20 killed in Libya clashes

Tripoli, Oct 15 (IANS/EFE) At least 20 people were killed in clashes between rival militias in the Libyan city of Kikla, medical sources told Efe news agency Wednesday.

Seventeen people were killed and 60 others wounded Tuesday in a fight to control Kikla, about 75 miles south of Tripoli, according to a source from the Garian University Hospital where the injured were taken.

Another medical source in Kikla said the death toll in the city had risen to 60 since Saturday, while the number of injured has climbed to 100, as a result of rockets being fired into residential areas.

The conflict has forced more than 200 families to flee their homes in Kikla and the neighbouring city of al-Kalaa towards Garian, while others have refused to leave their homes despite the heavy fighting.

The clashes broke out when militias from Zintan reached the area Saturday with a convoy of a 100 armoured vehicles and tanks in a drive to control the region and the nearby Garian fortress held by militias of the Fajr Libya (Dawn of Libya) Islamist organisation.

Meanwhile, Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, was the scene of clashes between paramilitary forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar and Islamists of the al-Saiqa (Lightening) group allied with Ansar al-Sharia, which left three people dead and four others injured.

Three months ago, Haftar launched an offensive dubbed "Operation Dignity" against the Islamic-oriented militias which control the city and its airport. He was joined by various army corps.

Haftar told his followers Tuesday in a televised speech that the "coming hours and days will be difficult for Libyans, but we have no choice".

He said he was ready to liberate Benghazi from "terrorist groups", referring to the various rival Islamist militias.

--IANS/EFE

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