Militia infighting rocks Libya's capital; 7 killed including a powerful warlord, officials say

CAIRO: Clashes betwixt heavy equipped militias rocked the Libyan capital, with gunfire and explosions heard crossed the metropolis pursuing the sidesplitting of a almighty warlord, officials said.

At slightest six radical were killed, they said. The hourslong clashes, which progressive dense weapons, took spot Monday evening into the aboriginal hours of Tuesday and centered successful Tripoli's confederate vicinity of Abu Salim, the officials said. The warring stemmed from the sidesplitting of Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, commandant of the stabilization enactment authority, SSA, connected Monday by different rival militia, a elder authorities and wellness authoritative said.

The SSA is an umbrella radical of militias that roseate to go 1 of the astir almighty groups successful occidental Libya, which has a past of atrocities and rights abuses during the country's long-running conflict.

Al-Kikli, who was known arsenic "Gheniwa", has been accused by Amnesty International of warfare crimes and different superior rights violations implicit the past decade. Al-Kikli was killed successful a installation tally by the 444 Brigade, a militia commanded by Mahmoud Hamza, different warlord adjacent to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, 1 of the officials said. Hamza's militia and their allies past attacked the offices of SSA crossed the capital, seizing their assets and detaining dozens of SSA fighters, said the officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity for their safety.

The wellness ministry's ambulance and exigency services said successful a connection that astatine leas...