Ahmad 
The city of Zawiya, located in western Libya, is witnessing violent clashes between armed groups inside residential neighborhoods, resulting in a state of chaos and fear among the civilian population.
Official medical authorities, including the Libyan Red Crescent and the Ambulance and Emergency Service, sent urgent calls to stop the fighting to secure the evacuation of families trapped inside their homes.
In an official statement, the Libyan Red Crescent, Al-Zawiya branch, called for an immediate cessation of the armed conflict, and requested a truce to allow the emergency team the opportunity to evacuate families trapped in areas of clashes.
The statement stressed the need for security agencies and parties to the conflict to cooperate with rescue teams to avoid more casualties.
According to the Ambulance and Emergency Service, the clashes in the city of Al-Zawiya are concentrated in areas including the vegetable market, Bir Al-Ghanam Road, and Al-Daman Street.
The agency issued a warning that the coastal road in Al-Zawiya is considered a danger zone for citizens, stressing the need to avoid it.
In a later statement, the Ambulance and Emergency Service reported that a safe corridor had been opened for emergency teams, accompanied by the Red Crescent, to enter the area of clashes. Emergency teams were prepared to enter the area with the aim of rescuing stranded families. The agency held the military and political parties in the city responsible for the safety of civilians.
Until no, no official information has been available regarding the identity of the gunmen involved in the clashes or the exact reasons behind their outbreak, and the outgoing National Unity Government has not issued any statement in this regard.
Activists on social media posted video clips showing civilians stuck inside their homes, making distress calls to the authorities to intervene and save them from imminent danger.
These clashes are an extension of a series of armed confrontations in Al-Zawiya, the last of which was in May, and resulted in the death of one person and the injury of six others, in addition to the suspension of studies and the destruction of part of the electricity network.
The deteriorating security situation led to widespread protests in mid-2023, which developed into civil disobedience and the burning of government headquarters. Despite the intervention of the outgoing National Unity Government and the Presidential Council to form a security force to impose order, clashes returned again to disturb the peace of the city.
It is noteworthy that Libya has been suffering for years from security unrest and political conflicts, which led to the delay in holding the long-awaited parliamentary and presidential elections, as the ongoing disputes between the conflicting parties further complicate the security and humanitarian situation in the country.
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