The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed its concern on Saturday over the clashes and escalation of violence in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and called for a nationwide cease-fire. In a statement on its website, the Foreign Ministry "called on all Libyans to refrain from resorting to violent actions that will damage the security and stability of the country and its capital in particular." The statement stressed that the only way to settle the differences of views in Libya was through dialogue and conciliation.

United Nations Libya envoy Martin Kobler condemned the violence in a statement and called for an immediate restoration of calm.

Heavy clashes erupted in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, as armed groups aligned with the U.N.-backed government fought to fend off a major offensive by rival forces and militia fighters. The Health Ministry gave a provisional count of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded. But, loyalist forces said 52 of their fighters had been killed in the battles that rocked residential areas.

The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a statement blaming the attack on Khalifa Ghwell, the head of a self-declared "national salvation government" that was set up in 2014, and Salah Badi, an allied militia leader.

The latest fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as headquarters of militias loyal to Ghweil, who was ousted when the GNA took office last year but refuses to recognise the new administration. Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital. Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate and several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.

Ghwell's government has been largely displaced by the GNA, which arrived in Tripoli last year, but it continues draw on armed support, especially from the western city of Misrata. The GNA has struggled to exert its authority in Tripoli and beyond, or rein in the militias that have held power on the ground in Libya since the country's 2011 uprising that toppled Gaddafi. A third government based in eastern Libya and aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar has rejected the GNA. The clashes follow a period of relative calm in Tripoli since March, when GNA-aligned groups pushed rival factions back from central neighborhoods. There have been rumors for weeks that a counter-attack was being planned under the name "Libya Pride", which in Arabic is a play on "Libya Dawn", the coalition of militias that brought the salvation government to power in Tripoli three years ago.