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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland have both called for calm and de-escalation in Libya after days of clashes have left across Tripoli and Misrata.��

“We stress the importance of supporting the United Nations in securing , under the auspices of the security council and without prejudice to any political party,” said Lavrov in a press conference today.��

The made the comments while visiting Cairo on the first leg of his diplomatic tour of African nations, after weeks of negotiation by the UN secured a deal to ease shipments of wheat from Ukraine and Russia to Africa.��

“Today’s clashes in Misrata demonstrate the dangerous prospect that the recent violence will escalate,” said US Ambassador Richard Norland in a statement on Saturday.��

“The United States urges and their supporters among armed groups to stand down in order to avoid escalation and further loss of life”.��

At least 16 people were killed and 52 wounded in fighting between , the health ministry said on Saturday, following the latest politically driven violence to hit the Libyan capital.

The fighting began on Thursday night and extended into Friday afternoon. The toll revises up an earlier figure of 13, including three civilians, provided by the ambulance service.

The US ambassador repeated his conviction that only elections will secure a path forward to peace for Libyans.��

“These heightened tensions demonstrate the urgent necessity for Libya’s political leaders to immediately embrace an agreed path to elections which can install a truly legitimate, unified government to serve the interests of all Libyans,” he said.

The recent clashes were between two armed groups with major clout in the west of the war-torn country: the Al-Radaa force and the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, loyal to rival prime ministers Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha, both vying for power and legitimacy in Libya. ��

Libya has been gripped by insecurity since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, leaving a power vacuum armed groups and political factions have been wrangling for years to fill.

Tensions have been rising for months in Libya as two prime ministers vie for power, raising fears of renewed conflict two years after a landmark truce ended a ruinous attempt by eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar to seize Tripoli by force.