At least 32 people have died and more than 100 have been hospitalized in the intense fighting that rival militias have waged in the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli since Friday night, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday.
The clashes calmed down this Sunday after the forces in support of the Government of National Unity (GUN), based in Tripoli, pushed back those loyal to the parallel prime minister, Fathi Bashaga, after one of the most violent days for the new political division.
The center of Tripoli this Saturday became a battlefield that forced the evacuation of dozens of families from residential areas; and hospitals and civilian buildings were damaged by heavy fighting with heavy weapons.
Medical services confirmed the death of the young Libyan comedian, known on social networks, Mustafa Baraka, while he was making a live broadcast of the clashes.
This violent episode began on Friday night with fighting in Tripoli between the forces of Haitham Tajouri (pro-Bashagha) and those of Imad Trabelsi (loyal to the GUN), joined by other militias from both sides, which intensified the clashes. which, in turn, spread outside the capital.
Bashaga, appointed in February by Parliament - controlled by Marshal Khalifa Haftar - as parallel prime minister to Abdulhamid Dbeiba of the GUN, has so far tried unsuccessfully to enforce his control by entering the capital.
In the city of Zliten, between Tripoli and Misrata, GUN forces attacked a convoy of militia loyal to Bashaga apparently headed for Tripoli.
The appearance of two simultaneous administrations has increased instability in Libya, which has already experienced two civil wars since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, due to successive power struggles.
The international community expressed its concern about the growing military tension that the political blockade is generating and calls for elections to be held as soon as possible to unblock the situation.
Dbeiba and Bashaga have also called for an electoral call as they struggle to legitimize their power, with the support of militias and armed groups that are involved in intermittent violent clashes.
