In Libya, fierce clashes between the Brigade 444 and the Force al-Radaa militias on August 14th and 15th, 2023, resulted in at least 27 deaths and 106 injuries in the suburbs of Tripoli, as per a provisional report from the Emergency Medical Center. As of August 16th, a fragile calm appears to have settled over the Libyan capital.
Violent clashes in Libya between two influential armed groups on Monday and Tuesday left at least 27 dead and 106 injured, according to medical sources on August 16th.
According to the same sources, 234 families were rescued and evacuated from combat zones south of Tripoli, along with several dozen foreign doctors or nurses who were stranded.
On Wednesday morning, the Libyan capital regained a relative calm. The airport, which had been closed due to the clashes, has reopened, although no commercial flights have been registered yet.
An agreement was reached late on Tuesday. A “Social Council” comprised of elders and notables from the Souk al Jomaa neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Tripoli announced that they had reached an agreement with the government to release Colonel Mahmoud Hamza.
This militia leader commands Brigade 444, and the clashes began following his abduction by the Radaa dissuasion force on Monday.
Calm has returned to the capital, and the ceasefire is being observed, but tension remains palpable. The Souk el Jomaa district is a stronghold of the dissuasion forces, and the fighting in this area impacted densely populated residential zones, prompting civilians to flee the sector.
These recurrent clashes between opposing militias in Tripoli stem from rivalries among armed groups vying to expand their influence and power.