GENEVA - The U.N.'s top human rights official says fighting between armed groups in Libya has killed hundreds of civilians and could lead to prosecution for war crimes.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, says there have been hundreds of civilian deaths, widespread displacement of people and serious challenges to daily living for those trapped in areas of Libya where armed groups have fought in recent months.

A report Tuesday from the U.N. human rights office and the U.N. Support Mission in Libya found indiscriminate shelling of some civilian areas and at least 120,000 people driven from their homes in an escalating humanitarian crisis.

Libya's worst fighting since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011 has fractured the country among two rival governments and several militant groups. (AP)