The casualty count from clashes between armed groups on the southern outskirts of Tripoli has now escalated to 27, as reported by Al Jazeera, citing medical sources.
The death toll from today's clashes has now reached 27, as stated by the Libyan emergency medical center. Additionally, 160 individuals have been reported as injured, and 234 families have been evacuated from the conflict-affected areas. Earlier, the reported figures were nine fatalities and several injuries.
Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) announced on Tuesday evening that an agreement had been reached to transfer the commander of the 444th Brigade, Mahmoud Hamza, to a neutral party. The detention of Mahmoud Hamza had triggered armed clashes in Tripoli on August 14. Following this agreement, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeha, the head of GNU, ordered a cessation of the fighting.
Subsequently, the Libya Al Ahrar channel reported that elders from the Souq al Jumaa neighborhood handed over the commander to the GNU Chief of General Staff at Mitiga airbase. As per the government's plan, an inquiry commission will later address the issue of his detention. However, local channels reported that sporadic clashes and gunfire continued in Tripoli even after the announcement of the commander's transfer to the General Staff.
Currently, Libya is effectively governed by two administrations: one located in the east of the country, formed by the parliament, and the other led by Abdel Hamid Dbeibah's GNU based in Tripoli. The UN-established transitional period concluded on June 22 of the previous year, after which Libya was expected to have an elected president and parliament in place, as per the Geneva Accords. However, due to the absence of the necessary constitutional framework, the elections planned for December 2021 were canceled.
Frequent confrontations between Libyan armed groups aligned with different political forces have often led to significant casualties.
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Based on materials from TASS