The so-called "Fezzan Revolutionary Force" announced yesterday the immediate closure of Libya's southern borders to all truck movement and commercial transport until further notice.
The Fezzan Revolutionary Force, widely assumed to represent, or a faction of, the Tebu community in southern Libya, said this is in response to the siege of the Qatrun (Gatroun) municipality by forces aligned to the Libyan National Army (LNA) / Saddam Hafter.
Qatrun, 1,036 km south of Tripoli, is in the Murzuq District in southern Libya on the main road to Chad and Niger. The desert Tumo / Tummo Niger border checkpoint is located about 310 kilometres south.
The Fezzan Revolutionary Force claims the siege entails the starvation of Qatrun's residents caused by halting trucks carrying cooking gas and fuel and preventing their arrival in the city.
The Fezzan Revolutionary Force said these ‘‘terrorist’’ acts by Hafter represent an attempt to pressure the region's residents. This pressure stems from their opposition to wilful killing and to the smuggling operations that drain the Libyan people's resources and operate outside the framework of the Libyan state.
Accordingly, the Fezzan Revolutionary Force reassured all Libyans that it is present on the ground and fully prepared to defend its people and its land. It stated:
‘‘Effective immediately, we announce the closure of Libya's southern borders to all truck movement and commercial transport until further notice.
We also clarify that the border areas indicated in the attached image are designated as a closed military zone starting today, September 12, 2026. Entry into or transit through this area is prohibited. All merchants, truck owners, and drivers must adhere to this announcement and refrain from moving within the zone until a new official notice is issued; anyone violating this warning bears full responsibility for the consequences.
We also issue a warning to the corrupt individuals involved in smuggling trucks, transporting subsidized goods, and smuggling fuel to neighbouring countries. They are a direct, legitimate target for us; anyone captured bears full responsibility and will be burned along with their truck.
The men of your Fezzan Revolutionary Force—who have confronted corruption and smugglers across various fronts—stand fully prepared to repel any aggression, protect every inch of our land, and confront anyone who dares to threaten our security or the dignity of our people’’.
Communications to Qatrun cut
Meanwhile, well-informed sources in southern Libya informed Libya Herald today that the situation in Qatrun is extremely difficult, as both the Al-Madar and Libyana mobile phone services are cut, and the Starlink Internet systems are jammed due to technical interference by the LNA.
Fezzan Revolutionary Force v SLOR?
It is still unclear if the Fezzan Revolutionary Force, which first appeared in March this year, is a fully independent, anti-Hafter force, or if it represents, or is an offshoot of, the better known and more active Southern Liberation Operations Room (SLOR).
Finally, while the Fezzan Revolutionary Force has announced the closure of all of Libya's southern borders, it is unclear if any force in Libya can actually control all of Libya's vast borders.
Background: The 3 September Qatrun incident
Yesterday’s announcement by the Fezzan Revolutionary Force can be traced back to the 3 September, 2026, incident at Qatrun, which led to the death of a Tebu teen (Hussein Youssif Ibrahim) at the fuel station purportedly in an unprovoked shooting by the LNA’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (RIB-87) unit.
The RIB-87 is a highly trained Special Forces type military unit. Analysts deem it Saddam Hafter's special force – akin to the Qaddafi-era Saiqa and the various brigades that were under the personal command of Qaddafi’s sons.
The 3 September incident provoked families and locals to attack the RIB-87 barracks with RPGs and rifles, prompting a partial withdrawal of the unit. However, during this confrontation another Tebu - Ahmed Ali Gadeno – died.
However, robust intervention from Allahouza Fowzi, head of Tebu Council of Elders and Notables in Murzuq, defused the tension allowing for mediation.
The LNA, meanwhile, dispatched fresh Military Police units to Qatrun from their bases in Sebha and Tamenhint Airbase to keep calm and prevent further violence. Initially, Haftar ordered the elements of the RIB-87 unit to partly withdraw to barracks but also dispatched the South Reorganizing Force, led by Jamal al-Umami based in Sebha.
Saddam v Khalid Hafter
On the other hand, Khalid Haftar made a brief visit to Qatrun and to the border areas and ordered all forces, including those reporting to his brother Saddam, to withdraw from Qatrun, and leave only the (Benghazi-based) Ministry of Interior and Internal Security Agency and other local apparatus to keep peace and order in the town.
Saddam orders house raids and arrests
Calm seemed to be descending on the area until on 9th and 10th September when Saddam Hafter ordered his units to conduct house raids and arrests of citizens. The numbers of Tebu arrested in Qatrun are reported to be around 23 individuals. These included suspected participants in the brief attack on the barracks. But the arrests also included social figures and security actors such as General Mahmoud Ibrahim, head of Qatrun branch of Libyan Intelligence Services LIS. Analysts believe the General was arrested purely because he had delivered a report on events to Khalid, instead of, Saddam Hafter.
Analysts say the incident is a clear manifestation of the long-reported jostling for power between the two siblings, Saddam and Khalid, to curry favour with their father, Khalifa Hafter, or position themselves as his successor, after his death. This jostling for power has often led to chaos and conflicting law enforcement and responses.
The South Liberation Operations Room (SLOR)
On 9th September, the Tebu and northern Niger-based South Liberation Operations Room (SLOR) issued a video statement in which it deplored the killing and arrest of innocents in Fezzan. It also called on all citizens in Fezzan to take up arms and defend their dignity from "Hafter's gangs".
The group also reiterated Hafter’s smuggling of subsidized fuel destined to Fezzan to neighbouring countries for its own benefits and finance, noting that the UN-brokered 4+4 agreement is worthless unless the Hafters withdraw from Fezzan entirely and leave the region to the management of its own people.
Southern Liberation Operations Room Attacks Checkpoint in Southern Lib