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Libyan forces battle Tripoli militias

TRIPOLI, Libya, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- With a new government set to be sworn in this week, the Libyan Interior Ministry said it was able to restore calm to parts of Tripoli under militant control.

The Libyan Interior Ministry ordered military forces into parts of Libya to dismantle what it said with an illegal militant group, the Tripoli Post reports.

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Fighting broke out last weekend after residents confronted the so-called Support Unit No. 8 militia for allegedly kidnapping and torturing two civilians in Tripoli.

The Libyan newspaper reports the attack in Tripoli comes less than two weeks after government troops recaptured Bani Walid, a former stronghold of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Unsettled rivalries that grew out of the country's civil war have created a tense political situation in Libya. Last week, Libyan lawmakers backed a Cabinet presented by Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan. The British government praised the move but noted lawmakers face "significant challenges to improve security."

Zidan said no region of the country received special consideration over the other in his list of 27 ministers. A swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday.

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