Libya: Death toll from Tripoli clashes rises to 55

Smoke billows amid clashes between armed groups affiliated with Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) in the Libyan capital on August 15, 2023 [MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images]

The death toll from armed clashes in the Libyan capital of Tripoli that erupted late on Monday has risen to 55, officials said on Wednesday, Anadolu news agency reported.

The Emergency Medicine and Support Centre said 146 people were also injured in the fighting between the Special Deterrence Force affiliated with the Presidential Council and the 444th Brigade of the National Unity Government.

“The centre’s crews were able to evacuate 234 families from the areas of the clashes,” it said.

The clashes erupted after Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the 444th Brigade, was arrested by the Special Deterrence Force at the Mitiga International Airport.

Mohamed Hammouda, spokesman for the National Unity Government, told Anadolu earlier that Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh had agreed with local figures in the Souq Al-Jumaa area to a ceasefire by handing over the commander to a neutral party.

OPINION: Tripoli latest clashes: triggers and potential consequences

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