A new round of clashes between rival militias in Libya's capital left at least five people dead, the country's health ministry said, without specifying whether the casualties were civilians or fighters.

The Health Ministry’s Injured Persons' Affairs Department said on Wednesday that the number of casualties is expected to increase, as fierce clashes in Tripoli are ongoing, the Libya Observer news website reported.

Hours before the fighting reached its peak, the United Nations' mission in Libya warned against fresh violence in the capital as tensions rose between rival militias despite a September ceasefire deal.

That agreement had provided a brief respite from deadly clashes in Tripoli, where at least 117 people were killed and hundreds more injured in that last round of violence.

"The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly condemns the recent military mobilisation of forces in southern Tripoli and is monitoring the situation closely," the UN said in a statement, warning parties "against any breach of the ceasefire agreement".

UNSMIL strongly condemns the recent military mobilisation of forces in southern #Tripoli & warns parties against any breach of the ceasefire agreement, compromising stability in the capital & endangering lives of civilians & their properties. https://t.co/cUnkY2wctv pic.twitter.com/QFJg6mizUl — UNSMIL (@UNSMILibya) January 16, 2019

Fierce battles between militias from the capital and other areas in the west of the country rocked Tripoli between the end of August and early September, when the UN-brokered truce deal came into effect.

On Wednesday, witnesses reported sporadic shooting and road closures after the Tripoli Protection Force alliance warned on Facebook it would "repel an attack" by a rival group that had failed to withdraw from the capital.

The Seventh Brigade militia, from the town of Tarhuna, about 60km from the capital, has maintained its positions in Tripoli since the ceasefire agreement.

The UN said that "any party initiating a confrontation will be held fully responsible" and said it "will take action as necessary" to halt any violence.

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Libya has been torn between rival administrations and a myriad of militias since the overthrow and killing of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The main armed groups in Tripoli say they are loyal to the internationally backed Government of National Accord (GNA), but officials have struggled to exert real control over the fighters.

The GNA announced security reforms in the wake of the bloodshed last year, aimed at curbing the power of militias in the capital.

A second administration in the east of Libya is backed by Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army.

The UN is pushing for elections to help stabilise Libya, but chronic violence has delayed plans for a vote.</s>Clashes broke out early Wednesday morning between two rival militias in the south border of Libya’s capital Tripoli.The armed clashes took place between Tripoli protection force which belongs to the UN backed government and the seventh brigade militia which attacked the capital 3 months ago.

The 7th brigade moved Tarhuna city south of Tripoli .an positioned in the area of Gasar Ben Gasher an outskirt of the capital.

Tripoli protection force had to fight the brigade which failed to comply with orders to withdraw from the area and began fighting according to Tripoli protection force statement.

The spokesman of the injury affairs at the health ministry Malek Mersi’t said that one was killed and 17 others were wounded in the clashes.

The UN mission in Libya warned from breaking the ceasefire and the held party who initiated the fighting to responsible.</s>Libyan authorities said Wednesday that fighting between rival armed groups in the capital of Tripoli has flared up again, four months after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire.

Malek Merset, spokesman for the Tripoli-based Health Ministry, said at least five people were killed and 20 others wounded Wednesday.

A previous round of fighting, which erupted in August last year, killed at least 96 people, including civilians. The U.N. mission has warned against any breach of the cease-fire, brokered in September.

The fighting between militias allied to the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and an armed group from a nearby town underscores Libya's lingering lawlessness since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi.

Libya is governed by rival authorities in Tripoli and the country's east, each of which is backed by an array of militias.</s>TRIPOLI: The UN's Libya mission warned against clashes in the country's capital on Wednesday as tensions rose between rival militias, four months after clashes that leftover 100 people dead. "The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly condemns the recent military mobilisation of forces in southern Tripoli and is monitoring the situation closely," it said in a statement.

"UNSMIL warns parties against any breach of the ceasefire agreement concluded on 04 and 09 September 2018."

