At least nine people were killed in heavy clashes between militias in Libya's capital Tripoli overnight Thursday and Friday, as per emergency services.

Updating an earlier death toll, emergency services told Al-Ahrar TV that a child was among the nine killed and that 25 other people, including civilians, had been injured, several of them seriously.

It is worth noting that tensions in the North African country have been rising for months as two prime ministers vie for power, raising fears of renewed conflict.

The latest fighting began late Thursday in Ain Zara, a densely populated neighborhood in eastern Tripoli, between the Al-Radaa force and the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade.

It later spread to other areas, trapping 60 students in university dormitories until they were rescued, according to Osama Ali of the ambulance service, who spoke to Al-Ahrar.

Images shared on social media showed dozens of vehicles abandoned in the middle of the road by drivers fleeing the violence with their doors open.

Flights by Libyan Airlines and another carrier, Alamia, were diverted from Tripoli's Mitiga airport to Misrata, about 200 kilometers east of the capital, due to the unrest.

Since the 2011 NATO-fueled conflict in Libya, the country has been split between the two parties, with the rival sides of the conflict concluding their latest round of talks almost two months ago without reaching a deal to try and set the rules for the country's elections.

The presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya, originally set for December 2021, were supposed to be the result of the UN-sponsored peace process after the last round of violence shook the country from 2019 to 2020. The vote never took place because of deep disagreements between factions.

See more: Natural Resources in Libya