TRIPOLI
At least 16 people were killed Wednesday after fierce clashes erupted in parts of eastern Benghazi between Libyan army forces and militants from the Ansar al-Sharia group, a medical source and eyewitnesses have said.
The 16 bodies brought to Benghazi general hospital included those of both military personnel and civilians, a hospital source said.
Clashes had spread to a number of Benghazi districts by Wednesday afternoon after Libyan military forces, backed by armed residents, clashed with the Ansar al-Sharia group and allied militias in the flashpoint Al-Salmani and Al-Saberi areas, the latter of which had been captured by Islamist militants.
Loud explosions could be heard in parts of Benghazi since Wednesday morning.
In Al-Salmani, eyewitnesses said that Libyan military forces, who have surrounded the district for two days, had clashed with Ansar al-Sharia militants.
A number of rockets fired from the two areas fell on nearby districts. One fell on a house in the Al-Zawya neighborhood causing serious material damage, an eyewitness said.
Over the past two days, Libyan troops – deployed by the Tobruk-based government – have been raiding the residences of Islamist militants in Al-Salmani.
Wednesday's clashes have been the fiercest of the past two weeks, during which fighting has raged in Benghazi between forces loyal to former army chief-of-staff Khalifa Haftar and Islamist militiamen who in recent months have vied for control of the volatile city.
Earlier this month, pro-army protesters announced the launch of an "armed uprising" against "extremist Islamist groups" in Benghazi. The calls were supported by the Tobruk government, led by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni.
Early this year, Haftar declared war on Islamist militias based in eastern Libya with the stated aim of "purging" the country of "extremists."
After serving as army chief-of-staff under strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Haftar spent nearly two decades in exile in the U.S. before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the uprising against his former boss.
Libya has been dogged by instability since Gaddafi's 2011 ouster and death, with several militias who helped overthrow him refusing to surrender their arsenals.
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