On 13 January in the late afternoon, Muhammed al-Kabou – brother of the infamous Zawiyya militia leader Abdul Raouf al-Kabou aka Zaza and himself a leader of the al-Kabwat militia – and two of his companions were arrested by a militia aligned to Muhammed Bahroun aka al-Far, either the First Support Force or the Counter Security Threat Agency, using armoured vehicles. They were arrested at a rest stop in al-Dahman, a district in eastern Sabratha.
Thereafter, tensions surged in Zawiyya as the al-Kabwat mobilized their troops along the Coastal Road in the Awlad Saqr area, southwest of the centre of Zawiyya, and threatened to attack al-Far’s positions around the city, including his HQ. On the other side, al-Far’s militias also mobilized and reinforced their positions.
After several hours of heightened tension amidst a military buildup and fears about an imminent escalation, Muhammed al‑Kabou and his companions were released, which ended the immediate crisis.
On 14 January in the evening, fighting took place in Zawiyya next to the HQ of the Counter Security Threat Agency in al-Harsha. Fighting started when the al-Kabwat militia attacked positions of al-Far’s Counter Security Threat Agency. At about 10 pm, the fighting ceased and the situation calmed down.
On 15 January, al-Far’s First Support Force accused the Dabaiba government of launching a systematic smear campaign aimed at undermining the authority of the force and disrupting its work. The Force asserted that these allegations are not based on facts.