Deadly Tripoli Clashes Erupt After Militia Leader’s Killing
By The Media Line Staff
Heavy fighting erupted in Tripoli late Monday after the killing of Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, leader of the powerful Stability Support Authority (SSA), leaving at least six dead and prompting school closures and calls for calm from international bodies. The violence unfolded in the southern Abu Salim neighborhood, a stronghold of the SSA, and continued into early Tuesday.
Al-Kikli—known as “Gheniwa”—was killed inside a facility controlled by the 444 Brigade, a rival armed group linked to Libya’s Defense Ministry and commanded by Mahmoud Hamza. Both Hamza and al-Kikli had close ties to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Following the killing, fighters from the 444 Brigade and their allies reportedly stormed SSA offices across the capital, seizing weapons and detaining dozens of SSA members.
The clashes, involving heavy weapons in residential areas, forced the evacuation of families and brought echoes of Libya’s civil war back to the capital. Schools and the University of Tripoli suspended classes Tuesday, and government ministries urged residents to stay indoors.
On Tuesday, Dbeibah’s government announced it had regained control of Abu Salim and praised security forces for their response.
The United Nations Mission in Libya said in a statement that it was “alarmed by the unfolding security situation … [and] intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas,” warning that attacks on civilians could constitute war crimes.
Libya remains divided between rival administrations, more than a decade after the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.
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