(Adnkronos) – Italy’s diplomats are tracking the situation in Libya’s capital after the fiercest clashes in years reportedly rocked Tripoli for a second night and on Wednesday after the killing of a major militia chief sparked fighting between rival factions.
“The foreign ministry and the Italian embassy in Libya @ItalyinLibya are monitoring the clashes in the capital,” read the tweet.
“Minister @Antonio_Tajani is tracking the situation,” the tweet continued.
The tweet gave emergency numbers for Italians in Libya to contact at the embassy and the foreign ministry’s crisis unit in Rome.
Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, prime minister of the divided country’s Government of National Unity has ordered what he called irregular armed groups to be dismantled.
Dbeibah’s move followed Monday’s killing of prominent militia leader Abdulghani al-Kikli, widely known as Ghaniw, and the abrupt defeat of his powerful Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA) group by factions aligned with Dbeibah.
The SSA is under the Presidential Council that came to power in 2021 with the GNU through a United Nations-backed process.
The UN mission in Libya has urged all parties to “immediately cease fighting and restore calm”, reminding them of their obligation to protect civilians.
