Clashes between Libyan army, militias kill at least 38 in Benghazi

Health officials in Libya say heavy clashes between army troops loyal to a renegade general and Islamist-led militias have killed 38 people — including civilians — in the country's restive east.

A security official told the Associated Press that the fighting involved forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Hifter and militias in the eastern city of Benghazi. The clashes started Saturday and continued through early Sunday morning.

The Islamist groups launched an assault on the headquarters of a Special Forces unit near the city center, causing casualties among forces defending their barracks.

The official said commando forces regained control of four military camps captured by Islamist militias in the past few days. Health officials say rockets fired during the fighting hit civilian homes, causing casualties and wounding dozens of people.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

Benghazi's main hospital said the bodies of 28 soldiers had been taken there in the past 24 hours, along with 50 injured, while Al-Marj hospital, 60 miles to the east, reported two soldiers dead and 10 injured.

A spokesman for the self-proclaimed Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, an alliance of Islamist and jihadist militia who have claimed a number of attacks on military bases in the area, announced that eight of its fighters had died.

Overnight, Special Forces commander Wanis Abu Khamada told Libya Al-Ahrar television that his troops "still have the capacity to repel any attack on state institutions."

An AFP correspondent reported that several families could be seen leaving the area of the clashes, as loud explosions were heard in the city on Sunday morning.

Near-daily clashes take place in Benghazi, where parts of the Mediterranean city have become strongholds for Islamist groups since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

The latest bloodshed came a day after the United States evacuated its embassy in Tripoli due to fears for the safety of staff. Britain has also joined the U.S. in advising its citizens against travel to strife-torn Libya.

British nationals have been urged to leave the area, although its embassy in Tripoli remains open.

"Due to the ongoing and greater intensity of fighting in Tripoli and wider instability throughout Libya, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to Libya," the UK ministry's website said.

The U.S. evacuated its Libyan embassy staff under air cover Saturday as they faced a "real risk" from fierce fighting around Tripoli airport, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.

The airport has been closed since July 13 because of deadly clashes between armed groups in the area.

The U.S. announcement that it was evacuating its embassy came hours after Libya's interim government warned that the clashes between militia vying for control of the strategic airport were threatening to tear Libya apart.

Wire services