AKIPRESS.COM - Libyan military police chief Mukhtar Fernana, who is loyal to a former general accused of a coup attempt, said he was suspending parliament after clashes broke out in Tripoli as unrest in the North Africa country worsens.

Fernana, in a televised speech late yesterday, said the assembly will be replaced by a 60-member group. Two people were killed and 66 were wounded in Tripoli yesterday, Al Jazeera reported, as forces loyal to former General Khalifa Haftar stormed parliament buildings.

The unrest helped Brent crude oil extend its first weekly gain this month. Libyan authorities accused Haftar, a retired general, this week of planning a coup after troops loyal to him battled Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The violence underscores Libya’s struggle to recover three years after the revolt that toppled former leader Muammar Qaddafi, as rebel groups refuse to disband.

Crude production in Libya, holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, declined to 215,000 barrels a day last month, or 13 percent of installed capacity, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Nuri Abu Sahmain, Libya’s parliament chief, said yesterday he was running the assembly from a “safe place,” in coordination with his two deputies and the head of general intelligence, the state-run Libyan News Agency reported.