Al-Dabaiba Faces Armed Factions in the Capital — Who’s Pulling the Strings in Tripoli?

In the Libyan capital, Tripoli, the gun continues to trump the ballot, and alliances shift as swiftly as the balance of power tilts. 

Between a government intent on cementing its grip and factions that view their survival as existential, the Libyan citizen is left stranded, still grappling with the same question that has hung unanswered for over a decade: When will the state return?

The rattle of gunfire that echoed once again through Tripoli’s neighborhoods on May 12, 2025, served as a stark reminder that the calm blanketing the capital since the Geneva agreement of 2021 was little more than a fragile truce—one easily shattered by the first serious attempt to reshuffle the cards of power.

The death of security commander Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, better known by his nom de guerre “Gheniwa,” was more than just another casualty—it was the spark that plunged Libya back into the throes of chaos. 

Al-Kikli, one of the most influential militia leaders in western Libya, was killed under murky circumstances during an official meeting at the headquarters of the “444th Combat Brigade,” a powerful unit aligned with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, led by Abdulhamid al-Dabaiba. 

His killing triggered a sweeping assault by the Special Deterrence Force, or “Radaa,” led by Abdul Raouf Kara—an old rival in Tripoli’s long-standing and bloody turf war.

By the following day, Tripoli had morphed into an open battlefield. Streets that only hours earlier had bustled with life were transformed into frontlines, the familiar hum of daily routine replaced by the crackle of gunfire.

Clashes spread across key neighborhoods, while neutral security units—commissioned by the Dbeibeh government’s Ministry of Defense—scrambled to separate the warring factions.

But as the fighting raged, a deeper question emerged: can the government truly confront the escalating crisis, one that now extends beyond guns and skirmishes to the very question of legitimacy?

AlDabaiba speech

On May 18, 2025, Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid AlDabaiba broke his silence following the fierce clashes in Tripoli, using a televised address from the Office of the Prime Minister to lay bare what he described as “the truth about the armed groups”—accusing them of overstepping state authority and becoming tools in the hands of political and military actors.

AlDabaiba explained that he had deliberately delayed his public appearance in an effort to avoid inflaming tensions or allowing the crisis to be politicized. 

But, he said, the gravity of the moment compelled him to break the wall of silence and expose what he called a campaign of systematic blackmail carried out by militias against the state and its institutions.

In his address, Prime Minister Abdulhamid AlDabaiba laid out a detailed map of Libya’s fractured armed landscape in the years following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. He said the country’s militias had since splintered into three distinct camps.

The first, he noted, chose to disband and return to civilian life. The second was integrated into official state institutions under the banner of legitimacy. 

But it is the third group, AlDabaiba warned, that poses the greatest threat—those who have continued to dominate through coercion, extortion, and the usurpation of political and security decision-making.

In a pointed address, Libyan Prime Minister al-Dabaiba warned that certain armed groups had "overpowered the state," becoming stronger than its institutions by exploiting a vacuum of governance and the absence of oversight.

AlDabaiba acknowledged that since his government took office following the Geneva agreement in 2021, it has been grappling with a tangled security landscape dominated by rogue militias operating beyond state control.

His remarks came at a fraught moment for Libya’s interim government. On May 23, seven ministers from the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity tendered their resignations, while thousands of protesters gathered in Martyrs' Square in the capital, calling for the government’s ousting.

Who holds the strings of Tripoli?

However, this ongoing clash was not merely a conflict between two factions, but rather a chapter in a broader struggle for influence between two competing projects: one led by AlDabaiba government, which aims to dismantle the armed groups that share control over the capital, and another determined to maintain the existing balance of power forged in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution.

Since his appointment as head of the Government of National Unity, Dbeibah has championed the slogan of “rebuilding the state.” Yet, his path to extending control over the entirety of the security apparatus has repeatedly collided with entrenched walls of armed influence.

At the forefront of these forces stands the Rada (Deterrence) Apparatus for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime, led by Abdul Raouf Kara. This Salafi Madkhali faction wields significant influence and is based at the Mitiga Airbase.

While Rada’a is not formally subordinate to the Ministry of Interior, it is administratively attached to the Presidential Council. Its legal status and judicial policing powers grant it a wide margin of maneuver, operating largely beyond oversight.

Several human rights reports, most notably from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused the apparatus of arbitrarily detaining thousands of prisoners and committing abuses within its detention centers—particularly at Mitiga prison, which has been described as a state within a state.

In response, al-Dabaiba government acted swiftly. At an emergency security meeting, the prime minister announced the dissolution of what he termed “parallel security agencies,” vowing to “crack down with an iron fist” on anyone who defies the authority of the state.

The move came as part of a broader plan reportedly backed by the United States, according to informed Libyan sources cited by the local newspaper al-Wasat on May 15.

