Crisis in Libya: Fight flares in the suburbs of Tripoli

New fighting erupted near the Libyan capital, Tripoli, between pro-government forces and rebel fighters from the east of the country.

There are reports of clashes between General Khalifa Haftar's rebels and pro-government groups in three suburbs south of the city.

Tripoli is the base of internationally recognized and supported UN government.

The UN envoy to Libya insisted that a conference on potential new elections would still take place.

In a televised speech, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-backed government, accused General Haftar of having launched a coup d'etat.

Mr. al-Sarraj said his government had "reached out for peace", but said that General Haftar would only meet "strength and firmness".

• Why is Libya so anarchic?
• Who is the strong military man Khalifa Haftar?

UN troops in the capital have been placed in a high state of alert.

Libya has been torn apart by violence and political instability since longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

What is happening on the ground?

General Haftar – who has been appointed head of the Libyan National Army (ANL) under an administration previously backed by the UN – ordered his forces to surrender Thursday to Tripoli, while the secretary general of The UN, Antonio Guterres, was in town to discuss the ongoing crisis.

The Libyan air force, which is theoretically under government control, targeted Saturday morning an area located 50 km south of the capital.

It is not known whether there were any casualties, but the LNA is committed to retaliate.

Fighting took place in several areas, including near the disused international airport located south of Tripoli.

General Haftar met with Guterres in Benghazi on Friday and told him that his operation would not stop until his troops defeated "terrorism".

Residents of Tripoli began to stock up on food and fuel, AFP reported.

LNA troops seized southern Libya and its oil fields earlier this year.

What was the reaction?

Major industrialized G7 members urged all parties to "immediately cease all military activity". The UN Security Council has issued a similar appeal.

Russia also called on the parties to the escalation of the conflict to reach an agreement.

Speaking in Egypt, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of what he called foreign interference in Libya, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Libya's problems could not be solved by military means.

Both countries supported Gen Haftar.

UN envoy, Ghbadan Salame, said on Saturday that the scheduled conference from April 14 to 16 would still be on time, despite the escalation – "unless compelling circumstances compel us not to do it".

Hope annihilated for a political resolution?

By Sebastian Usher, Editor-in-Chief for Arab Affairs at the BBC

It is still unclear to what extent it is a show of force to strengthen the position of General Haftar or a genuine effort to seize Tripoli.

He came back during the revolution and eventually became the most powerful military leader of a country overflowing with militias, allied with a rival government of the east.

Despite international concerns about its actions, it has benefited from the support of powerful external actors, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Efforts for a political resolution for Libya have failed many times. The most recent hopes may have been disappointed again.

Who is Khalifa Haftar?

Born in 1943, the former army officer helped Colonel Muammar Gaddafi seize power in 1969, before falling out with him and exiling himself in the United States. . He returned in 2011 after the start of the uprising against Gaddafi and became a rebel commander.

In December, Haftar met with Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, of the UN-backed government, at a conference, but declined to attend official talks.

He visited Saudi Arabia last week, where he met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks.