Clashes between heavily armed militias rocked the Libyan capital, with gunfire and explosions heard across the city following the killing of a powerful armed group leader, officials said. At least six people were killed, they said.
The hourslong clashes, which involved heavy weapons, took place Monday evening into the early hours of Tuesday and centered in Tripoli’s southern neighborhood of Abu Salim, the officials said.
The fighting stemmed from the killing of Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, commander of the Stabilization Support Authority, SSA, on Monday by another rival militia, a senior government and health official said.
The SSA is an umbrella group of militias that rose to become one of the most powerful groups in western Libya during the country’s long-running conflict. Al-Kikli, who was known as “Gheniwa”, has been accused by Amnesty International of war crimes and other serious rights violations over the past decade.
Al-Kikli was killed in a facility run by the 444 Brigade, a militia commanded by Mahmoud Hamza, another warlord close to head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, one of the officials said.
Hamza’s group and their allies then attacked the offices of SSA across the capital, seizing their assets and detaining dozens of SSA fighters, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
The Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency Services said in a statement that at least six people were killed in the vicinity of Abu Salim, the SSA stronghold. It said it helped evacuate many families trapped in the clashes.
Residents reported heavy clashes and explosions in multiple areas in the capital, with dozens of vehicles carrying fighters affiliated with different groups in the streets.
“It was a nightmare,” said Ahmed Ammer, who lives in the city center, adding that the clashes were reminiscent of the war that engulfed the North African country following the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi.
He said the clashes subsided early Tuesday morning, but the situation has been tense with many fighters in the streets.
Classes in the capital’s schools were suspended on Tuesday, according to the Tripoli-based education ministry. The University of Tripoli also said it suspended studies, exams and administrative work until further notice.
Dbeibah’s government posted on its social media platforms early Tuesday that its forces carried out a military operation in Abu Salim and took full control of the area. It didn’t provide further details.
In a statement, the UN mission in Libya expressed alarm about the “intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas” and warned that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes.”
Libya has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west. Currently, it is governed by Dbeibah’s government in Tripoli and by the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.
