A months-long standoff for power in Libya has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah against a rival administration under Fathi Bashagha that is backed by the eastern-based parliament. Clashes erupted overnight as one of Tripoli's main groups assaulted a base held by another, witnesses there said, leading to hours of shooting and blasts. The fighting intensified later on Saturday morning, with small-arms fire, heavy machine guns and mortars deployed in different central areas. Columns of black smoke rose across the Tripoli skyline and shooting and blasts echoed in the air.
