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Fighting took place in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli
that has been the site of repeated clashes throughout the 11
years of violence and chaos since a NATO-backed uprising ousted
veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The clashes, along with a major pro-Dbeibah group taking over a
military headquarters in southern Tripoli, come a week after
Libya's biggest bout of warfare for two years, as several rival
factions battled in and around the capital.
Last week's fighting dislodged several groups that had aligned
with Dbeibah's rival as prime minister - the former interior
minister Fathi Bashagha who has been appointed by the
eastern-based parliament to head a new government.
The standoff between the two men had lasted for months, with
Libya's powerful eastern faction lined up behind Bashagha, while
the numerous factions controlling Tripoli and the rest of the
northwest were divided.
Following last week's fighting, both Bashagha and Dbeibah have
visited Turkey, which helped the now-divided western factions
fight off an eastern assault in 2020.
Turkey retains a military presence around Tripoli, including
drones that could play a critical role in deciding the outcome
of any major bout of warfare if it decided to back a side.
Last week there were unconfirmed reports that drones were used
against factions backing Bashagha.
Diplomacy to resole Libya's crisis has faltered. Late on Friday
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed a new envoy to
Libya but with the U.N. Security Council divided, it is unclear
how much clout Abdoulaye Bathily will enjoy in the role.
In fighting late on Friday and early on Saturday, a witness said
mortars were being fired in Warshafana, a district of farmland,
villages and patches of urban sprawl between Tripoli and the
western city of al-Zawiya.
During last week's fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction
based in Zawiya was said to be among groups that were repulsed
from the outskirts of the capital.
In the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara, a powerful faction
that backed Dbeibah during last week's fighting took over a
security headquarters. Fighters and vehicles bearing its
insignia stood guard there on Saturday morning with checkpoints
set up nearby.
(Reporting by Reuters Libya newsroom, writing by Angus McDowall;
editing by Jason Neely)
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