Two days after the Tripoli airport was hit by a rocket, the UN-backed government announced a state of emergency in the city as the death toll from fighting in recent days reached 39, including civilians caught in the crossfire. The fighting erupted last week between armed groups from Tripoli against others from a town to the south vying for power in Libya’s capital. Sunday’s statement by the government urged rival militias to stop the fighting and abide by a U.N.-brokered ceasefire. Rival armed groups have killed at least 18 civilians, including four children, since clashes broke out in the southern suburbs of Tripoli on August 26, 2018, Human Rights Watch said. Libya is currently governed by rival authorities, the GNA, based in Tripoli and another one based in the east and backed by the House of Representatives.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 02, 2018 23:37 UTC