Militia Infighting Kills at Least 9 in Libya’s Capital, Officials Say

LNA forces are seen in southwestern Libya. (LNA)
LNA forces are seen in southwestern Libya. (LNA)
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Militia Infighting Kills at Least 9 in Libya’s Capital, Officials Say

LNA forces are seen in southwestern Libya. (LNA)
LNA forces are seen in southwestern Libya. (LNA)

Clashes between two heavily armed militia groups in Libya's capital terrorized residents and killed about a dozen people, the latest bout of violence in the North African nation, officials said Saturday.

The hours-long clashes, which involved heavy weapons, occurred Friday in Tripoli’s eastern neighborhood of Tajoura between Rahba al-Duruae militia, which is led by warlord Bashir Khalfallah — known as al-Baqrah — and another militia al-Shahida Sabriya, the officials added.

The Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency Services said at least 9 people were killed and 16 others were wounded in the hours-long clashes.

The clashes stemmed from an attempted assassination of al-Baqrah on Friday, which his militia blamed on al-Shahida Sabriya, according to local media reports.

Khalid al-Mishri, the newly-elected head of the west-based High Council of State, condemned the assassination attempt and called for an investigation to hold those responsible accountable.

The warring parties are allied with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s government. Its spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The violence underscored the fragility of war-torn Libya following the 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, which toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi. Amid the chaos, militias grew in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the western part of the country.

Friday’s militia infighting was the latest in a series of clashes between militias competing for influence in the country’s west.

In May, militia clashes rocked the coastal town of Zawiya, trapping families for houses inside their homes, killing at least one person and wounding 22 others. And in August last year, a 24-hour period of fighting between rival militias in Tripoli killed at least 45 people.

The capital’s clashes came as the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, said it deployed troops to the southwestern areas to secure Libya’s southern borders. The deployment prompted militias in western Libya to mobilize amid mounting concerns of a potential new war between east and west Libya.

The United Nations' mission and Western embassies in Libya expressed their concerns that the military movement could explode into an all-out war between the LNA and the West-based militias, four years after a ceasefire deal ended a 14-month war between the two sides.

“Such movements risk escalation and violent confrontation and could put the 2020 ceasefire at risk,” said a joint statement by the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US.



Lebanese Army Blames Israel for Delay in Deploying Troops in Southern Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of controlled explosions during demolition activities undertaken by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of controlled explosions during demolition activities undertaken by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese Army Blames Israel for Delay in Deploying Troops in Southern Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of controlled explosions during demolition activities undertaken by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on January 24, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of controlled explosions during demolition activities undertaken by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila on January 24, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's army accused Israel of procrastinating in withdrawing troops from south Lebanon as required under a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah, a day after Israel said its forces would remain beyond a Sunday deadline for their departure.

The Lebanese army, in a statement issued on Saturday, also urged Lebanese residents to wait before heading into the border region, citing the presence of mines and unexploded Israeli ordnance.

Under the US-brokered agreement, which took effect on Nov. 27, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani River and Israeli troops should withdraw as the Lebanese military deploys into the region, all within a 60-day time frame, meaning by Sunday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).

Israel's military confirmed on Saturday that it won't complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday.

In a statement, it said the agreement is progressing but in some sectors, “it has been delayed and will take slightly longer.”

It added that the withdrawal process will continue “in the near future,” but said that displaced residents from towns in southern Lebanon should not return.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday the terms had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state. The White House said a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.

The US-backed Lebanese army said it had continued to implement the plan to strengthen its deployment south of the Litani River since the ceasefire came into effect.

"Delays occurred in a number of the phases as a result of procrastination in the withdrawal by the Israeli enemy, which complicated the mission of the army's deployment," the statement said. The army "maintains its readiness to complete its deployment as soon as the Israeli enemy withdraws", it added.

The ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities which were triggered by the Gaza war and peaked in a major Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which uprooted more than a million people in Lebanon.

The Israeli government has not said how much longer its forces might remain in south Lebanon, where the Israeli military says it has been seizing Hezbollah weapons and dismantling infrastructure used by the armed group.

Hezbollah, which suffered major blows in the war, said on Thursday that any delay of Israel's withdrawal would be an unacceptable breach of the deal and put the onus on the Lebanese state to act. Hezbollah said the state would have to deal with such a violation "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters".

Israel said its campaign against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced by Hezbollah rocket fire to leave their homes in northern Israel.