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France calls on its nationals to leave Libya as violence escalates

French government follows example of other nations as fighting sweeps across the North African country three years after overthrow of Gaddafi.

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The French ministry of foreign affairs on Sunday became the latest to call its nationals to leave Libya as the death toll from two weeks of clashes between rival factions topped 150, reports FRANCE 24.

At least 38 people were killed at the weekend in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, many of them civilians, where Libyan Special Forces and Islamist militants clashed on Saturday night and Sunday morning, medical and security sources said.

In the capital Tripoli, two weeks of fighting between militias have left 97 people dead, the health ministry said on Sunday.

Egypt and western foreign ministries urged their citizens to leave amid spiralling violence.

Washington evacuated its embassy staff on Saturday, with Secretary of State John Kerry warning the mission had faced a "real risk" from fierce fighting between armed groups for control of Tripoli's airport.

The Tripoli clashes, the most violent since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, started with an assault on the airport by a coalition of groups, mainly Islamists, which has since been backed by fighters from third city Misrata.

The attackers are battling to flush out fellow former rebels from the hill town of Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, who have controlled the airport for the past three years.

Fighting was still raging on Sunday, with explosions heard from the city from early morning as militiamen battled around the airport.

Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.