
Libya engulfed in chaos following top security official's killing
A smoke rises from a port of Tripoli after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami
CAIRO – 13 May 2025: The Libyan capital, Tripoli, has been gripped by a state of chaos and unrest in recent hours following violent clashes sparked by the killing of Abdul Ghani al-Kikli, known as "Ghaniwa," the head of the Stability Support Apparatus affiliated with the Presidential Council, according to Libyan media outlets. Reports indicate the sound of artillery and heavy weapons fire in the Ain Zara and Salah al-Din areas, located in the suburbs of Tripoli.
In the same context, activists and social media users widely circulated a video documenting the moment of storming the headquarters of the Stability Support Apparatus in Tripoli. Libyan media sources reported that Abdul Ghani al-Kikli was killed inside the headquarters of "Brigade 444 Combat," affiliated with the Tripoli Military Zone, on Monday evening, as reported by Al-Qahera News channel.
Libya: Partial Power Outage in Areas of Tripoli
Media reports, including the flight tracking website Flightradar24, indicated the suspension of departure and arrival traffic at Mitiga International Airport in Libya. There are also reports of a curfew being declared in the capital, Tripoli. Libyan media also reported a partial power outage in areas of the capital, Tripoli, according to Al-Qahera News channel.
Libya: Complete Control Over Abu Salim Area in Tripoli
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Unity in Libya affirmed that it is making efforts to control security and contain the situation. The administration of Mitiga Airport confirmed that airlines have been transferred to Misrata Airport as a precautionary measure. The Ministry of Defense of the Government of National Unity also confirmed that complete control has been established over the Abu Salim area in Tripoli, according to Al-Qahera News channel.
Libya: Calls to Exercise Caution and Not Leave Residences
Regarding international reactions, TASS news agency reported that the Russian Embassy in Libya was not affected by the clashes erupting in Tripoli. Media outlets reported that the Tunisian Embassy in Tripoli called on the Tunisian community to exercise caution and not leave their places of residence.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in Tripoli, with heavy weapons fighting intensifying in densely populated civilian neighborhoods. UNSMIL called on all parties to cease fighting immediately and restore calm.
Libya: Mobilization and Military Movements Affiliated with Misrata and Zawiya
The clashes followed a mobilization and military movements affiliated with the cities of Misrata, Zawiya, and Zintan towards the capital, Tripoli, after escalating disputes between the Stability Support Apparatus and the Misrata Joint Force, despite warnings issued by UNSMIL.
The UN mission had called on Libyan parties to "avoid the use of force in resolving the conflict, stop the escalation, and calm the situation," stressing that it is closely monitoring reports regarding military movements and the increasing tension in Tripoli and the western region, urging all parties to "urgently de-escalate, refrain from any provocative actions, and work to settle disputes through constructive dialogue."
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'There's no question when you look at what's happening on the battlefield that every week the situation deteriorates, and the Ukrainians surely know that at some point in time all that weaponry and all that money that was in the Biden pipeline is going to evaporate. And Trump has made it clear that he's not going to go back to Congress and do what Biden did before him. So not only are the Ukrainians going to continue to lose, the situation's going to deteriorate further. It's hard to imagine the Ukrainians hanging on until the end of this year.' Why is Ukraine the West's fault? 'It's very simple; the Russians made it clear when we first announced that Ukraine was going to become a member of NATO in April 2008, that they viewed this as an 'existential threat'… Putin told us in April 2008 that he would wreck Ukraine before he would let it come into NATO. Nevertheless the West, and here we're talking mainly about the United States, continued to push forward to bring Ukraine into NATO. In February 2014, a crisis broke out and what did the United States do? It simply doubled down… We continued to push hard, and in February 2022, the war that is now taking place broke out. Therefore we [the US] are principally responsible because we push NATO expansion into Ukraine, which is the major cause of this war.' To what end did we push NATO expansion into Ukraine? 'Well, we thought we could get away with it and we wanted to create a NATO that covered all of Europe right up to Russia's border. We had gotten away with the 2004 expansion, included the Baltic States and we thought we could do the same with Ukraine… We thought it was perfectly acceptable to have Ukraine and Georgia and other countries that were part of the former Soviet Union in NATO.' Once came this attitude that we could use Ukraine as a battering ram with which to drive Vladimir Putin from office, this Victoria Nuland theory, where did it come from? 'I think that we believed that once the war started we could defeat the Russians. If you look at the three months before the war started, that is December 2021, January 2022 and most of February 2022, it's very clear that the Russians were trying to cut a deal with us and to avoid war. We did virtually nothing to avoid a war. 'The war starts and the Russians immediately reach out to the Ukrainians to talk about negotiations to end the war, the Russians want to end it, the Ukrainians agree. The famous negotiations in Istanbul start, and as you well know who ends those negotiations? It's not the Ukrainians, not the Russians; it's the Americans and the British in the form of Boris Johnson who comes in and tells the Ukrainians that they should walk away from the negotiations… We thought we could defeat the Russians, this is why we didn't try to prevent the war, and why once it started we didn't go along with Putin's efforts to stop the war. We thought we had the Russians and Putin right where we wanted them… Furthermore economic sanctions would deliver a really staggering blow to the Russians, and that combination of economic sanctions plus defeat on the battlefield would knock the Russians out of the ranks of the great powers… Of course we were categorically wrong, one could say catastrophically wrong, and the people who are paying the price for our foolishness are the Ukrainians.' Truth on the ground is that President Putin was able to successfully lead Russia politically and militarily, and was able to turn the economic sanctions into wins when he opened new fronts with China and his new allies. This jeopardised the plans of the US and its European allies. But what is the hope for the future of the conflict in Ukraine? One wonders along with Judge Napolitano. According to Professor Mearsheimer, there is no hope in negotiations owing to the firm conditions that Russia has put in place, including Ukraine's neutrality and its never joining the EU nor NATO, in addition to an international recognition of the affiliation of Crimea and the four oblasts to Russia. Given these conditions, it looks like Russia is sitting in the driver's seat and it would not trust any negotiations. 'I think Trump is going to walk away, and this one's going to be settled on the battlefield,' Professor Mearsheimer said. Watani International 6 June 2025 Comments comments