Calm prevails in Libyan capital after UN-brokered truce

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya

Uneasy calm prevailed in Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday following the announcement of a UN-brokered ceasefire between rival militia groups that have been locked in conflict since August 26.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent based in the area, calm was largely restored in Tripoli’s Ein Zara and Salahuddin districts and the city’s southern neighborhoods.

On Tuesday, the UN announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between the warring militias.

Parties to the truce agreed to cease all hostilities, ensure that civilians were not put at risk and that human rights -- along with all private and public property -- are respected.

On Sunday, Libya's UN-backed unity government declared a state of emergency in Tripoli and its outskirts amid ongoing clashes between rival groups.

The move came after 38 people were killed in fighting that pitted militias aligned with the unity government against one another.

Several western governments issued statements calling for an end to the violence, which erupted after the Seventh Infantry Brigade (affiliated with the Defense Ministry) accused the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade (affiliated with the Interior Ministry) of attacking its positions in southern Tripoli.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011 when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the death of longstanding leader Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.

Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power -- one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli -- and a host of heavily-armed militia groups.