BENGHAZI
Sixteen people were killed and 45 others injured late Sunday during clashes between forces loyal to Libya's army commander Khalifa Haftar and Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"Sixteen bodies and 45 injured people arrived in Benghazi hospitals on Sunday as a result of clashes taking place in the Laithi district of the city," a health ministry official from the Tobruk-based government told The Anadolu Agency on Sunday.
"The fatalities involved nine army personnel and seven civilians, the latter of whom were killed due to random shells hitting their homes," the official said.
Regarding casualties within the ranks of Islamist militants, the official said that "they don't bring their casualties to hospitals in the city, nor do they reveal their casualty figures."
Earlier Sunday, a Libyan army official told AA that Islamist militants surrounded one of the areas where the army was stationed in Benghazi's Laithi district.
Eyewitnesses told AA that Sunday's Laithi clashes were the most violent in weeks and that the sound of heavy weaponry could be heard across Benghazi.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011. Rival militias have frequently clashed in Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and Benghazi.
Political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the internationally-backed House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which – even though its mandate has ended – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments headquartered in the two respective cities as well as two military entities.
