“Lont was set on fire.” Bloody clashes in Libya can turn into a new war
On May 12, 2025, clashes between the 444 Infantry Brigade (commanded by Mahmud Hamza, a close associate of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeib) and a stability support apparatus (SSA), one of the powerful armed groups in Tripoli, broke out in Tripoli in Libya. The fights began after the assassination of the SSA commander Abdela Ghanie Al-Kikiki. This is the first serious armed clash in Tripoli from clashes in Tripoli in 2023.
After the assassination of Hamza's strength and their allies, they attacked many SSA headquarters in Tripoli, taking over their assets and arresting several dozen fighters.
According to Al-Kiklia reports, he was killed during a meeting with leaders related to the Libyan Ministry of Defense. Later, everything went quickly: the competing armed groups began to mobilize throughout the city, the sounds of heavy artillery resounded in residential districts, and the sky over Tripolis was again covered with black smoke.
Who is fighting in Tripoli?
On one side of the conflict there are units subject to the Ministry of Defense, including the influential Infantry Brigade 444 and elements of the so -called Misrata forces joined. On the other side there are special deterrent forces (al-Rada), formally acting within the Ministry of the Interior.
Although formally speaking, both factions are subject to the government in Tripoli, they have long been functioning as semi -automatic entities with various types of political loyalty.
According to Claudio Gazini, a senior Libyan analyst at the Crisis Group, New fights are about control over capital and strategic resources, as well as influence on dispersed security systems. As “Turkey Today” writes, this is a warning signal against a potential new, great war.
Gazini explained.
A sudden vacuum and a quick government offensive
Al-Kiklia recently criticized the Libyan Prime Minister Dbeib, despite the fact that his SSA is technically subject to the auspices of the Presidential Council. More precisely, the SSA is subject to the administration of the Presidential Council, which came to power in 2021 together with the government of national unity (GNU) of the Prime Minister Libya as a result of a trial supported by the United Nations. Al-Kiklia publicly clashed with the government regarding the nomination for large state-owned enterprises and lucrative public contracts.
Just a week before his death Al-Kiklie's colleagues shot at members of the board of the Libyan Telecommunications Holding In connection with the dispute allegedly regarding a contract worth hundreds of millions of euros. Ghazini considers this escalation as part of a wider struggle for the network of state patronage, which remain the main currency of power in Libya.
His The murder immediately created a vacuum of power. As reported by the sources, within a few hours two closest allies of Al-Kikiki, one responsible for national intelligence operations, the other for protecting the central bank, escaped from Tripoli. Meanwhile, the SSA forces were resolved or withdrew without resisting, which allowed them to take over the base and positions without direct confrontation. For a moment it seemed that a serious change in the safety system in Tripoli could take place without further violence.
But this moment passed quickly. On Tuesday afternoon, Dbeiba made a thoughtful political movement, declaring that “the era of parallel security systems was over.”
He promised to organize the divided system of armed forces in the city, reorganizing prison service, police and anti -immigration units. In his opinion, the death of the head of the SSA is a signal that the state has finally regained control of the Tripoli security sector.
In Tripolis on the horizon you can see more brutal clashes
Ghazini believes that the statements of the Libyan prime minister had unintentional consequences. Al-Rada, an organization controlling Mitiga airport in Tripoli and a neighboring prison with a high rigor, interpreted his words as a direct threat.
Fearing that they will become another goal of the campaign aimed at regaining power, they conducted an overtaking attack on forces related to the Ministry of Defense participating in the murder of Al-Kikli.
– In Tripoli, political messages are read through the prism of power and survival – explains the analyst. Gazini notes that Dbeibach's statement, regardless of whether it was deliberate or not, could light a fuse in this conflict.
– We are not witnessing an ordinary clash with criminals, but a fight of the elite for power, which takes place using tanks on the streets – adds the expert.
For ordinary residents, the effects of these events are well known. Once again, schools are closed, roads blocked, and families fled to shelters when the attackers exchange fire.
“I heard a heavy shooting and saw red lights in the sky,” said one of the residents who wanted to remain anonymous, while the other two said that the sounds of the shots could be heard in their districts Abu Salim and Salah Edin.
The Libyan government of national unity quickly announced victory, announcing that Brigade 444 of the Ministry of Defense took control of the Militia's headquarters in the District of Abu Selim in Tripolis.
Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah congratulated the army and police to effectively establish state power during the conflict. However, people paid the price – At least 7 people were killed and 70 were injured, and several are in a critical conditionwhich emphasizes the seriousness of the fighting, which once again destroyed the fragile room in Tripoli.
Spanish delegation imprisoned at the hotel
According to the Spanish media, a group of nine members of the Spanish delegation of the Chamber of Commerce got stuck in their hotel in Tripoli as a result of fierce partisan fights in this Libyan city.
The delegation of the Chamber of Commerce of the Tarragon region came to Tripoli on Monday, and the Spanish embassy in Libya confirmed that all members of the delegation are safe, that they are protected by the protection of the embassy and that they were expecting to leave the country as soon as they allow the security conditions, the Spanish television of the National RTVE, and Tanjug reported on Wednesday.
Demonstrators in Tripoli are demanding the overthrow of Prime Minister Dbeiba
On Friday, hundreds of protesters in the capital of Libya, Tripoli, demanded that the prime minister Dbeib recognized by the international community recognized by the international community. At least three ministers resigned.
According to the Reuters agency, the participants of the protest chanted the slogans: “The nation wants to overthrow the government” and “We want choices”.
The agency reports that at least three ministers were resigned after the protesters' demands.
Dbeiba, which heads the government of the national unity in a divided country, came to power in 2021 as a result of a process supported by the United Nations. The planned elections this year did not take place due to misunderstandings between competing factions, and Dbeiba remained in power.
Division of Libya almost 10 years ago
Libya – the main producer of crude oil in the Mediterranean – since the creation of NATO supported in 2011. It has been on clay legs. In 2014, the country divided into the fighting fractions of the East and the West.
The main fights were interrupted by the suspension of weapons in 2020, but attempts to end the political crisis did not bring results. The main factions from time to time join forces in armed conflicts and compete for control over significant economic resources of Libya.
According to Reuters, Tripolis and Northwest, where it is recognized by the international GNU and most of the main state institutions, they are habitats of competing armed fractions that have fought with each other many times.
