Libya: Tripoli’s fragile peace shaken by renewed fighting, military buildup
Recent weeks have seen multiple clashes and security incidents in the Libyan capital, raising concerns from both the United States and the United Nations.
Renewed clashes in Tripoli are raising fears of a collapse in Libya’s fragile peace, prompting the Libyan army to convene on Friday on measures to maintain calm in the capital.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mohamed Al-Haddad met with the committee tasked with overseeing the truce in Tripoli, focusing on “monitoring the security situation in the capital, Tripoli, to ensure the maintenance of calm,” the official Libyan News Agency reported.
The meeting followed reports by the agency and Arabic-language media of a military buildup in the city that has left residents on edge and raised concerns that old rivalries between armed factions could erupt. Heavy clashes were reported on Thursday in Zawiya, just southwest of Tripoli, according to local and regional news outlets.
🚨 استمرار الاشتباكات المسلحة في مدينة الزاوية. pic.twitter.com/av3lr2atJq
— صحيفة المرصد الليبية (@ObservatoryLY) August 28, 2025
Tripoli and the surrounding areas of western Libya are under the control of the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, though multiple armed groups operate throughout the capital. The government itself is divided, with authority split between a Presidential Council led by Mohammed al-Menfi and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
