Armed men and women in the Libyan city of Zawiya clashed on Sunday night, resulting in five fatalities and thirteen injuries, according to emergency services.
According to local media, the clashes, including heavy weapons, were between two groups officially affiliated with the Ministries of Defence and Interior, in the heart of the city located about 40 km from the capital Tripoli.
The Ambulance and Rescue Service reported 5 dead and 13 injured, including a 10-year-old girl.
According to a local security source who requested anonymity, the fight broke out after a member of one of the two groups was killed by a supporter of the other because of a dispute over fuel trafficking, which is very common in this region near the border with Tunisia.
The clashes come at a time when Libya is going through serious political crisis against a backdrop of chronic insecurity marked by recurrent fighting between armed groups.
Two governments have been fighting for power since March: one based in Tripoli and led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah and another led by Fathi Bachagha and supported by the camp of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of the east.
At the end of August, fighting between rival militias in Tripoli left 32 people dead and 159 wounded.
Libya has been thrust into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, plagued by power struggles and regional divisions