At least twelve people were killed and 87 people were injured in the Libyan capital of Tripoli in clashes between rival groups vying for power, the health ministry said on Saturday.
Six hospitals were damaged, and ambulances were reportedly unable to reach the site of the clashes. Gunfire and explosions were also heard in several districts of Tripoli overnight, with smoke billowing over damaged buildings on Saturday.
The Government of National Unity (GNU) of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has been in a months-long standoff against a rival administration under Fathi Bashagha, who was elected by parliament. Dbeibah claimed that the fighting broke out after negotiations to avoid bloodshed in Tripoli fell through, and Bashagha-aligned fighters allegedly fired on a convoy in the capital. In turn, Bashagha's administration insisted that it had never rejected talks, accusing Dbeibah of backing out of negotiations.
The United Nations' Libya mission has called for "an immediate cessation of hostilities," citing "ongoing armed clashes including indiscriminate medium and heavy shelling in civilian-populated neighbourhoods."
Libya has been in turmoil since a NATO invasion helped topple leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. His death led to a decade-long rivalry between the UN-backed administration in Tripoli and the parliament in Tobruk.