‘Gunmen clash in Libyan city and fires erupt at oil refinery’

CAIRO: Clashes erupted on Sunday between armed groups in Zawiya, a city 47 kilometres west of Tripoli, trapping residents and sparking fires at Libya’s second-largest oil refinery.

The violence involved gunmen linked to the Shurafaa tribe and forces loyal to warlord Mohamed Kushlaf, sanctioned by the UN in 2018 for alleged human trafficking. The cause of the clashes

remains unclear.

Libya, divided between rival administrations in the east and west, has faced instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The country’s western region is dominated by lawless militias tied to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid

Dbeibah’s government.

The fighting disrupted a major coastal road, suspended classes, and caused significant damage to oil storage tanks at Zawiya refinery.

Firefighters contained the blazes despite ongoing clashes.

The Libyan National Oil Corporation declared a state of emergency. Militia violence is a recurring issue, with similar clashes in Tripoli in August leaving nine dead.