On 9 October, an ammunition depot at the headquarters of a militia led by Abduljalil al-Mazeq exploded in the residential Yedder neighborhood of northeastern Misrata, sending rockets, artillery shells, mortar bombs, and small arms projectiles into surrounding civilian homes. Subsequently, a major fire continued to burn, triggering occasional further explosions.
The Central Branch of Libya’s Criminal Investigation Department issued an urgent warning to residents, advising them to immediately stay clear of the fire due to the presence of high-risk live ammunition and explosives at the site. Emphasizing the severe danger to public safety and property, authorities instructed citizens not to gather near the area, touch suspicious objects, or handle unexploded ordnance, while urging full compliance with security and technical teams carrying out emergency tasks. Additionally, the agency called on the public to immediately report any hazardous materials or suspicious objects to the Central Branch’s specialized emergency response and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units using their dedicated response hotlines.
Following the directive of Minister of Interior Emad al-Trabelsi, a specialized unit from Libya’s Criminal Investigation Department, including an EOD team, deployed to the Yeder area to secure the perimeter and clear unexploded ordnance stemming from the depot explosion.
Militia leader al-Mazeq claimed that an unidentified ‘enemy aircraft’ targeted the facility, destroying the depot and pickups equipped with heavy infantry weapons. However, he did not provide any evidence or witnesses. He also did not specify which ‘enemy’ sent the ‘aircraft.’
Later the same day, the Reserve Division of the Counter-Terrorism Force announced that it helped bring the incident under control in a joint effort with security agencies, fire brigades, ambulance and emergency teams.
For the time being, there Is no reliable information about the number of casualties.