On 4 July, an armed group leader from Zawiyya, Abdurraouf al-Kabu (aka al-Zaza), was arrested in Ras Ajdir, after returning from Tunisia, based on a warrant issued by the Attorney General al-Sadiq al-Sour. A member of al-Kabu’s group, Riyad Belhaj, was also arrested. Subsequently, the coastal road was blocked in several locations (in Zawiyya, near Mellitah, between Al-Jamid and Zuwara) by armed groups loyal to al-Kabu, who demanded his release.
In the evening, the Attorney General received a delegation of elders from the cities of Zawiyya and Zuwara. The delegation asked for clarifications on the legal proceedings undertaken against al-Kabu. Al-Sour explained that he was wanted for murder, drug trafficking and fuel smuggling and was arrested on a valid warrant.
PM Dabaiba instructed the commanders of twelve security establishments to raise a force of 450 armed vehicles to open the coastal road, transport the detainee from Zuwara to Tripoli and hand him over to the Attorney General.
The following day, the Attorney General’s Office released a statement confirming that it had received al-Kabu into custody at its Tripoli headquarters. It also noted that the Judicial Force has arrested a total of 78 wanted criminals in Zawiyya over the past few days, with 65 cases primarily involving murder and 9 involving drug trafficking. The crimes date back several years, with some taking place as early as 2011.
On 6 July, another Zawiyya militia leader, Ali al-Shaibani, was arrested in Ras Ajdir. He is allegedly involved in various drug deals and petrol smuggling, among other things. Al-Shaibani has appeared in a couple of torture videos lately. The following day, in eastern Zawiyya, a young man was murdered by several gunmen.