According to those sources, Washington proposed earlier this year an initiative to restructure the security apparatus in western Libya, which includes the formation of a “unified regular force” under the Government of National Unity. Its mission would be to combat terrorism and irregular migration, serving as the foundation for building a cohesive national army.

The plan, discussed during visits by American officials to Tripoli, received backing from prominent figures within al-Dabaiba’s faction. 

However, it faced strong opposition from security agencies wary of losing their influence and positions, leaving Dbeibah confronted with mounting challenges.

One of these challenges emerged from the other side of the equation when Presidential Council President Mohamed al-Menfi swiftly issued an urgent decree on May 16, freezing all military and security decisions issued by al-Dabaiba government.

The move was seen as an attempt to curb what al-Menfi described as an excessive seizure by the prime minister of the powers vested in the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In an official statement, al-Menfi called on all military formations to return immediately to their bases, even as he faced internal pressure from his supporters, outraged by the killing of al-Kakli, who was administratively linked to the council despite his complete operational independence.

Since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, no Libyan government has succeeded in bringing armed factions under a unified security umbrella.

Even al-Dabaiba government inherited a complex security architecture, comprising influential factions from Misrata, Zawiya, and Zintan. 

Among the most notable are the 444th Brigade, led by Mahmoud Hamza, and the 111th Brigade, commanded by Abdul Salam Zubi, alongside powerful local groups—some of which hold dual loyalties to both the state and warlords.

These factions fear that AlDabaiba’s decisions are a prelude to stripping them of their influence and possibly holding them accountable in the future. This, in part, explains why some of their leaders fiercely resist structural reforms.

The Cost of Escalation

The recent clashes have brought back memories of the bloody divisions that tore Tripoli apart between 2014 and 2020, when the capital was split between rival forces battling over legitimacy and spoils.

Today, the picture looks little different—except that there is now a government recognized internationally, striving to nationalize security decision-making.

But this ambition runs up against a complex reality. Alongside the threat of military escalation, AlDabaiba government faces a political counteroffensive from the east, led by Khalifa Haftar and Aguila Saleh, who are pushing for the formation of an alternative government backed by the Libyan parliament. 

Meanwhile, the High Council of State in Tripoli, headed by Khaled al-Mishri, has begun signaling the possibility of withdrawing support from the current administration.

This prompted AlDabaiba to post a tweet on May 18, targeting Saleh directly, “Aguila Saleh, who led the assault on Tripoli for more than two years and legitimized the bombing and destruction, now shamelessly speaks of peace in the capital.”

“The aggression that led to the deaths of more than 3,000 Libyans and the systematic destruction of infrastructure was nothing but a direct result of this man’s incitement and stance,” AlDabaiba added.

“My message to him is this: before you speak about Tripoli and its peace, look at the council you claim to lead—a council without quorum, legitimacy, or a voice.” 

“Turn to the MPs who have disappeared, been abducted, or silenced. Speak to their families, their tribes, ask about their fate. History shows no mercy, and blood cannot be erased by mere statements,” AlDabaiba concluded.

Breaking Point

One of the most serious challenges facing AlDabaiba is the growing popular anger in Tripoli. 

Hundreds have taken to Martyrs’ Square demanding the government’s departure and rejecting the re-emergence of militia rule under the banner of legitimacy.

Speaking to Bloomberg on May 19, one protester said, “Since the revolution, we have seen no state. We live under the shadow of weapons and chaos.”

“Every time we get close to a political solution, a new weapon emerges,” the protester added.

 According to the British outlet, amid this chaos, many are questioning the fate of the current government.

With increasing ministerial resignations, waning support from local councils, and mounting popular and international pressure, AlDabaiba appears to be surrounded on all sides.

“The situation is poised to explode at any moment,” AlDabaiba said, adding that “continued clashes would spell the end of all hope for a political settlement and plunge Libya back into a cycle of open conflict.”

Meanwhile, Libyan political analyst Emad Ismail told Al-Estiklal that the current crisis is “primarily a security one,” describing it as a blatant power struggle aimed at sidelining rivals and reshaping alliances based on the balance of power.

“Years of war have created a parallel reality marked by rampant corruption within state institutions—from the central bank, through the oil authority, to various sovereign bodies—which have become battlegrounds for covert conflicts among power holders,” he added.

Regarding the Government of National Unity’s position, Ismail explained that it “faces extremely difficult challenges and is now operating from one of the tightest corners of the political landscape since assuming power.”

“If the government fails to tighten its grip on security apparatuses and rein in the unchecked militias, Tripoli is headed towards a genuine disaster that could escalate into an open civil war,” Ismail noted.

“Libya is not facing a division between two fronts as it did in the wars of 2014 and 2019, but is instead experiencing a dangerous internal fragmentation.

“This time, Tripoli’s threat comes from within itself. The division is not just between east and west, but within the very heart of the west, making the risk of explosion more tangible and far harder to contain,” Ismail concluded.