Fierce battles between militias from the capital and from other areas in the west of the country rocked Tripoli between the end of August and early September, leaving at least 117 dead and hundreds wounded. Though the UN brokered the September truce deal that helped end the violence, witnesses reported sporadic shooting and road closures on Wednesday after the Tripoli Protection Force alliance warned on Facebook it would "repel an attack" by a rival group that had failed to withdraw from the capital.

The Seventh Brigade militia, from the town of Tarhuna, has maintained its positions in Tripoli since the ceasefire agreement. The UN said that 'any party initiating a confrontation will be held fully responsible' and insisted it 'will take action as necessary' to halt any violence.

Libya has been torn between rival administrations and a myriad of militias since the overthrow and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The main armed groups in Tripoli say they are loyal to the internationally backed Government of National Accord (GNA), but officials have struggled to exert real control over the fighters. The GNA announced security reforms in the wake of the bloodshed last year, aimed at curbing the power of militias in the capital.

A second administration in the east of Libya is backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar and his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army. The UN is pushing for elections to help stabilise Libya, but chronic violence has delayed plans for a vote.</s>At least two people have been killed in clashes between rival militias in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

The fighting on Wednesday violated a UN-brokered ceasefire which was signed four months ago.

"The clashes resulted in two killed and 17 wounded from both civilians and fighters," Tripoli health department official Malik Marsit told Reuters news agency.

The groups involved in the clashes are known as the Seventh Brigade, or Kaniyat, and a collection of factions called Tripoli Protection Force.

The Seventh Brigade and some allied groups triggered the August fighting in a bid to challenge the dominance of four "super militias", including the Tripoli Protection Force, in the streets of the capital.

The UN mission in Libya condemned the renewed fighting in an official statement on Twitter, adding that it "warns parties against any breach of the ceasefire agreement, compromising stability in the capital & endangering lives of civilians & their properties".

"The mission stresses that any party initiating a confrontation will be held fully responsible," it added.

The internationally recognised government in Tripoli, backed by the United Nations, has been working on a new security plan since the ceasefire deal but achieved little as Libya, long a major oil producer, lacks a national police force or army.

During the clashes in September, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described the situation in the north African country as "desperate", with the fighting, collapsed economy and destruction of infrastructure leaving hundreds of thousands of people "increasingly vulnerable".

"Seven years of war in Libya has driven over 500,000 people to flee their homes," the ICRC said in a tweet.

"For Libyans trying to return home, there's not always much to return to. Houses, schools are often destroyed completely."

The group also cited the sabotaging of health facilities, water and electricity supplies, as well as the dangers of unexploded remnants.</s>Two days of clashes between rival militias near Libya's capital Tripoli have left 10 people dead and 41 wounded, the health ministry said Thursday.

Fighting between armed groups erupted Wednesday despite a truce deal four months ago that had halted deadly battles in the city.

A medical source told AFP that fierce clashes hit an area some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Tripoli on Thursday, after fighting around an airport 25 kilometres from the capital the previous day.

The violence has pitted the Tripoli Protection Force, an alliance of militias from the city, against the Seventh Brigade group from the town of Tarhuna.

The health ministry said that there were women and children among the wounded.

Tripoli was plagued by militia clashes that killed at least 117 people and wounded more than 400 between late August and late September.

The United Nations mission in Libya on Wednesday condemned a "military mobilisation" in southern Tripoli and warned groups not to break a ceasefire agreement it brokered in September.

The Seventh Brigade has maintained its positions around Tripoli since the accord was reached, a move that has angered rival militias.

Libya has been torn between rival administrations and a myriad of militias since the overthrow and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The main armed groups in Tripoli say they are loyal to the internationally backed Government of National Accord (GNA), but officials have struggled to exert real control over the fighters.

The GNA announced security reforms in the wake of the bloodshed last year, aimed at curbing the power of militias in the capital.

A rival administration in the east of Libya is backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar and his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.

