The Libyan capital is on high alert following the massive deployment of military convoys from Misrata, the hometown of Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah.
The show of force is seen as an attempt by the Dbeibah administration to assert its authority over powerful militias that control key areas in Tripoli.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, hundreds of vehicles armed with heavy weapons have been deployed to Tripoli. The move appears to be a preparation for a potential confrontation with the Apparatus for Deterrence Against Terrorism and Organized Crime, a powerful Salafist-affiliated militia that controls the strategic Mitiga complex.
The Mitiga complex is a critical location, housing Tripoli’s main military base, its only operational airport, and a prison. Dbeibah has issued an ultimatum demanding the militia surrender the complex.
The militia, however, remains determined to defend its territory in Souk al-Juma, where it has strong popular support for its role in fighting terrorist networks. A militia official told Le Monde that the current government is “criminal,” accusing it of corruption and the misappropriation of oil wealth.
The current crisis follows a change in Tripoli’s security landscape after the leader of a rival militia, Abdulghani al-Kikli, was eliminated in May. Dbeibah, who also serves as Defense Minister, attempted an offensive against the Deterrence Forces in May, but the operation failed, resulting in a fragile ceasefire.
Once seen as a guarantor of stability, Dbeibah reportedly funded militias with oil revenue to consolidate his power. However, as those funds have dwindled since 2023, he has shifted his strategy, launching operations against his former allies, which has earned him new enemies.
This conflict in Tripoli comes as Libya continues to be fractured. In the east, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, is observing the situation from his base in Benghazi. While a civil war was narrowly avoided in 2019, the possibility of another major conflict now looms over the country, which has been in chaos for 14 years since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
MK/Sf/fss/abj/APA