Two people were killed in Libya during violent clashes between two influential armed groups near Tripoli on the night of Monday August 14 to Tuesday August 15, resulting in the suspension of flights and the evacuation of planes from the only civilian airport in Libya. the capital.
Fighting has pitted “Brigade 444” against “Al-Radaa Force” in several areas of the eastern suburbs of Tripoli, an officer – who requested anonymity – from the Ministry of Security told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday. inside. A hospital source announced an initial toll of two dead and more than thirty injured.
These two groups are among the most influential in Tripoli, where one of the two governments is vying for power in a country undermined since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 by divisions, fueled by the proliferation of groups armed with shifting allegiances.
“Tensions began” with the announcement of “the arrest by Al-Radaa of the leader of Brigade 444”, said the officer, adding that “the forces were still mobilized, and access to the airport of Mitiga, closed on Tuesday. The UN Support Mission in Libya (Manul) said in a statement it “follows with concern” these events and “their impact on civilians”, calling for “immediate de-escalation”, “dialogue” and “preserving progress made on the safety front in recent years”.
Call for blood donations
According to local media, armored vehicles and armed pick-ups were deployed Monday evening in several areas east and south of Tripoli after the arrest of the head of Brigade 444 at Mitiga airport, located in an area controlled by the Al-Radaa Force. Heavy gunfire, including heavy weapons, rang out in Ain Zara, southeast of Tripoli, before spreading to other areas near the airport and the University of Tripoli, where classes have been suspended. Mitiga authorities stopped traffic and diverted flights to Misrata, 200 kilometers further east, also evacuating aircraft parked on the tarmac. The health ministry has called for blood donations and the establishment of safe corridors to evacuate families trapped in combat zones.
Brigade 444, which depends on the Ministry of Defence, is considered the most disciplined of the armed groups in western Libya. It notably controls the southern suburbs of Tripoli, but also the cities of Tarhouna and Beni Oualid, securing the roads linking the capital to the south of the country.
The Al-Radaa Force is a powerful militia that polices Tripoli, arresting both jihadists and common criminals. It presents itself as a security body independent of the interior and defense ministries, and controls the center and east of Tripoli as well as the Mitiga air base, the civilian airport, and a prison.
At the end of May, fighting between the two groups, even in crowded streets in the center of Tripoli, had caused minor injuries. In July and August 2022, clashes between Al-Radaa and other armed groups left around 50 dead in Tripoli.