The UN is pushing for elections to help stabilise Libya, but chronic violence has delayed plans for the vote.</s>TRIPOLI: The death toll from clashes between rival militias in the Libyan capital Tripoli has risen to 10 killed and 41 wounded, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Fighting broke out this week between rival armed groups in the south of the capital, breaching a shaky ceasefire brokered by the United Nations in September which had ended four weeks of violence.

The ministry said women and children were also among the casualties.

Two residents told Reuters by phone that heavy gunfire had not ceased for 72 hours in Tripoli's southern suburb of Qaser Bin Ghashir, location of city's international airport which was destroyed in a previous bout of clashes in 2014.

The most recent fighting broke out between a coalition of Tripoli militias, known as the Tripoli Protection Force (TPF), and the 7th Brigade, or Kaniyat, from Tarhouna, a town 65 km (45 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

The Force said in a statement that it controlled Qaser Bin Qashir, posting on the internet pictures of masked fighters and armoured vehicles in the streets of the area.

Reuters was not able to verify this independently.

The 7th Brigade and some allied groups triggered the fighting last August in a bid to challenge the dominance of four “super militias”, including the Tripoli Protection Force, in the streets of the capital.

The internationally-recognised government in Tripoli, backed by the United Nations, has been working on a new security plan since the September ceasefire deal but achieved little.

Libya's streets have been controlled by armed groups since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 rebellion backed by NATO air strikes. The country now has competing governments operating in the east and west.</s>TRIPOLI: Rival militias clashed in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday and at least two people were killed, medics said, splintering a four-month-old, U.N.-brokered ceasefire.

Armoured vehicles could be seen in southern Tripoli where militia groups had fought for a month until September, part of the widespread factional conflict plaguing Libya since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

A United Nations-engineered ceasefire agreed then had managed to hold for the most part until now.

But on Wednesday a militia known as the 7th Brigade, or Kaniyat, and a collection of factions called Tripoli Protection Force fell back into fighting in the same southern district.

"The clashes resulted in two killed and 17 wounded from both civilians and fighters," Tripoli health department official Malik Marsit said. Some casualties had not yet been accounted for due to lack of safe access to the area, he added.

The 7th Brigade and some allied groups triggered the August fighting in a bid to challenge the dominance of four "super militias", including the Tripoli Protection Force, in the streets of the capital.

The U.N. mission in Libya warned in a statement against any breach of the ceasefire deal. "Any party initiating a confrontation will be held fully responsible," it said.

The internationally-recognised government in Tripoli, backed by the United Nations, has been working on a new security plan since the ceasefire deal but achieved little as Libya, long a major oil producer, lacks a national police force or army.</s>(Geneva) – Unaccountable and violent armed groups maintain a stranglehold on Libya, while civilians pay the price in the divided country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. Libyan authorities should prioritize justice sector reform and establishing accountability, particularly for members of armed groups.

Seven years after the end of the 2011 revolution in Libya that ended the rule of the strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has two competing governments that have been unable to reconcile. They contest control over territory, institutions and resources, while armed groups linked with them unlawfully kill, forcibly disappear, torture, and arbitrarily detain people and have . Government-aligned forces and militias have kept thousands of in detention centers where conditions are inhumane and physical abuse is routine.

“Militias have been terrorizing both Libyans and migrants while no authority dares stand up to them and hold them to account,” said , senior Libya researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Until this changes, prospects remain dim for holding free and fair elections.”

In the 674-page World Report 2019, its 29th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth says that the populists spreading hatred and intolerance in many countries are spawning a resistance. New alliances of rights-respecting governments, often prompted and joined by civic groups and the public, are raising the cost of autocratic excess. Their successes illustrate the possibility of defending human rights – indeed, the responsibility to do so – even in darker times.

