In the evening of 18 June, a highly anticipated derby between Al-Ahly Tripoli and Al-Ittihad in Libya’s top football league descended into chaos after Al-Ittihad’s opening goal sparked outrage. Al-Ahly fans stormed the pitch in protest, accusing an opposing player of provocation, leading to the match being suspended in the 39th minute. The Portuguese referee was reportedly injured during the incident and refused to resume the game.
Riots erupted outside the stadium, with Al-Ahly fans setting fire to Al-Ittihad’s bus and police vehicles. Tensions escalated as the Public Security Force surrounded Al-Ahly’s headquarters and launched a crackdown using armored vehicles. Unconfirmed reports indicate that an Al-Ahly fan was fatally shot outside the Tripoli stadium during the unrest. After the derby chaos, the fans of Al-Ittihad demanded the dismissal of Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi. They accused Trabelsi of disregarding security and showing bias toward Al-Ahly fans.
On 20 June, residents of the Hay Andalus municipality of Tripoli urgently appealed to PM Abul Hameed Dabaiba to take immediate action and remove the ‘public looting militia’ (i.e. the Public Security Force, led by the MoI’s brother Abdullah Trabelsi aka al-Farawila ‘Strawberry’) from its headquarters near al-Qadr Mosque. They consider the group’s presence as a direct threat to the safety and security of the neighbourhood’s residents.