8 – 14 March: Clashes escalate in Hay al-Andalus, Tripoli

Mar 14, 2017 | Libyan actors

On 12 March, around 30 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) met in Tripoli to reiterate their support for the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA). On 10 March, 75 HoR members issued a letter outlining their support for the LPA despite the HoR’s vote last week to withdraw its support for the Libyan dialogue process and to reject Appendix No.1 of the LPA, which lists the names of the current Presidential Council (PC) members.

Overnight on 13 March and on 14 March, serious clashes ignited in the Hay al-Andalus, Gergarish, and Seyaheyya areas in western Tripoli between local Tripoli militias including Haithem Tajouri’s forces and Abdul Raouf Kara’s Special Deterrent Forces (Rada) on one side and Amazigh and anti-GNA Misratan militias on the other. Several roads have been blockaded and residents are remaining indoors for safety. UN Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler called for an immediate ceasefire, saying civilians are at grave risk in the ongoing clashes.

The clashes appear to be the coalescence of weeks of incidents, fighting and tensions between broadly pro- and anti- GNA factions across the city, although many of the grievances are more local and specific in nature. On 8 March, Aman Bank, one of the biggest commercial banks in western Tripoli, was burned to the ground after a shootout between Misratan bank guards and local residents left one local dead.