The death toll in this week’s clashes between rival militias in Libya’s capital has risen to 45 as troops fanned out across Tripoli to restore calm after a 24-hour bout of fighting that was the city’s most intense violence this year.
The clashes erupted late on Monday between militiamen from the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force, and continued into Tuesday evening.
Tensions flared after Mahmoud Hamza, a senior commander of the 444 brigade, was allegedly detained by the rival group at an airport in Tripoli, according to local media reports.
Hamza was later released as part of a deal aimed at quelling the violence, the reports said.
Malek Merset, the spokesperson for Libya’s Emergency Medicine and Support Centre, said on Wednesday that the death toll had risen from 27 to 45, as more casualties were confirmed.
An additional 146 people were injured, up from 106 on Tuesday.
It remains unclear how many of the dead were militiamen or civilians.
On Wednesday, Libyan security forces patrolled the streets and fanned out across Tripoli.
The country’s Interior Ministry said security forces were deployed to areas where the fighting was most intense, including the southern Fernaj neighbourhood and the al-Shouk Road.
A situation room was set up to monitor developments, though by Wednesday a tentative calm had returned to the city.
The violence underscored the fragility of war-torn Libya following the 2011 uprising turned civil war, which toppled and later killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Amid the chaos, militias grew in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the west of the country.
Since 2014, Libya has been divided between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by an array of well-armed militias and different foreign governments.
Both of Libya’s legislative chambers called for an end to the bloodshed in separate statements on Tuesday.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the European Union called on “all parties to continue to refrain from armed hostilities and to engage in dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation and restore calm”.
Tripoli has seen similar episodes of violence in recent years, although most have only lasted a couple of hours.
“We heard many promises about imminent efforts to promote genuine security sector reform and militia disarmament,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya specialist and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.
“No progress whatsoever was made on those fronts.”
The 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force are two of the largest militias operating in Tripoli.
Both have previously been backed by the administration based there.
