Several dead in violence in Libya’s Benghazi

Clashes in the city and a suicide attack at a security checkpoint east of Benghazi leave at least 11 people dead.

Fighting continues in Benghazi between militias and rival forces loyal to Libya's elected government [Reuters]

Clashes in Benghazi and a suicide attack at a security checkpoint east of the Libyan city have left at least 11 people dead, officials have said.

The latest bloodshed brings the death toll to more than 100 people who have died in Benghazi, since retired general Khalifa Haftar launched an assault last week, supported by the army, against rival armed militias who seized the eastern city in July.

On Wednesday morning, a suicide attacker set off his bomb-laden car at a checkpoint manned by pro-government forces in the Dariana region, about 40km east of Benghazi, killing one person and wounding four.

Witnesses said later on Wednesday a column of tanks and armoured vehicles from army units based in Al-Baida, 200km east of Benghazi, had entered the city.

Forces loyal to Haftar were reported to have carried out air strikes on fighters, including against a roadblock at the Western entrance to the city, set up by the armed group Ansar Al-Sharia, and a weapons depot.

The Benghazi Medical Centre said it received seven bodies on Wednesday, while a hospital source said four more were transported to other hospitals in the region.

Source: News Agencies