Reuters
–
For years, the most violent clashes rocked Tripoli on the second night and continued until Wednesday morning, witnesses in the Libyan capital said after Monday’s killing of a major militia leader fought among rival factions.
The UN Libya Mission Unsmil said it was “deeply wary of escalating violence in the densely populated regions of Tripoli,” and frequently called for a ceasefire.
The latest unrest in Libyan capital could consolidate the power of Abdulhamid al-Dubiba, the prime minister of the divided country’s National Unified Government (GNU) and Turkish ally.
Libya has had little stability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising split between longtime independent Muammar Gaddafi and rival Eastern and Western factions in 2014, but the outbreak of a massive war in 2020 was suspended in an armistice.
Libya, a major energy exporter, is also an important way for immigrants heading to Europe, with the conflicts being caught up in foreign forces, including Turkey, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Its main oil facilities are located in southern and eastern Libya, far from the current fighting in Tripuri.
Eastern Libya has been ruled by Commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) for ten years, but the rule of Tripoli and Western Libya has been split among many armed factions.
Dabeiba ordered on Tuesday to dismantle what he called an irregular armed group.
The announcement followed the murder of Abdulhani Kikuri, the leading militia chief, widely known as Ganiwa, and the sudden defeat of his Stabilization Support Devices (SSA) group by factions alongside Dubaiba.
The seizing of Libyan SSA territory by factions allied to Dbeibah, the 444 and 111 brigades exhibited a large concentration of power in the fragmented capital, leaving a special deterrent (RADA) as the last big faction not closely linked to the prime minister.
