The clashes trapped residents in their homes and sparked fires at the country’s second-largest oil refinery, city officials said.
The fighting in this coastal town located about 47 kilometers west of the capital Tripoli pitted armed men loyal to the Shurafaa ethnic group against warlord Mohamed Kushlaf, according to local media. Kushalf was sanctioned by the UN Security Council in 2018 for his alleged involvement in human trafficking.
It is unclear what sparked the clashes, but they are not uncommon in western Libya, which is controlled by a collection of lawless militias and armed groups allied with the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Oil-rich Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the East and West. The country plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising turned civil war that toppled and then killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Amid the chaos, militias have grown in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the west of the country.
Sunday’s fighting closed a major coastal road linking Zawiya to other towns in western Libya and classes were suspended.
“Many families are stuck in their homes. Bullets are being fired indiscriminately, hitting houses and buildings,” Ahmed Abu Hussein, a resident, said by phone. He said the fighting took place in several areas of the city, including densely populated neighborhoods, causing panic and terror among civilians.
The clashes also caused “severe damage” to storage tanks at the Zawiya oil refinery, the Libyan National Oil Company said.
Bullets hit oil tanks, causing “dangerous” fires, the statement said, adding that firefighters managed to control the fires and gas leaks as clashes raged around the refinery.
The company, which manages Libya’s oil industry, declared a state of emergency and force majeure, a legal maneuver that frees it from its contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances.
The Libyan Observer newspaper published a video on X of what it said was the refinery on fire overnight.
In August, clashes between two heavily armed militias in Tripoli killed at least nine people and injured 16 others.
Libya is currently governed by the Dbeibah government in Tripoli and the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east, allied with the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter.
