Rockets kill two, wound 30 in Libya's Benghazi

Rockets kill two, wound 30 in Libya's Benghazi

BENGHAZI, Libya - Rockets hit residential areas in Libya's Benghazi on Sunday, killing at least two people and wounding more than 30 others in continued fighting over the city, officials said.

Nearly four years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is caught up in a conflict between two rival governments, one internationally recognised and the other controlling Tripoli since its fighters took over the capital in the summer.

The conflict involves loose confederations of rebel brigades who once battled Gaddafi, and Benghazi is a battle between a former Libyan general who declared war on Islamist militants, and an alliance of militants and former rebel fighters.

Libyan military official Fadil Hassi said two people were killed and 30 wounded when at least two rockets hit downtown Benghazi.

Commander of special forces, Wanis Bukhamada, told Reuters his troops now controlled a large part of the airport road, the Benghazi security directorate and a communications company.

Medical sources told Reuters at least 47 people were killed and 229 wounded in January during fighting in Benghazi.

Two administrations, one in the capital and Prime Minister Abdullah el-Thinni's government in the east, have been battling for power since the armed group Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in July and reinstated lawmakers from a previous assembly.

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