Fighting between rival militias in northwestern Libya kills at least 23 people

CAIRO – A hospital official says fighting between Islamist militias and rival groups in western Libya has killed at least 23 people.

Emad Khalifa Abdul-Salam of Gharyan hospital, south of the capital Tripoli, said an ongoing, intense battle continued Sunday in the nearby town of Kikla. It also left 43 people injured including ten in critical condition — mostly from shrapnel wounds.

The fighting over Kikla is part of a power struggle between an Islamist militia that seized control of the Tripoli airport from anti-Islamist groups, finally driving them out of the capital.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Violence and rivalry between political groups deeply split the country which currently has two rival governments and parliaments.