Protracted armed conflicts have hobbled key institutions in Libya, such as the judiciary, which functions only partially due to threats, harassment and attacks against judges, lawyers and prosecutors by militias. Where courts function, there are serious due process violations. In August, in one example, a Tripoli court sentenced in one mass trial to death and 54 others to five years in prison for the killing of protesters in 2011 despite allegations of serious due process violations.

Despite a mandate to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Libya since 2011, the International Criminal Court has only issued one arrest warrant since 2011, against a affiliated with the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces, allied with one of the competing governments, who remains at large.

As a result of the conflicts, 200,000 people remain internally displaced. Thousands of families who since 2014, and since May 2018 are unable to return to their homes or to reclaim their properties and livelihoods for fear of reprisals by LNA-linked groups who accuse them of supporting terrorism. Representatives from the cities of Misrata and Tawergha signed a peace accord in June that should have paved the way for the return of 48,000 people . But, only a few hundred have returned, due to the massive destruction and looting and ongoing security concerns and fear of reprisals.

Clashes between Tebu and Arab local militias in the south between February and June killed scores of civilians. In September, between rival militias in Tripoli left more than 100 people dead, including many civilians, according to the United Nations.

Although the extremist group Islamic State (ISIS) has controlled no territory in Libya since its ouster from Sirte in December 2016, it staged several deadly attacks that targeted civilians. In May, ISIS claimed an attack in Tripoli on the High National Elections Commission that resulted in the deaths of 12 people, some of them civilians.

Militias and government aligned armed groups . Journalists reported that the Government of National Accord, the internationally recognized government, imposed restrictive measures against international journalists and TV networks, including by imposing government minders during visits to Libya and limiting access to officials and institutions, as well as migrant detention centers.</s>Libya is living in worried anticipation of whether clashes will renew as forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar made a recent move in the country's south with the claim of protecting the oil fields and combating Daesh extremists.

Haftar, who has been leading the Libyan National Army (LNA), based in Benghazi is not recognized by the international community, as the elected parliament of the country is centered in Tripoli. However, Haftar, with financial and political support from certain countries, including the Gulf, has appeared as a primary actor in the war-torn country. The dispute between Benghazi and Tripoli resulted in a United Nations mediated cease-fire four months ago. However, the cease-fire has been violated after recent developments.

At least five people were killed in new fighting between rival militias on Wednesday. According to the first statement of the Ministry of Health in Tripoli, five people were killed, and 20 others wounded in these clashes. The fighting resumed despite a warning from the U.N. mission in Libya that warned of any violation of the September truce agreement. Between late August and early September, fighting between armed groups from other western Libyan cities and Tripoli militias left at least 117 people dead and more than 400 wounded. The violence stopped after the cease-fire. But a militia from the town of Tarhouna, called the "7th Brigade," has held its positions. On its Facebook page, the Tarhouna or Tripoli Protection Force, an alliance of the main Tripoli militias, said it intended to "repel the attack of the attacking groups" because the latter "failed to respect their commitment to withdraw outside the borders of the military zone of Tripoli."

The rival militias are engaged in a struggle of influence for the capital and control the major institutions and wealth of the country, which plunged into chaos since the ouster of former President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The militias in Tripoli claim to be loyal to the national unity government in Tripoli but the government's authority over the militias seems to be limited.

The spokesman of the army of the unrecognized Haftar administration, Ahmed Al-Mismari said the order came from Haftar for "securing and protecting the residents from terrorists and criminal groups."

"The operation is going to protect the people from the terrorists and criminals who work for foreign parties to change the topography of Libya and its identity," his statement read.

The clashes are worrying as the country aims to agree on a constitution through organizing a referendum as soon as possible. Following the referendum, elections are planned. These attempts aim to erase the division within the country and unify warring groups under a parliament and a government.

The U.N. hopes that Libya will hold its national elections in June after the organization of a referendum on a constitutional framework. The Libyan High National Electoral Commission said last month that it could hold a referendum in February if the U.N. backs and supports them.
Five people are killed and twenty are wounded in clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, breaking several months of relative peace.