Media reports say that heavy fighting broke out between rival militias vying for control of Libya's main airport, resulting in at least seven deaths, in what is described as the worst fighting in the capital for six months.

“Libyan authorities, political forces and armed groups are called upon to put an end to the plight of the civilians,” the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in astatement.

“The United Nations Support Mission in Libya reiterates its longstanding call to refrain from the use of force to achieve political objectives and reaffirms the necessity of political dialogue as a means to achieve national concord and agreement on the priorities of building state institutions grounded in the rule of law.”

Libya, which has been undergoing a democratic transition since the toppling in 2011 of former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi, has recently witnessed political tensions as well as major security developments, particularly in the eastern part of the country.

The city of Benghazi in the early morning sunlight. Photo: UNSMIL /Iason Athanasiadis