(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.
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NEW: Local officials say 17 dead and dozens wounded
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NEW: NTC leaders urge unity and "self-restraint"
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Fights have raged between rival groups since the Gadhafi regime was toppled last year
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People from the largely Berber town of Zuwara are clashing with residents of Arab towns
The latest hostilities started when @placeholder 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.