BENGHAZI , Libya, June 2 (UPI) -- At least 18 people were killed in Benghazi, Libya, Monday when Ansar al-Sharia militants attacked troops loyal to Libyan Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who returned fire with air strikes.
Medics said the deaths were the result of intense fighting, but it remains unclear whether the victims were military or civilian.
Bengahzi is the target of a campaign, now in its second week, of forces loyal to the renegade general against militants hired by the Libyan government to provide security in the absence of a functioning army. The government in Tripoli called Haftar's incursions a coup attempt.
While militias have been hired to provide regional security, they have frequently disagreed on political and ideological issues.
Haftar has asked the Libyan judiciary to appoint a crisis government to supervise new elections, and has accused Libyan leadership of promoting terrorism.
Several dozen more people were reported injured in fighting in the neighboring city of Al-Marj.
