Islamist-leaning forces and militia fighters.
Loud
explosions and heavy artillery fire could be heard across Tripoli from early
morning. One commander reported that at least 22 men from groups aligned with
the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) had been killed and 29
wounded.
The GNA
issued a statement blaming the attack on Khalifa Ghwell, the head of a
self-declared, Islamist-leaning "national salvation government" that
was set up in 2014, and Salah Badi, an allied armed group leader.
Ghwell's
government has been largely displaced by the GNA, which arrived in Tripoli last
year, but it continues draw on armed support, especially from the western city
of Misrata.
The GNA has
struggled to exert its authority in Tripoli and beyond, or rein in the militias
that have held power on the ground in Libya since the country's 2011 uprising.
A third
government based in eastern Libya and aligned with military commander Khalifa
Haftar has rejected the GNA.
"We
call on the people of Tripoli to stand hand in hand with the Government of
National Accord and its security apparatus to defeat the saboteurs," the
GNA said.
The clashes
follow a period of relative calm in Tripoli since March, when GNA-aligned
groups pushed rival factions back from central neighborhoods.
There have
been rumors for weeks that a counter-attack was being planned under the name
"Libya Pride", which in Arabic is a play on "Libya Dawn",
the coalition of militias that brought the salvation government to power in
Tripoli three years ago.
A Libya
Pride Facebook page with 17,000 followers carried a post overnight announcing:
"With Allah, we officially launch the operation of southern Tripoli."
One
GNA-aligned faction said "ideological gangs" had begun an attack
"aiming to control the capital and put the country into a storm of
violation and destabilisation, in addition to increasing the suffering of
citizens in the holy month of Ramadan".
The fighting
was concentrated in the Abu Salim, Salahedeen and Qasr Bin Ghashir districts.
Large plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing above the city's skyline.
Shooting continued throughout Friday prayers.
"We
have received calls from families who want to get out but unfortunately we
can't reach them because of the clashes," one aid worker told Reuters.
A Reuters
reporter saw tanks, armored vehicles and pick-ups mounted with anti-aircraft
guns driving toward the battle from the north of the city.
Pictures
posted on the internet also showed firemen trying to extinguish a blaze in an
office building in central Tripoli belonging to Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint
venture between Libya's National Oil Corporation and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI).
U.N. Libya
envoy Martin Kobler condemned the violence in a statement and called for an
immediate restoration of calm.
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