On 14 July, Abdul Nabi Abdul Mawla, a member of the House of Representatives (HoR) representing Zawiyya, issued an urgent appeal warning of unprecedented security and moral collapse in the city and across western Libya. He emphasized that the situation has escalated beyond the control of traditional social mechanisms and stated that the crisis has reached a critical breaking point. Abdul Mawla criticized the current state of local mediation, claiming that the influence of local elders and wise councils has effectively vanished. Instead, he claimed these social figures have become mere puppets manipulated by armed factions. He dismissed recent meetings between group leaders and social representatives as superficial formalities that fail to address the root of the crisis, noting that the factions remain locked in a dangerous cycle of mutual distrust and blood feuds.
According to Abdul Mawla, the widespread illicit drug trade is the primary driver of the city’s chaos and armed conflicts. He explained that drug trafficking has trapped a generation of young people, enticing them to drop out of school and join armed groups for quick, unlawful financial gain. Illustrating the severity of the societal breakdown, he cited a recent tragic incident where an addict murdered his grandmother. He also highlighted that narcotics are now sold openly within the city using electronic payment methods—such as bank cards and money transfers—comparing the sophistication of the local drug trade to that of notorious international cartel hubs.
Concluding his statement, Abdul Mawla called for an immediate national mobilization of all Libyan forces and the citizens of Zawiyya to dismantle the drug trafficking and smuggling networks. He warned that continued inaction would transform the city into a central hub for organized crime, directly threatening the stability and security of neighbouring cities throughout western Libya.
On 16 July, a young man died in a hail of bullets in Juda’im east of Zawiyya. The perpetrators, described by bystanders as ‘outlaw gunmen’ escaped without being identified. The National Institution for Human Rights in Libya (NIHRL) called on the Attorney General to investigate the murder.
On 17 July, an obviously intoxicated militiaman, allegedly belonging to the 103rd Infantry Battalion aka al-Sila’a, opened fire with a light machine gun on the headquarters of a rival armed group loyal to Muhammed Bahroun aka al-Far and some shops near Al Muaskar Island in central Zawiyya. Ultimately, some other members of the 103rd Infantry Battalion grabbed him and forced him out of the market area.
According to other information, the intoxicated militiaman belongs to Rabie al-Fanouta, who is a commander in the 119th Battalion.
On 19 July, a man was killed in Zawiyya during a ‘happy shooting’ in celebration of academic graduates. One of the graduates was severely wounded and is now in intensive care.
On 20 July in the afternoon, there was a series of explosions in an ammunition depot of a local militia in Awlad Eajina in central Zawiyya. There is no information about casualties.
On 18 July, two members of the militia of Muhammad Kashlaf aka al-Qasab were seriously injured after being shot by a group belonging to al-Far’s militias near Al Qana’a Street in the eastern part of central Zawiyya.