A renegade Libyan general launched a fresh offensive on Sunday against Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi, sparking some of the worst fighting in weeks, with up to 12 people killed and power supplies disrupted.
Libyan authorities are struggling to restore order across the vast desert nation ahead of a parliamentary election on Wednesday next week.
The situation remains especially chaotic in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and cradle of the NATO-backed uprising that toppled former Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi three years ago.
Retired general Khalifa Haftar has declared war against militants in Benghazi and several army units have joined him.
The Tripoli government says he has no authority to act, but its orders are routinely ignored in much of the country, especially in the east, as rival militias and tribal groups vie for control.
Haftar’s troops, backed by tanks and rocket launchers, attacked several suspected camps of Islamists in western areas of Benghazi on Sunday, forcing dozens of families to flee. War planes could also be heard circling above the city.
Benghazi and much of eastern Libya suffered power outages after rockets hit a power station near the city’s airport, the state electricity firm said.
At least five soldiers and three civilians were killed, among them two Sudanese, hospital workers said, adding that at least 18 people had been wounded.
Quoting medical sources, state news agency LANA put the number of killed at 12, adding that 16 had been wounded.
Haftar’s spokesman, Mohamed El Hejazi, said his forces had detained five leaders from militant groups.
There has been speculation among analysts that Haftar has the support of neighboring Egypt and of Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which like the West are worried about Islamist militants exploiting the chaos in Libya.
Haftar told Saudi-owned Arabiya television that his forces were being supported by Libya’s neighbors to help secure the country’s borders, according to the channel’s Web site.
He did not elaborate and he later issued a denial of any such support.
At a news conference held outside Benghazi, Haftar praised Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi as the right man for the job. Egypt has cracked down hard on the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which Haftar on Sunday branded as an “international spy network.”
Haftar also accused Qatar of fuelling Libya’s chaos.
Separately, he told Arabiya television that Qatar was hampering the formation of a national army and police force in Libya.
Qatar has come under pressure from Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain over its backing for the Muslim Brotherhood. All three withdrew their ambassadors to Doha in March, causing an unprecedented public rift in the Gulf.
The latest fighting in Libya comes just over a week before a parliamentary election that ordinary citizens hope will bring an end to the chronic political infighting that has paralyzed decision-making since the last vote in summer 2012.
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