On 17 February, a group of young men placed the Amazigh flag on a street in Hay al-Andalus in western Tripoli, forcing cars to drive over it, during the celebrations of the 17 February 2011 Revolution. The video was subsequently widely circulated on social media.
On 21 February, the Municipal Council of Zuwara condemned the running over of the Amazigh flag in Tripoli, calling it an unacceptable, dangerous, and provocative act aimed at erasing identity and sowing discord. The council stated that this flag is not just a symbol, but a national flag for which all Amazigh cities have shed their blood. They urged authorities to take action and called on the citizens of their city to fly the Amazigh flag to express pride in their identity, emphasizing that an attack on the Amazigh identity is a red line and an attack on the dignity of the entire Libyan nation.
Later in the afternoon, about 80-100 Amazigh protested in front of some Public Security Agency vehicles on a street in Hay Andalus. The situation did not escalate.
Amazigh residents and activists of the city of Jadu organized a street protest against the insult of their flag, claiming it had been carried out by individuals affiliated with the Government of National Unity (GNU) Ministry of Interior and some others. They demanded that the MoI and the PM hold those involved in this ‘racist act’ accountable and threatened to ‘pursue options’ if that does not happen. Furthermore, they demanded an official apology from the MoI. Residents, dignitaries, activists and civil society institutions in the Amazigh city Yefran condemned the incident, which they described as a violation of the values of peaceful coexistence and sowing discord among Libyans.
On 22 February, Amazigh protesters temporarily blocked the road from Nalut to Tripoli in several locations. Furthermore, tires were burned at the junction to Zintan.
The mayors of seven Amazigh municipalities, Zuwara, Nalut, Jadu, Yefran, Kabaw, al-Ghala, and Wazin, sharply condemned the attack on their flag in a joint statement, holding MoI Emad Trabelsi responsible. The mayors blamed the MoI for failing to intervene, although security forces were at the scene. They demanded that the Attorney General take immediate action, issue arrest warrants for those involved and bring them to justice.
In the evening of the same day, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Amazigh Libya, al-Hadi Balraqi, said that the GNU had not yet communicated with the Council regarding the attack on the Amazigh flag. He said that the Amazigh started an open sit-in in the Amazigh areas in the Western Mountain and several neighbourhoods in Tripoli and will not stop until an official apology is issued by the government and the perpetrators are arrested. If their demands are not met, they will escalate the sit in and engage in civil disobedience.
On 23 February, there were again some minor street protests in several Amazigh cities in the Jabal Nafusa, including in Nalut and Jadu.
One of the two rival High State Council (HSC) heads Khaled al-Mishri affirmed his pride in the Amazigh identity and called on the Presidential Council, the GNU and all concerned parties to ensure the preservation of the social fabric of the country. Al-Mishri called for an urgent investigation and stressed the need to bring the ‘instigators of sedition’ to justice as soon as possible. He expressed deep concern over the security tensions in some neighbourhoods of Tripoli and cities in the Western Mountains, calling on all parties to exercise restraint, reason and avoid any action that could lead to a deterioration of the security situation.
The GNU expressed its strong condemnation of the attack on the Amazigh flag. It said that PM Abdul Hameed Dabaiba issued instructions to take legal action to punish those who attacked the Amazigh flag. Dabaiba said that his government would deal firmly and in accordance with the law with any attempt to undermine national unity.
The Public Security Agency announced that those who trampled on the Amazigh flag will be prosecuted, but said that those appearing in the video do not belong to the Public Security Agency. Such irresponsible actions are completely rejected.