Armed clashes in Libyan capital leave six dead after reported killing of faction leader

Authorities tell people to stay indoors as fighting rages in Tripoli

Libyan security forces at a checkpoint in Tripoli on Tuesday after overnight clashes killed six people. AFP

Clashes between rival armed groups left at least six people dead in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Monday night, with reports saying the leader of an armed faction was among those killed.

“Six bodies have been retrieved from the sites of clashes around Abu Salim,” the Emergency Medicine and Support Centre said on Tuesday morning, AFP reported.

Abu Salim is a densely populated neighbourhood of south Tripoli that is home to the Support and Stability Apparatus, an armed group.

Libyan television channel Al Ahrar and news site Al Wasat reported that the group's leader Abdelghani Al Kikli – known as Ghaniwa – had been killed.

The reports said he was shot at a base of the rival 444 Brigade while attending a meeting for mediation between the two groups.

AFP reported heavy arms fire and explosions in several areas of Tripoli overnight, while residents told Reuters that gunfire echoed around the city. Authorities urged people to stay indoors.

Local media said the clashes broke out in the southern suburbs between armed groups from Tripoli and rivals from Misurata, a port city 200km east of the capital.

Libya is struggling to recover from years of unrest since a 2011 uprising that led to the fall and death of dictator Muammar Qaddafi. The country is currently divided between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east.

People in the old town of Libya's capital Tripoli. The country has been relatively calm in recent years. AFP

Despite relative calm in recent years, clashes periodically break out between armed groups vying for territory. In August 2023, 55 people were killed in fighting between two factions in Tripoli.

Several districts of the capital and its suburbs announced that schools would be closed on Tuesday until further notice. The Interior Ministry in Tripoli urged “all citizens to stay at home for their safety”.

Drivers were heard speeding and honking horns in the streets overnight. “I heard heavy gunfire and I saw red lights in the sky,” one resident told Reuters.

By Tuesday morning, authorities said the fighting had been brought under control.

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah thanked government forces “for restoring security and asserting the state's authority in the capital”.

“What was accomplished today shows that official institutions are capable of protecting the homeland and preserving the dignity of its citizens,” he said in a post on X.

Mr Dbeibah hailed the actions of security forces as a “decisive step” in the fight against “irregular” armed factions.

The UN Support Mission in Libya called for calm. “UNSMIL is alarmed by the unfolding security situation in Tripoli, with intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas,” it said on X.

It urged “all parties to immediately cease fighting”, warning that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes”.

“UNSMIL fully supports the efforts of elders and community leaders to de-escalate the situation,” it added.