On 28 July in the late afternoon, against the backdrop of the power outage crisis and the deterioration of service and living conditions, protests escalated across Tripoli and surrounding areas. Demonstrators blocked major traffic hubs, including al-Ghiran and Qasr Bin Ghashir traffic islands as well as temporarily the Second Ring Road. They also expanded protest actions into Tajoura where key state infrastructure – such as the municipal council building, a local bank branch, the local Education Directorate, and the Housing and Utilities Authority – were blocked with earth mounds. Protesters called for the resignation of the Dabaiba government. However, altogether only slightly more than 1,000 people participated in these actions.
Protesters in Tajoura issued a statement demanding the immediate resignation of their House of Representatives members to protest the ongoing tenure of both the Dabaiba and Osama Hammad governments amid worsening electricity blackouts and living conditions. Calling on other Libyan cities to join in demanding their parliamentary representatives step down in solidarity, the protesters emphasized that their ultimate goal is the complete removal of all existing political bodies, warning that a failure to meet these demands will force them to pursue alternative measures with potentially severe consequences.
The ‘Youth of Zawiyya’ movement announced a peaceful civil disobedience campaign demanding the immediate departure of the Dabaiba government, accusing it of corruption, institutional mismanagement, and stalling national elections. The movement called for a total suspension of operations across all public institutions and municipal offices within the city of Zawiyya, including the Zawiyya Oil Refinery, until their political demands are met. To safeguard public welfare, the group explicitly exempted all healthcare providers, hospitals, and emergency medical services from the strike, while reaffirming its commitment to non-violence and the protection of public and private property.
On 29 July and 30 July, protests resumed, starting in Souq al-Jumaa. The Souq al-Jumaa Movement announced the closure of several government offices as part of a widening civil‑disobedience campaign. The group said it had shut institutions including the Foreign Ministry in Zawiyat al‑Dahmani, the Ministry of Planning, the main headquarters of the Anti‑Corruption Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Audit Bureau. Some entrances were welded shut, including a residence of Prime Minister Dabaiba. The Souq al‑Jumaa movement urged broader participation in civil disobedience, framing its campaign as an effort to change Libya’s political trajectory and improve living conditions.
In response to the protest, security forces increased their presence throughout the capital with a particular focus on the city inside of the Second Ring Road, especially around public buildings. However, they refrained from directly confronting the demonstrators or stopping them from barricading state offices. Moreover, the government deployed security reinforcements into the city, primarily drawn from Misrata.
On the other side, the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) mobilized all its troops and increased its presence in order to ‘protect the protesters.’
In the evening, there were protests in multiple districts of Tripoli, including Tajoura, Souq al-Jumaa, Janzour, Serraj, Ain Zara, Zawiyat al‑Dahmani, Dahra. The protests remained peaceful.
The protest wave peaked in Tripoli with a Friday protest in Martyrs Square, yet broad participation remained minimal.
On 31 July, the Souq al-Jumaa Movement and the Tripoli Youth Movement, along with other representatives from Tripoli, Tajoura, and Zawiyya, called for a widespread peaceful sit-in and the shutdown of several more public institutions to demand the removal of Dabaiba’s Government of National Unity (GNU). The protesters assembled at Martyrs’ Square in central Tripoli, arriving from several directions, following Friday prayers to voice their dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to deliver basic services. While urging citizens across Libya to join in asserting their rights and preserving national unity, the movement’s organizers explicitly denounced vandalism, emphasizing that all actions must remain strictly peaceful, organized, and respectful of public order.
Among the participants of the demonstration was the Misrata militia leader Salah Badi. He urged Libyans to rise up against what he called a corrupt elite responsible for national decline since the 2015 Skhirat Agreement, insisting that any honorable citizen should reject the current situation and warning that this leadership is pushing the country toward dangerous normalization. Badi vowed that those he labeled corrupt must leave and be held accountable.
There were also several other demonstrations in other parts of Tripoli and in Tajoura.
In total, only between 2,000 and 3,000 people participated throughout the city, while the presence of security forces in the greater Tripoli area increased further.