TRIPOLI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- "Small-scale clashes" erupted Tuesday between a Libyan army unit and a militia group in the town of Bani Walid, a militia chief told Xinhua.
The army unit deployed scores of armed pickups and tanks around the town, about 170 km southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, demanding the militiamen hand in people wanted for kidnapping and torturing Omran Shaban, who helped capture former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last year, Libyan news agency Press Solidarity reported.
Shaban was reportedly kidnapped by armed men in July near Bani Walid and tortured to death later.
The militia chief told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the militia group in Bani Walid, a former Gaddafi stronghold, have illegally held for about 50 days dozens of people, including some armed men and journalists who were against Gaddafi during last year's civil war.
There is no report on the casualties in the clashes, and the army unit is negotiating with the militiamen, the militia chief said.
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