( CNN ) -- Libya 's government called for calm Tuesday after heavy fighting between local militias around the Libyan coastal city of Zuwara killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more . The roughly 80 reported wounded filled Zuwara 's hospital and included several civilians , said Ayoob Sufyan , a spokesman for the city government . Many of the wounded were severely hurt , and an appeal for blood donations went out on local radio . `` The situation is terrible , '' Sufyan told CNN as sporadi explosions and gunfire echoed in the background . `` It is a real war now . '' Sufyan called the violence the worst in that stretch of western Libya since the revolt that toppled longtime Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi in August . Fighting broke out several days ago between factions from Zuwara , a largely Berber city near the Tunisian border , and the nearby Arab-dominated towns of Raghdalin and Jamail . The area has a history of ethnic enmity . Most of Tuesday 's deaths were in the outlying towns , but at least seven were reported dead in Zuwara , Sufyan said . Libya 's National Transitional Council said it had dispatched a delegation of officials from Tripoli to seek an end to the fighting and a force of government troops to intervene and close off the area . `` The council calls on all Libyans , of all ethnicities , to preserve national unity and to exercise self-restraint , to rise above personal and insignificant differences and to not resort to weapons to resolve unresolved issues , '' the NTC said in a statement issued Tuesday evening . Libyan authorities have been struggling to maintain peace in the country since the revolt that toppled Gadhafi in August . Weapons have flooded Libya 's streets , and clashes have raged between rival groups -- including deadly tribal battles in the southern city of Sabha that left nearly 150 people dead last week . The council said it would `` work with all its power and strictly to pursue those who have caused these incidents that aim to destabilize the country . '' The latest hostilities started when Zuwara fighters were among a group of more than 60 who were driving back home recently from the Tunisian border where they were posted , Sufyan said . They were intercepted by a large number of armed men , whom Sufyan described as Gadhafi loyalists . He said some of the Zuwara militiamen managed to flee , but 25 others were captured and held for more than two days . Sufyan said the men were severely beaten and tortured by their captors , who called them `` rats '' and `` NATO agents '' -- terms that had been used by the Gadhafi regime to describe rebel fighters . The NTC intervened and secured the release of the militiamen . But after they were freed , clashes broke out Sunday . And that fighting intensified Tuesday , as mortars and rockets rained down on the city . Sufyan said fighters from Zuwara were on the front line fighting back . A Facebook page used by Gadhafi loyalists called `` We Are All Moammar Gadhafi '' is reporting shelling by `` NATO rats '' on Jamail and Raghdalin . Civilian casualties include a mother and her two children whose home in Jamail was shelled . But Sufyan said the people of Zuwara are `` more than friends '' with other Arab cities , like neighboring Zawiya , and blamed the tensions on discrimination by the people of Jamail and Raghdalin . Sufyan complained about what he said were empty promises by the Tripoli government and the National Transitional Council . For months , the government has been promising to disarm the areas surrounding Zuwara after previous incidents , but nothing was done . He said the people of Zuwara feel they have been abandoned because they are Berbers , not Arabs . `` Our people are dying , and they are doing nothing , '' Sufyan said . Col. Ali al-Sheiki , a Ministry of Defense spokesman , told CNN a military committee met Monday to resolve the situation around Zuwara . He said the government will intervene to stop the fighting and work on national reconciliation . If the situation escalates after peaceful intervention , al-Sheiki said , the national army could be deployed to stop the fighting . Al-Sheiki said it was not clear what the cause of the fighting was . He said that despite reports of Jamail and Raghdalin fighters being Gadhafi loyalists , `` It is not 100 % confirmed there are former regime elements in the towns . ''
NEW : Local ##s say 17 dead and 50 wounded . NEW : Local leaders urge unity and ` ` self - determination '' Fights have raged between rival groups since the Gadhafi regime was installed last year . Residents from the largely Berber town of Zuwara are clashing with residents of Arab villages .