Violent Fight Erupts In Libyan Capital As Rival Militias Clash, Armed Group Leader Killed
The interior ministry of the national unity government in Tripoli urged in a statement "all citizens to stay at home for their safety".
Violent clashes between rival armed groups broke out on Monday at the Libyan capital Tripoli. According to reports, the leader of an armed faction has been killed in the clashes.
Heavy arms fire and explosions were heard in several areas of the capital from 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) and the residents were urged to stay indoors by the authorities.
Libyan television channel Al-Ahrar and news site Al-Wasat reported the death of Abdelghani al-Kikli, leader of the Support and Stability Apparatus, an influential armed group based in south Tripoli, reported AFP.
The interior ministry of the national unity government in Tripoli urged in a statement 'all citizens to stay at home for their safety".
Following the clashes, air traffic at Tripoli airport was suspended as reports of the death of Abdel Ghani al-Kikli started circulating.
Local media said clashes broke out in the southern suburbs between armed groups from Tripoli and rivals from Misrata, a major port city 200 km (125 miles) east of the capital.
Libya is struggling to recover from years of unrest following a 2011 revolt that led to the fall of the late dictator Moamer Kadhafi. It is currently divided between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, controlled by the Haftar family.
Despite relative calm in recent years, clashes periodically break out between armed groups vying for territory. In August 2023, fighting between two powerful armed groups in Tripoli left 55 dead.
Several districts of the capital and its suburbs announced that schools would be closed on Tuesday until further notice.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya called for calm.
'UNSMIL is alarmed by the unfolding security situation in Tripoli, with intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas," it said on X. It urged 'all parties to immediately cease fighting", warning that 'attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes."
'UNSMIL fully supports the efforts of elders and community leaders to de-escalate the situation."
(With agency inputs)
First Published:
May 13, 2025, 08:03 IST
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
17 minutes ago
- Mint
Increasing the danger: Journalist killing in Gaza sends a chilling message
Israel's targeted killing of an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza over the weekend was noteworthy even for a conflict remarkably blood-soaked for journalists, leaving some experts to marvel that any news at all emerges from the territory. An Al Jazeera executive said Monday that it won't back down from covering what is going on there and called for news organizations to step up and recruit more journalists. A total of 184 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israel in the Gaza war since its start in October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That compares to the 18 journalists and media workers killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine war, CPJ said. Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media from covering the 22-month war in Gaza. News organizations instead rely largely on Palestinian Gaza residents and ingenuity to show the world what is happening there. Israel often questions the affiliations and biases of Palestinian journalists but doesn't permit others in. 'You simply are in awe when stories show up,' said Jane Ferguson, a veteran war correspondent and founder of Noosphere, an independent platform for journalists. She can't recall a conflict that has been more difficult for reporters to cover, and she's reported from South Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan. Correspondent Anas al-Sharif knew he was a target, and left behind a message to be delivered upon his death. He and seven other people — six of them journalists — were killed in an air strike outside of Gaza City's largest hospital complex on Sunday. Israel swiftly claimed responsibility, saying without producing evidence that al-Sharif had led a Hamas cell. It was a claim the news organization and al-Sharif had denied. Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press, BBC News and Reuters are among the organizations regularly reporting from Gaza. An Aug. 7 AP dispatch vividly described the hunger faced by many in Gaza: 'A single bowl of eggplant stewed in watery tomato juice must sustain Sally Muzhed's family of six for the day. She calls it moussaka, but it's a pale echo of the fragrant, lawyered, meat-and-vegetable dish that once filled Gaza's kitchens with its aroma.' Other recent AP reports carried images and text reporting from the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church, and a profile of an 18-year-old aspiring doctor now trying to survive sheltered in a tent. Journalists from The Washington Post and the Guardian recently accompanied a Jordanian relief mission and took images of Gaza from the air, despite some restrictions from Israel. The Guardian's Lorenzo Tondo wrote: 'Seen from the air, Gaza looks like the ruins of an ancient civilization, brought to light after centuries of darkness.' None of the organizations match the power and immediacy of Al Jazeera, however, in part because their correspondents have been in front of cameras. They've also paid the heaviest price: CPJ estimates that 11 journalists and media workers affiliated with AJ have been killed in the Gaza conflict, more than any other single organization. In a social media post written in June to be sent if he was killed, al-Sharif wrote that 'I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification — so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent.' In another posting on X on Aug. 10, the day that he was killed, al-Sharif wrote of the challenges covering the aftermath of one attack. He said he lost his strength and ability to express himself when he arrived at the scene. 