Four killed, 10 wounded in Tripoli clashes

TRIPOLI, Libya

Clashes broke out early Saturday between rival militias in Libya’s capital, killing at least four civilians and wounding 10 others, medical sources said.

A state of emergency has been declared in Tripoli, while schools and universities have been shut down.

Malek Merset, an emergency services spokesman, told The Associated Press that Mustafa Baraka, a comedian known for his social media videos, died after he was shot in the chest.

Merset said his body was taken to a Tripoli hospital.

He said at least five other civilians were wounded in the clashes that centered in the capital city. Footage circulated online showed houses and vehicles apparently damaged from the fighting.

The violence pits the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade militia, led by Haitham Tajouri, against another militia allied with Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, also known as “Gheniwa,” according to local media.

The violence was the latest escalation to threaten the relative peace after nearly a decade of civil war in Libya, where two rival sets of authorities are locked in a political stalemate. The divisions have sparked several incidents of violence in Tripoli in recent months.