Six killed in Tripoli clashes after killing of militia leader

The sidesplitting of the caput of 1 of Libya’s astir almighty militias, which has been accused of abusing asylum seekers and faced allegations of crimes against humanity, has triggered equipped clashes successful Tripoli, resulting successful astatine slightest six deaths.

Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, amended known arsenic Gheniwa, the commandant of Support Force Apparatus SSA, 1 of Tripoli’s almighty equipped groups, based successful the densely populated Abu Salim neighbourhood, was killed connected Monday nighttime astatine the office of the 444th Combat Brigade of the Libyan army, a root successful 1 of the country’s information forces told Al Wasat television.

Kikli, 1 of the capital’s astir influential militia leaders, had precocious been progressive successful disputes with rival equipped groups, including factions linked to the metropolis of Misrata. His SSA is nether the Presidential Council that came to powerfulness successful 2021 with the authorities of nationalist unity (GNU) of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah done a UN-backed process.

Armed clashes erupted overnight and gunfire echoed successful the metropolis centre and different parts of Tripoli aft reports of Kikli’s death.

Libya’s Emergency Medicine and Support Centre said: “Six bodies person been retrieved from the sites of clashes astir Abu Salim.

The GNU’s interior ministry called connected citizens to enactment astatine location “for their ain safety”. After the ministry’s call, drivers started speeding and honking successful galore Tripoli streets.

One antheral told Reuters: “I heard dense gunfire and I saw reddish lights successful the sky.” . Other residents reported gunfire echoing successful their neighbourhoods of Abu Salim and Salah Eddin.

The UN ngo successful Libya urged each parties to “immediately cease warring and reconstruct calm”, reminding them of their work to support civilians. “Attacks connected civilians and civilian objects whitethorn magnitude to warfare crimes,” it said.

Amnesty International and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) person described Kikli’s radical arsenic 1 of the main perpetrators of unit wrong Libya’s detention centres. According to a UN information assembly sheet of experts study successful December 2024, Kikli was a cardinal fig successful Libya’s equilibrium of power, playing a cardinal relation successful militia financing done corrupt practices.

As person of the SSA, helium was accused of extrajudicial killings, torture and superior quality rights violations. His sanction appears successful a 189-page ailment filed successful 2022 by the ECCHR to the planetary transgression court, listing him among imaginable co-perpetrators of crimes against humanity linked to the systematic maltreatment of migrants and refugees.

Diana Eltahawy, the lawman determination manager for the Middle East and North Africa astatine Amnesty International, said in a study published successful 2022: “It tin travel arsenic nary astonishment that al-Kikli’s militia is yet again progressive successful horrific crimes – whether against migrants and refugees oregon Libyans. For implicit a decade, militias nether his bid terrorised radical successful the Tripoli neighbourhood of Abu Salim done enforced disappearances, torture, unlawful killings and different crimes nether planetary law. He should beryllium investigated and, if determination is capable admissible evidence, prosecuted successful a just trial.”

In March, a photo shared connected X by a Libyan activistic showed Kikli successful Rome, astatine the European hospital, visiting a GNU minister, Adel Juma, who was being treated determination aft surviving an onslaught successful Tripoli connected 12 February.

Libya is simply a large transit constituent for Europe-bound asylum seekers. For years, quality rights organisations person documented however migrants trapped successful the state are astatine the mercy of militias and smugglers. Tens of thousands of radical from sub-Saharan Africa are kept indefinitely successful overcrowded exile detention centres wherever they are subjected to abuses and torture.

The country, a large lipid shaper successful the Mediterranean, has had small stableness since a 2011 uprising backed by Nato. Libya divided successful 2014 betwixt warring eastbound and occidental factions. Major warring paused with a ceasefire successful 2020 but efforts to extremity the governmental situation person failed, with large factions occasionally joining forces successful equipped clashes and competing for power implicit Libya’s important economical resources.

Reuters contributed to this report