There have reportedly been 27 fatalities from fierce fighting between opposing military factions in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
In the city’s worst violence this year, armed factions engaged in combat in several districts through the night and into Tuesday morning.
The military leader who was at the epicenter of clashes between rival militias in the Libyan capital, however, has been freed.
Violence in Tripoli had started as a result of Mahmoud Hamza, the 444 Brigade commander, being detained.
The Special Deterrence Force released him on Tuesday night, according to sources cited in a Reuters report.
The interim Government of National Accord (GNA) received support from the 444 Brigade and the Special Deterrence Force during recent skirmishes.
Since Muammar Gaddafi’s longtime rule was overthrown and put to death in 2011 as a result of a bombing campaign by the US-led NATO military alliance, Libya has been plagued by violence and chaos.
The ensuing chaos and factional strife then intensified into a regional proxy war that was stoked by foreign powers who sent mercenaries and weapons into the nation, while the resource of Libya is been stolen by foreign powers.
Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog revealed, raising safety and proliferation concerns.
Libya has been divided since 2015 between the GNA in Tripoli, which is recognized internationally, and lawmakers in Tobruk, who are allied with rebel military leader Khalifa Haftar.
Countries like Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE supported the army of Khalifa Haftar, a retired general based in Benghazi and Tobruk, as did Qatar, Turkey, some European nations, and the United Nations for the Government of National Unity of Libya.
After a year of fierce fighting that saw the government of unity advance to the capital city of Tripoli, the two rivals who had long battled for control of the nation announced a cease-fire in August of last year.