'Body parts and blood were all around us, and corpses were scattered on top of each other,' he wrote. 'Tell me what words and phrases could help any journalist describe this horrific image. When I told you on air that it was an 'indescribable scene,' I was truly helpless in the face of this horrific sight.' Salah Negm, news director at Al Jazeera English, said Monday it is very difficult to get people in to Gaza. But it is full of educated people and those with training in journalism who can help get stories out. He called on other news organizations to step up. 'We get the news from several sources on the ground in Gaza — not only journalists but also doctors, hospitals, civil servants, aid workers,' Negm said. 'A lot of people in Gaza talk to us.' Many of the journalists working in Gaza are facing the same struggles to find food, for themselves and their families, as the people they are covering. Noosphere's Ferguson said she's never before had to ask a reporter whether she had enough food for herself and her child. In an interview in May on 'Democracy Now!,' 22-year-old journalist Abubaker Abed described the difficult decision he made to leave Gaza to pursue his education in Ireland. Not only was he suffering from malnutrition, he said, but his mother was concerned that his work as a journalist would make him and his family targets. 'If I stayed, I would die,' he said. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said she's concerned about the implications for journalists in future conflicts if what is happening in Gaza is allowed to continue without international condemnation that has real teeth. 'They're essentially admitting in public to what amounts to a war crime,' Ginsberg said, 'and they can do that because none of the other attacks on journalists have had any consequences. not in this war and not prior. It's not surprising that it can act with this level of impunity because no international government has really taken it to task.' Given all that they face, 'to me, the most remarkable thing is that journalists are continuing to cover (Gaza) at all,' she said. Laurie Kellman and Danica Kirk in London, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Sam Metz in Jerusalem contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Trump urges China to quadruple soybean buys amid tariff truce talks
US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged China to quadruple its soybean purchases ahead of a key tariff truce deadline, sending Chicago soybean prices higher, though analysts were quick to question the feasibility of any such deal. In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said China was worried about a shortage of soybeans and he hoped it would quickly quadruple its soybean orders from the US. "Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said in his post. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped 2.38 per cent to $10.11 a bushel at 0637 GMT on Monday after Trump's post. The contract was steady earlier. China, the world's largest soybean buyer, imported roughly 105 million metric tons last year, just under a quarter coming from the US and most of the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the US "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the US," said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more US soybeans is a condition for extending the truce as Trump looks to reduce China's trade surplus with the US China's soymeal futures fell 0.65 per cent to 3,068 yuan per metric ton on expectations US imports could increase supply. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of US agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter US beans, fuelling concerns as the US harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego US soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. US soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the US, and 74.65 million tons from Brazil.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Trump signs order extending China tariff truce by 90 days, White House official says
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending a tariff truce with China by another 90 days, a White House official said on Monday with only hours to go before US tariffs on Chinese goods were due to snap back to triple-digit rates. The order followed a noncommittal answer by Trump to reporters as to whether he would extend the lower tariff rates a day after he urged Beijing to quadruple its purchases of US soybeans. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington was set to expire Tuesday at 00.01 ET (04.01 GMT). The order prevents US tariffs on Chinese goods from shooting up to 145%, with Chinese tariffs on US goods set to hit 125%, rates that would have resulted in a virtual trade embargo. "We'll see what happens," Trump has said when asked how he planned to extend the deadline. "They've been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi and myself. " (This is a Reuters copy)
