Libya clashes kill four as force halts fighting

Overnight clashes between rival armed groups in western Libya killed four people and wounded more than 10 before a neutral force intervened to stop the violence, security sources told AFP on Tuesday.

A local security official said the fighting was between members of the Anti-Security Threat Agency, which is attached to Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and the defence ministry's 103rd Battalion. Dbeibah heads the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.

A military source from the 52nd Western Infantry Brigade told AFP by phone that its units intervened as a peacekeeping force with the agreement of both parties. The source said the troops were deployed along contact lines in Sorman and at the administrative boundaries of Zawiya, coastal cities west of Tripoli.

The main coastal road between Zawiya and Tripoli was closed as a precaution during the fighting. The military source later said all roads were secure, the coastal road had reopened and there were no more fighters in the area.

Neither the prime minister's office nor the defence ministry had officially commented. An official from Zawiya's security directorate, speaking on condition of anonymity, gave the toll as four dead and more than 10 wounded and said heavy and medium weapons fire could still be heard on Tuesday morning.

AFP said it could not verify images and videos on social media that showed black smoke over residential neighbourhoods in Sorman and burned military vehicles and equipment.

Judicial police also announced the escape of an unspecified number of detainees from the Sorman Penitentiary Centre who had taken advantage of confusion caused by the fighting.

Clashes between armed groups are a recurring issue in Sorman and Zawiya, an area that includes a large oil refinery and has been affected by power struggles involving organised crime, including diesel smuggling and human trafficking.

Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves but has been divided since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. Two governments are vying for power: the UN-recognised administration in Tripoli and a rival in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.