Militias on Alert ahead of Possible New Round of Unrest in Libyan Capital

Security forces are seen in Tripoli, Libya. (Asharq Al-Awsat file photo)
Security forces are seen in Tripoli, Libya. (Asharq Al-Awsat file photo)
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Militias on Alert ahead of Possible New Round of Unrest in Libyan Capital

Security forces are seen in Tripoli, Libya. (Asharq Al-Awsat file photo)
Security forces are seen in Tripoli, Libya. (Asharq Al-Awsat file photo)

Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU), headed by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, has yet to comment on reports about the activities of armed militias loyal to it in the capital Tripoli amid concerns of a new flareup in fighting.

Witnesses and local sources said the “Hadiqa squadron” of Abdel Ghani al-Kakali, known as “Ghniwa”, was on alert in Tripoli’s Abou Sleem area.

Local media also said all militias and armed groups in the city were on high alert.

The “Libyan Institution for Human Rights” said it had received reports of the continued mobilization of armed groups that are loyal to the GNU in Tripoli.

It expected armed clashes to erupt in residential areas in the coming days.

In a statement overnight Saturday, it warned all parties against the “excessive use of arms.”

It also called for keeping the people away from armed disputes and the struggle for power between rival groups.

It urged the GNU, its interior and defense ministries and head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed al-Menfi, to act to defuse the tensions.

Moreover, it warned that “all armed groups have fortified themselves in residential areas so that civilians could be used as human shields.”

Armed clashes had erupted in Tripoli on Thursday. No one was killed or injured in the fighting. The interior ministry has deployed police to secure the city.



Syria Reaches Deal to Integrate SDF within State Institutions, Presidency Says

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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Syria Reaches Deal to Integrate SDF within State Institutions, Presidency Says

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shaking the hand of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after the signing of an agreement, to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 10, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

The Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of Syria's oil-rich northeast, has signed a deal agreeing to integrate into Syria's new state institutions, the Syrian presidency said on Monday.

The deal, which included a complete cessation of hostilities, was signed by interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the SDF's commander, Mazloum Abdi.

Under the deal, whose text was posted online by the presidency, all civilian and military institutions in northeast Syria will be integrated within the state, which will thus take over control of borders, airports and oil and gas fields.

The SDF agrees to support the government in combating remnants of deposed president Bashar al-Assad's regime, and any threats to Syria's security and unity.

Since Assad was overthrown by Sharaa's Islamist forces in December, groups backed by Türkiye, one of Sharaa's main supporters, have clashed with the SDF, the main ally in a US coalition against ISIS militants in Syria.

The SDF is spearheaded by the YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.

Türkiye regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as terrorist groups, and Sharaa's new Damascus administration had been pressing the SDF to merge into newly-minted state security forces.

Abdi had previously expressed a willingness for his forces to be part of the new defense ministry, but said they should join as a bloc rather than individuals, an idea that was rejected by the new government.

The US and Türkiye’s Western allies list the PKK as a terrorist group, but not the YPG or the SDF.