Death Toll From Tripoli Clashes Surpasses 20, Number of Injured at 140 - Health Ministry

CAIRO (Sputnik) - More than 20 people have died and 140 others were injured in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, as a result of clashes between rival groups vying for power, the country’s health ministry reports.

Earlier on Saturday, the health ministry said that 12 people were killed and 87 were injured in the clashes, which erupted on Friday in Tripoli between those loyal to the head of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and those siding with Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha.

"23 people were killed, 140 were wounded," Libya’s health ministry said in a late Saturday update on casualties resulting from the clashes.

A representative of Bashagha’s government has said that he has nothing to do with the Friday events. According to local media reports, groups loyal to Dbeibeh have managed to take control over several buildings in Tripoli, where members of a group loyal to Bashagha were based.

Earlier this week, Bashagha called on Dbeibeh to resign. The latter, in turn, advised Bashagha to focus on the upcoming presidential election.

On March 1, the Tobruk-based Libyan House of Representatives voted for a new cabinet headed by Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha, who previously served as the interior minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA). The incumbent interim Government of National Unity headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who was appointed last year in a UN-backed process, refused to cede power. Dbeibeh has said that he does not intend to transfer power in the country before the presidential elections, thus the country currently has de-facto two prime ministers.