On 23 August, a meeting between Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense Abdussalam Zoubi, Kara, Mukhtar al-Jahawi, and Muhammed al-Hussan took place in Hay Andalus. Several other commanders of other militias, including from outside Tripoli, and high-ranking representatives of the MoI were also present. They decided to form a joint committee to monitor the general security measures and – together with the MoI – to secure important facilities and areas.
Trabelsi stated in a press conference that all security forces and military forces will abide by the Presidential Council’s (PC) decision regarding the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), saying they have no right to intervene against the PC’s decision. He added there are also no plans to storm the CBL. He said an agreement has been reached with Zoubi whereby all armed forces that do not belong to the MoI will withdraw from Tripoli to their ‘main camps’ and will no longer be present on the streets and in front of public facilities. Government facilities and various other buildings will in future be guarded exclusively by the MoI police. This also applies to the PM Office, ministries, government institutions and agencies, certain companies and (large) hotels.
Trabelsi added that the streets and all ports and airports will be secured exclusively by the MoI and its affiliated agencies, namely Rada, the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA), Public Security Agency, the 444 Brigade and the 111th Brigade. These will therefore secure the streets of the capital as the officially recognized security forces.
Following Trabelsi’s press conference, the MoI officially took over the security of the CBL HQ before midnight on 23 August. It is not clear whether Rada has been completely withdrawn from the CBL at this time. Displeasure has spread within Rada over Trabelsi’s statements. They say they will only give up their ‘headquarters’ in the municipalities of Tripoli Central, Ain Zara and Souq al-Jumaa and the protection of vital state facilities, especially the CBL, if all other ‘armed formations’ in the greater Tripoli area do the same.