On 13 March, Abdurraouf Khalafallah, a former naval officer and assistant to Abdurrahman al-Bija, was killed in Zawiyya after being shot several times by armed elements affiliated with the fugitive militia leader Muhammed Bahroun aka al-Far, while his brother Muhammed was shot in the head in the same attack by unidentified gunmen.
On 13 March in the evening, a young man was kidnapped in Zawiyya by members of a militia loyal to al-Far.
On 14 March, the situation in Zawiyya was very tense, but did not escalate into fighting. Residents of Zawiyya said that the killing of Khalafallah has increased the tensions further, especially since the killers of al-Bija have not been punished – the case is still pending before the public prosecution.
On 16 March early in the morning, there were skirmishes between armed groups at the eastern entrance of Zawiyya. In the afternoon, several militias assembled their fighters, while the situation became very tense.