Tripoli, Oct 13 (IANS/EFE): At least 46 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes over the weekend between rival militias fighting to control the cities of Kikla and Gharyan, south of Tripoli, hospital sources in Gharyan told Spanish news agency Efe.

Most of the victims, including civilians and militias, died after several rockets hit Kikla, located in the Nafusa Mountainous area, some 120 km south of Tripoli, the sources said.

Three people were also killed in neighbouring Gharyan, where fighting is also under way.

Another source from the Libyan Islamist militia Fajr Libya (Dawn of Libya), told Efe militias from Zintan town had withdrawn from the area, where several bodies appeared scattered in the streets.

The clashes broke out Saturday between rival tribal militias seeking to control Kikla.

Militias from Zintan arrived with a convoy of a hundred armoured vehicles and tanks to seize control of the region and the nearby Gharyan fortress.

The clashes coincided with the visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Tripoli to call for an end to violence and a dialogue to overcome the serious political crisis that has torn the country for the past three years.