Benghazi clashes death toll reaches 11

BENGHAZI

The death toll from clashes that erupted on late on Monday between security forces and local militiamen in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi rose on Tuesday to 11, a Health Ministry source said.

Around 67 other people were also wounded on both sides as a result of the clashes, the source added.

The source, who asked not to be named, said that most of the dead victims were both civilians and children.

According to eyewitnesses, clashes between forces affiliated with the Benghazi Joint Security Room – which is made up of army and police personnel – and militiamen with the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council flared up over control of northeastern Benghazi's Al-Galaa Hospital.

Earlier this month, gunmen affiliated with the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council took over many of the city's main facilities, including Al-Galaa Hospital and a seaport.

They have turned down subsequent calls by the joint security room to hand the captured facilities over.

On Monday, troops affiliated with the joint security room and backed by forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar prepared to recapture militia-held sites, sparking the latest round of violence, eyewitnesses said.

Clashes have spilled over into several parts of the city, where many homes have been damaged by the fighting, which has featured the use of heavy weapons, witnesses added.

The Benghazi Joint Security Room was established in 2013 and tasked with securing Benghazi by then prime minister Ali Zeidan.

The city has been the scene of mounting crime and militancy since the 2011 ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Benghazi has also witnessed sporadic fighting between Haftar's forces and Islamist militias, the latter of which have become a common feature of post-Gaddafi Libya.

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