20120202
Reuters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Rival militias fought a gunbattle on Wednesday in the centre of the Libyan capital, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

The reporter said exchanges of both heavy and light weapons could be heard coming from the area of El-Saadi beach, next to the heart of Tripoli. He said the road along the beach was blocked, and smoke was rising from the location of the fighting.

An Interior Ministry official said the fighting was between militiamen from the city of Misrata, and units from Zintan. Both groups fought to oust former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and maintain a heavy presence in the capital.