces aligned with Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's government further consolidated their control over the capital. Last week's fighting dislodged several groups that had aligned with Dbeibah's rival as prime minister - the former interior minister Fathi Bashagha who has been appointed by the eastern-based parliament to head a new government. Following last week's fighting, both Bashagha and Dbeibah have visited Turkey, which helped the now-divided western factions fight off an eastern assault in 2020. During last week's fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among groups that were repulsed from the outskirts of the capital. In the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara, a powerful faction that backed Dbeibah during last week's fighting took over a security headquarters.
