Splits between jihadists and less extreme Islamists are appearing in Benghazi, cradle of the Libyan uprising, as jihadists achieve success on the ground and the Islamists try to organize, analysts say.

Islamists of good standing, seen as close to the Muslim Brotherhood, set the ball rolling on Saturday by announcing the formation of a shura or consultative council to "find solutions to the problems of the city" of Benghazi in eastern Libya.

Two unidentified aircraft flew over Libya's capital before dawn on Monday and loud explosions were heard, days after fresh clashes between militias prompted hundreds of people to flee.

A statement by the provisional government, which lacks any real authority, said it was not known whose aircraft had attacked militia positions.

The United Nations condemned a new round of fighting between rival militias around Tripoli international airport, saying the clashes were undermining Libya's political process.

Since mid-July, Libya has been rocked by fierce and deadly fighting between militias that has prompted an exodus of foreign nationals from the oil-rich North African country.

The Philippines will work to repatriate thousands more of its nationals from Libya after more than 700 were ferried to safety on a chartered ship, the presidential palace said Sunday.

President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said "the commitment of the government is to continue to work for the rescue of all the Filipinos in dangerous situations in other countries".

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday announced the appointment of Spanish diplomat Bernardino Leon to be his special envoy for Libya and lead the U.N. mission in the troubled country.

Leon, who served as the European Union's special envoy for Libya, replaces Tarek Mitri of Lebanon who was head of the U.N. support mission for Libya (UNSMIL) since 2012.

A Philippine-chartered ship evacuated 449 Filipinos and a small number of other foreigners from Libya on Thursday, the foreign department said, due to the deteriorating security situation in the North African country.

The operation from the eastern port of Benghazi marked the largest single evacuation of Filipinos from the country in its latest bout of violence, though the foreign department said 10,000 other Filipino workers have yet to leave.

A majority of Libyan MPs voted Wednesday to call for foreign intervention to protect civilians amid chaos in the North African country as rival militias engage in fierce clashes, a deputy said.

Parliament, meeting in Tobruk in the east, adopted "by 111 of the 124 deputies present a resolution calling on the international community to intervene quickly to protect civilians in Libya, including Tripoli and Benghazi", Abu Bakr Biira told Agence France Presse.

Libya's parliament on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment for the direct election of an interim president, a member of parliament said.

The proposal was backed by 141 of the 144 lawmakers present, the MP, Abu Bakr Biira, told Agence France Presse.

Hooded attackers shot dead Tripoli police chief Colonel Mohamed al-Suissi in the Libyan capital's eastern suburbs on Tuesday, a security source told Agence France Presse.

"Colonel al-Suissi was assassinated by a group of unknown hooded people who opened fire on him in his vehicle. Two men with him were kidnapped in the attack," said the source, who asked not to be named.

Mahdi al-Harati, an Irish-Libyan who commanded rebel groups in both Libya and Syria, was elected mayor of Tripoli on Wednesday, state news agency Lana reported.

Harati, 41, who spent 20 years in Ireland and married an Irish woman, was chosen by the Libyan capital's new municipal council, voted in on May 17.