Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha

The Libyan Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha, was caught Sunday afternoon in an exchange of fire between his security guards and a vehicle of Stability Support Apparatus personnel in Janzour, Tripoli, according to a statement by the Apparatus after the incident.

The Interior Ministry claimed, on the other hand, that Bashagha had escaped an assassination attempt in Janzour, adding that his motorcade came under fire when the he was being driven home in Janzour.

However, the Stability Support Apparatus, which operates under the Government of National Accord just like the Interior Ministry, said the incident was caused by a lack of coordination between the two security forces, accusing Bashagha's security personnel of an illegal shootout.

Security sources, meanwhile, confirmed that Bashagha’s convoy was not attacked and there was no assassination attempt, adding that the incident was a collision between Bashagha’s motorcade and a security car belonging to the Stability Support Apparatus which led Bashagha’s guards to open fire, killing one of the three personnel on the car.

In the meantime, the Stability Support Apparatus stressed that the vehicle that was shot at by Bashagha's security personnel was coming back from a regular work task and it happened to pass through the motorcade of Bashagha, vowing to bring to justice those involved in shooting the appartus personnel.