Libya's UN-backed government forces captured seven eastern-based army soldiers during clashes in south of the capital Tripoli, according to a statement by the UN-backed government on its official Facebook page.

"Our forces forced the militias (eastern-based army) to retreat after they attempted to sneak in al-Khalla and al-Nahr areas," said Mohamed Gonono, spokesperson of the UN-backed government forces.

According to the statement, Libya's UN-backed government forces destroyed five military vehicles and a tank (belonging to the eastern-based army), and also captured seven members of the fleeing militias.

The eastern-based army and the UN-backed government have been fighting over control of Tripoli for seven months. The armed conflict has killed and injured thousands of people, and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians away from their homes.

Libya has been plagued by insecurity and political division, ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.