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TRIPOLI, Libya In a blow to anti-Islamist factions,Libya's highest court on Thursday ruled that general elections held in June were unconstitutional and that the country's parliament and government, which resulted from that vote, should be dissolved.

The development further deepened the rift in the politically dividedLibya, which has been mired in months-long clashes and turmoil that have left the country with two rival parliaments and governments, killed hundreds and displaced whole populations of war-torn cities and towns.

The Supreme Constitutional Court handed down the ruling in the capital, Tripoli, which is controlled by Islamist-allied militias from the powerful western coastal city of Misrata.

The militias, which took Tripoli in August after bitter street battles, revived an earlier parliament that ran the country before the elections. They also forced the elected parliament, dominated by anti-Islamists, to leave the capital and convene in the far eastern city of Tobruk.

The fact thatLibya'stop court ruled from Tripoli raises the question whether it did so under pressure from the militias. The ruling essentially declared illegal a March amendment to the country's transitional constitution that allowed the June elections to take place. Thus, the ruling also rendered the parliament and government that resulted from that vote illegal.

The Tobruk parliament convened later Thursday and rejected the ruling, saying it was handed down "at gunpoint."

"Tripoli is out of control, ruled by militias outside the state legitimacy and therefore, the ruling was issued at gunpoint," it said.

The parliament's Facebook page reported that the house of Supreme Constitutional Court judge Bashir al-Ryani, who had withdrawn from the court Wednesday, was attacked and torched "for (his) refusing to participate."

Abu-Bakr Baeira, a leading lawmaker in Tobruk, described the ruling as "politicized" and warned it would only further partitionLibya. "We don't recognize anything that comes out of it," Baeira told The Associated Press over the phone.

In Misrata, rallies were held, complete with fireworks, to celebrate the ruling. Saleh al-Makhzoum, the deputy speaker of the Tripoli-based parliament, which is not internationally recognized, hailed the ruling as a "victory for the nation."

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Libya's top court says parliamentary elections were unconstitutional