Deadly clashes rock Libya's capital after militia leader killed

Middle East Eye

13-05-2025

Clashes between heavily armed militias erupted across the Libyan capital late on Monday night, killing at least six people and plunging Tripoli into renewed violence and fear.
The fighting, which continued into the early hours of Tuesday, was triggered by the killing of Abdelghani al-Kikli, a powerful militia commander known as "Gheniwa," who led the Stability Support Authority (SSA), one of Tripoli's most influential armed factions.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were reported in several neighbourhoods, particularly Abu Salim, a densely populated southern district. Residents told Reuters they heard intense gun battles.
'Six bodies have been retrieved from the sites of clashes around Abu Salim,' Libya's Emergency Medicine and Support Centre confirmed.
The health ministry also said that emergency crews helped evacuate families trapped by the violence and called on hospitals and medical centres 'to raise their level of preparedness and ensure maximum readiness to deal with any emergency'.
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In the wake of the clashes, the interior ministry of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) issued an emergency alert urging residents to stay indoors.
Schools and universities suspended classes, exams and all administrative activities. The education ministry cited the 'deteriorating security situation,' while the University of Tripoli announced a full closure 'until further notice'.
Death of a warlord
Al-Kikli was allegedly ambushed on Monday evening in a facility run by the 444 Brigade, a rival militia led by Mahmoud Hamza, an influential commander allied with GNU Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
While the exact circumstances of his killing remain murky, a nephew of al-Kikli said in a Facebook post that he had been lured under the pretence of negotiations, an invitation that turned out to be a calculated hit.
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'For many years, Abdelghani 'Ghnewa' al-Kikli was arguably one of the most resilient, most successful armed group leaders in Tripoli when it came to extending militia influence beyond hard security,' Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst focusing on Libyan security and political economy, said in a post on X.
'His primary strength lay not in military might - though his territorial holdings did expand - but in his ability to outmaneuver Prime Minister Dbeibah. Today, however, that winning streak looks [like] it has come to an end.'
Al-Kikli had long been a controversial figure in Libya's volatile security landscape. Amnesty International previously accused him of war crimes and human rights violations, including torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings.
The SSA had become one of the most powerful militias in western Libya, with deep entrenchment in state institutions.
As Harchaoui noted, al-Kikli had successfully 'installed loyalists in key positions across the banking, telecom and administrative oversight sectors, and even within top diplomatic functions'.
A fractured state, again on edge
By early Tuesday morning, authorities said the situation was under control. The GNU said its forces carried out a "military operation" to restore security and reassert state authority in Abu Salim.
'What was accomplished today shows that official institutions are capable of protecting the homeland and preserving the dignity of its citizens,' Dbeibah wrote on X, praising the operation as 'a decisive step' against "irregular" armed factions.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed grave concern over the fighting, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilians.
'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. 'Attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes.'
The UNSMIL warned that unless armed groups were held accountable, violence would remain a constant threat to Libyans caught in the crossfire.
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The North African country has been divided between rival governments in the west and east since the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that overthrew and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The internationally recognised GNU governs from Tripoli in the west, while a rival administration under Prime Minister Osama Hammad operates from Benghazi in the east with backing from General Khalifa Haftar's forces.
Despite a 2020 ceasefire and several diplomatic efforts to unify the country, Libya remains fractured, with heavily armed factions vying for power, influence and control of lucrative oil and gas resources.
The latest clashes are the deadliest since August 2023, when rival factions in Tripoli battled for control, leaving 55 people dead.
Anas El Gomati, founder and director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute, said on X that al-Kikli's 'elimination leaves Dbeibah as the dominant power broker in western Libya, having systematically neutralised or co-opted potential rivals.
'The timing is particularly significant, coming as US-led negotiations explore the possibility of a unified military council between rival eastern and western factions,' Gomati added.
Harchaoui warned that "what is about to follow won't be smooth sailing.
'Tripoli faces a territorial reshuffle as Dbeibah's camp moves to seize SSA-held areas,' he said, adding that clashes may flare, but the real impact is institutional, with both the Central Bank and Libyan Foreign Bank set to be affected by the collapse of al-Kikli's network.