Libya's Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim survived an assassination attempt in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday, the prime minister's office said.

Gunmen opened fire when Abdulkarim was about to enter the interior ministry, which he also heads, officials in the prime minister's office said, without giving further details.

The identity of the attackers was unclear, an interior ministry official added.

Libya is struggling to contain dozens of militias who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 uprising, but kept their guns and have regularly challenged the authority of the new government.

Parts of the country are already effectively under the control of militias, armed tribesmen and Islamist groups. - Reuters