On 17 July, the road between Sabratha and al-Ajaylat was temporarily closed in the late afternoon after clashes between militias from the two towns (located west of Zawiyya). Militias from Zawiyya intervened in the fighting on the Sabratha side. The situation initially remained very tense after the end of the fighting, but calmed down during the night. The cause of the dispute was conflict over a 7 km long coastal strip, which was awarded to Al-Ajaylat by a court in Tripoli – in contrast to an earlier ruling.