News / North Africa

Two days of clashes kill 14 in eastern Libya

Saturday, 19 December 2015 2:39 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 19 December 2015 6:57 PM ]

The file photo shows people at a checkpoint after it was targeted by a bomb attack at Msillata, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Tripoli, Libya. (AFP Photo)

More than a dozen people have been killed in clashes between forces of Libya’s internationally-recognized government and militants in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.

Medical sources said on Saturday that two days of fighting have left at least 14 people killed and over two dozen wounded.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the casualties included civilians and members of groups supporting the Libyan National Army, which fights for the government based in the city of Tobruk, about 270 kilometers (167 miles) northeast of Ajdabiya.

The sources said casualties from the other side were unknown as they were not treated in Ajdabiya’s hospitals.

The Red Crescent has identified the other side of the fighting as militants of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia group.

On Friday, representatives from Tobruk signed a UN-brokered agreement with rivals that are based in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to form a unity government. Many have expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the deal amid the chaos in Libya.

Libya's General National Congress (GNC) Deputy President Saleh al-Makhzoum (2nd-R), the new national government head, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (C), and the head of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Mohamed Ali Shoeb (2nd-L), celebrate after signing a deal on a Libyan unity government on December 17, 2015, in the Moroccan city of Skhirat. (AFP photo)

The United Nations issued a statement on Friday condemning the deadly clashes in Ajdabiya. It said targeting civilians could amount to a war crime.

Chaos has gripped Libya since the downfall and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country has also recently become a hotbed for the activities of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists operating in Syria and Iraq.

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