DHAKA: Libya`s deputy industry minister has been shot dead during a visit to his hometown of Sirte, east of the capital Tripoli, reports say.

Local media quoted officials as saying unknown gunmen "sprayed bullets" at Hassan al-Droui near a central market, reports BBC.

In another development, at least 15 people were killed in clashes between rival tribes in the country`s south.

Libya has suffered continuing lawlessness since the overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.

"Hassan al-Droui was killed by unknown attackers overnight, during a visit to his native city of Sirte," a security official told the AFP news agency.

Sirte was the site of the final battle of Libya`s civil war, during which Col Gaddafi was captured and shot dead while trying to hide from rebels.

Mr al-Droui was a former member of the National Transitional Council, the political arm of the 2011 uprising.

He was appointed to his role by the transitional government`s first prime minister and kept his position when Ali Zeidan took over.

Militia violence

Libya has been struggling to assert itself over up to 1,700 different armed militias, each with their own goals, following Col Gaddafi`s death.

In smaller towns and cities, local groups of armed men still perform many of the duties of the state.

This is especially true in the south of the country, where the arduous task of protecting the open border, which stretches thousands of miles, is carried out largely by ill-equipped and ill-trained local groups.

Deadly clashes broke out between rival tribes in the southern city of Sabha on Saturday,

The fighting was reportedly sparked by the killing of a bodyguard protecting the city`s militia leader, a member of the Awlad Suleiman tribe.

Fellow tribesmen accused the rival Toubou of murdering the leader.

The violence is the worst between the tribes since they struck a ceasefire agreement in March 2012.

Members of the Toubou minority tribe live mainly in neighbouring Chad, but are also found in southern Libya, Niger and Sudan.

They have in the past complained of not being treated as equals by Arabs from the coastal cities of the north who tend to dominate the country`s government and security forces, correspondents say.

BDST:  0928 HRS, JAN 12, 2014
RS