Tripoli, January 27 (RHC)-- The Libyan Health Ministry says two weeks of violent clashes in the country have killed at least 154 people and injured 463 more.

The ministry said in a statement issued on Saturday that the deaths occurred in ethnic clashes in Sebha and Wershefana. Sebha is a major city in the south while Wershefana is a town located west of the capital Tripoli.

Earlier in the day, Abdallah Ouheida, the director of the hospital in Sebha in the south, said that the ethnic violence in the region has killed at least 88 people and wounded more than 130 others. 

He added that the death toll could be higher as many of the dead and injured were taken to other hospitals in the region. 
Over the past few months, Tripoli and its suburbs have been hit by violent clashes between rival militias.  A number of political observers say that Libya is on the verge of becoming a failed state.  The streets are reportedly ruled by militias, affiliated with the government, but also acting unilaterally on their own.