Libyan official: 5 killed, dozens wounds in Tripoli shelling

Artillery shelling by Libya's eastern-based forces killed five civilians and wounded dozens in the capital, Tripoli, an official with the country's U.N.-supported government said Thursday.

It was the latest attack on Tripoli by the eastern forces' commander Khalifa Hifter, who launched a push last year to capture the city. The fighting, which has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands, has mostly stalemated in recent months.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since 2015 been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups supported by an array of foreign powers.

Hifter's offensive is supported by France and Russia, as well as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. The government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, which deployed troops and mercenaries to help defend the capital in January, as well as by Italy and Qatar. Mercenaries, mainly from the Syria battlefield, are now fighting on both sides and complicating the already complex proxy war.