On 10 July, a member of Muhammed al-Baroun aka al-Far’s militia was kidnapped by the militia of Muhammad Kashlaf aka al-Qasseb, and a member of al-Qasseb’s militia was kidnapped by al-Far in return. Majdi Kashlaf, cousin of al-Qasseb, was kidnapped in the center of Zawiyya on Jamal Street.
In the late afternoon, Shahab al-Akrashi, a member of Awlad Saqr tribe, was shot dead in his car by alFar militiamen on a busy street at al-Ghanoudi Island near the eastern outskirts of Zawiyya. In the evening, a checkpoint of the Anti Security Threat Agency in al-Harsha was shot at from a passing car. There were no casualties. Al-Far is the deputy commander of this agency. The situation in Zawiya was subsequently very tense.
On 11 July, the al-Harsha Social Council condemned the attack on the Anti Security Threat Agency checkpoint. Sporadic fighting between al-Far’s militias and the Awlad Saqr took place in several neighbourhoods in Zawiyya from the early evening that day until the early morning hours of 12 July. The focus of the fighting was in the area of the Refinery Bridge. For the most part, only light infantry weapons were used.
From the morning of 12 July, the situation was calm but very tense. The militias mobilized their troops and brought heavy weapons to the previous day’s battle sites. Zawiyya University also closed its facilities near the scene of the fighting as it was feared that the fighting would resume.
On 13 July, the coastal road in Zawiyya initially remained closed from west of the Bir al-Ghanem turnoff to east of al-Qardabiya. In the afternoon, Western Coast Military District Commander and Libyan Army Deputy Chief of Staff (CoS) Salaheddin al-Namroush assembled a force under the command of Mahmoud Bin Rajab to open the coastal road. Bin Rajab’s 52nd Infantry Brigade was to form the core of this force.
On the night of 13-14 July, the coastal road was reopened following the release of all those arrested or kidnapped in recent days. However, the situation remains tense.