On 15 February, speaking to security directors from the western and central regions, Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi praised police forces for their efforts despite limited resources, while acknowledging serious security challenges in several western coastal cities, including Zawiyya, Sabratha, Surman and al-Ajilat. He said in these places there are problems that at times exceed the capacity of security agencies. He added that armed groups are imposing their control over areas of the western coast, noting that some of them enjoy the support of local dignitaries who reject the merging of security directorates, despite the fact that this improves their efficiency, according to Trabelsi. Trabelsi called for unified action among all state security and military bodies to reinforce stability and strengthen the Interior Ministry’s authority.
In response, a group of protestors in Zawiyya temporarily closed the coastal road. In a statement, a group of residents of Zawiyya and the western region demanded that Trabelsi submit his immediate resignation, holding him responsible for the deteriorating security situation and the collapse of the ministry’s institutions over the past five years. The signatories of the statement accused Trabelsi of hollowing out the security directorates and withholding funding from them for five full years. They further alleged that he was ‘involved in financing drug trafficking militias,’ implying the ministry’s involvement in supporting armed groups operating outside the law. The statement strongly criticized the minister’s recent remarks, saying they reflected a complete disconnect from the suffering they endure, facing fear and neglect amidst escalating crime, drug proliferation, and the unchecked power of gangs.