CLASHES broke out totday between armed groups in a western Libyan city, trapping residents in their homes and causing fires in the country’s second-largest oil refinery, officials said.

The fighting in the coastal city of Zawiya, about 30 miles west of the capital Tripoli, pitted gunmen loyal to the Shurafaa tribe against warlord Mohamed Kushlaf, according to local media. 

Mr Kushalf was sanctioned by the UN security council in 2018 for his alleged involvement in human trafficking.

The fighting closed a major coastal road linking Zawiya to other cities in western Libya today.

“Many families are trapped in their homes. Bullets are being fired indiscriminately, hitting houses and buildings,” resident Ahmed Abu Hussein told reporters.

The clashes also caused “severe damage” to storage tanks in the Zawiya oil refinery, the Libyan National Oil Corporation said.

Bullets hit oil tanks, leading to “dangerous” fires, it said, adding that firefighters managed to control the fires and gas leakage as clashes raged around the refinery.