The United Nations mission to Libya expressed concern Saturday over clashes in Tripoli, after a night of heavy fire between militias in the capital.
The latest fighting comes as Libya is once again divided between competing governments -- one of which is based in Tripoli -- despite more than a year of tentative steps towards unification., the mission said the clashes endangered civilians and called on Libyans "to do everything possible to preserve the country's fragile stability at this sensitive time."
Libya has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by various well-armed militias and foreign governments. The Mediterranean nation has been in a state of upheaval since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Dbeibah has refused to step down since then, raising questions over his mandate. In response, the country's East-based lawmakers have elected a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, a powerful former interior minister who is now operating a separate administration out of the city of Sirte.
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