Militia groups clash in Libya capital

TRIPOLI, Libya, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Armed militias in Libya clashed over control of a building that housed an intelligence center of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, authorities said.

Rival militias from Tripoli and Misrata clashed in the center of Tripoli with witnesses reported gunfire and casualties, the BBC reported.

The fighting was apparently between a militia occupying the bombed out building of Gaddafi's intelligence services and forces of the new government attempting to evict them.

Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Abdul Monem al-Tunsi, said he has received reports the situation is "on its way to being resolved," CNN reported.

Mutual mistrust between militia groups poses a challenge to the country's new leaders.

"Since the liberation of Tripoli the government has engaged in a multi-phased process to encourage militias to either leave the city or integrate into official military or law enforcement bodies," Prime Minister Abdurraheem Elkeib said in a statement in December.