Clashes in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 55 people and wounded 146, Libyan media reported on Wednesday, as a truce took hold.

Fighting erupted on Monday night and raged through Tuesday between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the militias that have vied for power since the overthrow of Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following a NATO-backed military invasion.

Libya’s Al-Ahrar TV reported the new toll, citing Malek Mersit, spokesperson for the Emergency Medical Centre. Medics had previously reported 27 dead and 106 wounded over the two days of fighting in the capital.

In August last year, 32 people were killed and 159 wounded in Tripoli during battles between divided Libya’s two rival administrations competing for power.

The recent clashes were triggered by the detention of the head of the 444 Brigade, Colonel Mahmud Hamza, by the rival Al-Radaa Force on Monday, an Interior Ministry official indicated.

Late Tuesday, the social council in the southeastern suburb of Soug El-Joumaa, a stronghold of the Al-Radaa force, announced that an agreement had been reached with Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, head of the UN-recognised government based in the capital, for Hamza to be handed over to a "neutral party".

In a televised announcement, the council said a ceasefire would follow the transfer of the force’s commander, and late on Tuesday the intensity of the fighting decreased.

It is noteworthy that both armed groups are aligned with Dbeibah’s government.

Clashes continue in south Tripoli between the two heavily armed SDF Radaa Force and 444 Brigade over arrest of Mahmoud Hamza, the 444's commander.

Since last night, Mitiga Airport redirected flights to Misrata Airport, study and work in university of Tripoli is suspended.… pic.twitter.com/M11DZpj9py

— Abdulkader Assad (@Abd0Assad) August 15, 2023

A total of 234 families were evacuated from frontline areas in the capital’s southern suburbs, along with dozens of doctors and paramedics trapped by the fighting, the Emergency Medical Centre highlighted.

Overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, Dbeibah visited the southeastern suburb of Ain Zara, which saw some of the heaviest fighting on Tuesday, accompanied by Interior Minister Imed Trabelsi.

Dbeibah “saw for himself the severity of the damage” as he toured the densely-populated neighborhood’s unlit streets, his government’s press office said on its Facebook page.

He gave instructions for a survey of the damage to be carried out so that residents could be compensated, it added.

The Libyan Interior Ministry put in place a security plan to deploy officers to battleground districts to oversee the truce announced between the two sides.

The Libyan capital’s only civilian airport, Mitiga, which lies in an area under Al-Radaa’s control, reopened to commercial flights on Wednesday, officials confirmed. Flights had been diverted to Misrata about 180 kilometers (110 miles) to the east.

In May, the two armed groups had clashed for hours in Tripoli, also after the arrest of a 444 Brigade member.

The UN mission in Libya said it was “following with concern” the security deterioration in Tripoli and its impact on civilians.

Human Rights Watch Libya researcher Hanan Saleh expressed outrage that the capital’s armed groups continued to settle their differences with heavy weaponry in residential areas without being held accountable.

“Surely, Libyans at risk of such violent incidents deserve more? Nothing will change unless there are consequences,” she said.

It is noteworthy that the 444 Brigade is affiliated with Libya’s Defense Ministry. It controls the southern suburbs of Tripoli and other areas. On the other hand, the Al-Radaa force, commanded by Abdel Rauf Karah, is a militia that acts as the capital’s police force and controls central and eastern Tripoli, Mitiga air base, the civilian airport, and a prison.

Libya is split between Dbeibah’s UN-backed government in the west and another in the east backed by General Khalifa Haftar.

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