On the ninth night, going into the tenth day, of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, demonstrations erupted in several parts of Tripoli, as well as in the cities of Zawia, Misrata, Zliten, Sabrata, Ajylat, and Ragdaline, late last night and into the early hours of this morning.
There had been calls for demonstrations by several cross sections of youth groups – not believed to be aligned to any specific Libyan faction – for mass protests about Libya’s lack of political and economic progress. Demonstrations had already occurred the previous two nights in the city of Zawia. Many demonstrators set off directly from their mosques after finishing the last and lengthy Ramadan (Taraweeh) prayer of the night.
Gunfire could clearly be heard in several posted social media video clips in the vicinity of the demonstrators near the Prime Minister’s Office. Videos posted by demonstrators claim the Aldabaiba forces opened fire on their peaceful demonstrations. The gunfire was concentrated at the northern end of Sika Road at the Janat Al-Areef Roundabout where the old King’s Palace, the National Oil Corporation, the Attorney General’s Office and Harouge Oil Company are located.
At the time of publication, no deaths or major injuries were officially reported.
Besides the PM’s Office in Sika Street, the demonstrators were also protesting in Algeria Square, Martyr Square, Dahra bridge next to Al-Waddan hotel, Dahra’s ‘‘Shafco/Photocopying shops’’ roundabout, and Al-Qaddisiya Square. Tyres and rubbish were set alight in the middle of the road as passing traffic circumnavigated them at the Shafco Dahra roundabout.
Part of the main Second Circular Motorway were closed by demonstrators with rubble, burning tyres and piles of rubbish further west and east of central Tripoli. At least one car was set alight.
Gunfire in Janzour, militia gunfire in Zawia
There were numerous social media video clips of serious gunfire in Tripoli’s western suburb of Janzour and particularly in the city Zawia. The Zawia clashes were reported to be between the ‘‘usual suspects’’ of militia groups. Initial reports say they were between militia leader Al-Laheb (flame) and Al-Far (mouse). Again, at the time of publication, there were no reports of fatalities or injuries.
A demonstration against the UN and international actors
In Sidi Abd Aljaleel/Al-Ghiran suburb of Janzour, there was a specific demonstration in front of the Palm City resort where the UN, UNSMIL and several Embassies are located. They claimed the UN does not represent the will of the Libyan people but is extenuating Libya’s weakness and division and imposing the interests of foreign states. They called for the UN Mission to be expelled.
Vacating of foreign forces
One specific chant from demonstrators called for all ‘‘official and unofficial military bases in Libya to be vacated (Italian forces in Misrata, Turkish in Al-Witya base and Russians in eastern and southern Libya)’’. They called for transparent and fair elections and the downfall of the corrupt government which they said did not represent the people and was selected by outsiders.
A call for the downfall of all domestic political entities and their leaders
Domestically, the chants of the demonstrators were clear in calling for the downfall of all of Libya’s ‘‘corrupt and failing’’ political entities and their leaders. This included the Tripoli government, the House of Representatives (HoR), the High State Council, the Presidency Council and the Central Bank of Libya.
Placards carried, trampled and burnt
Placards with big red x’s painted across them carried by demonstrators included, but were not limited to, photos of Prime Minister Aldabaiba, House of Representatives Speaker Ageela Saleh, Khalifa Hafter, High State Council head Takala, all three members of the Presidency Council and the Central Bank of Libya Governor Naji Issa. Placards were held and burnt but also laid flat on roads for protestors to trample on as they marched on, and for cars to drive over as they passed by.
The chants
The chants of the demonstrators varied from group to group and especially on the margins. But clearly, the majority expressed a weariness and fatigue regarding the lack of political and economic progress and stability that the incumbent political entities have failed to bring about leading to the crash in the value of the Libyan dinar which they blame for the spike in prices and the decline in the standards of living.
Chants implied that the political elites were out of touch, living in bubbles of wealth stolen from public funds – while the majority of Libyans toil to make ends meet in the face of the collapse of the Libyan dinar. The ‘’corrupt ruling family elites’’ are accused of treason against the state and normalisation of relations with Hafter and Israel. They also called for elections and a constitution.
Size of Tripoli demonstrations
It is difficult to accurately assess the size of the Tripoli demonstrations as they moved from one location to another. The individual groups looked to be in the hundreds and not the thousands. Overall, maybe the total was in the low thousands.
Calm seems to have returned at all locations this morning.
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