Following the end of the First Libyan Civil War, which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, there was violence involving various militias and the new state security forces. This violence escalated into the Second Libyan Civil War (2014–2020).
The militias included guerrillas, Islamists, and militias who fought against Gaddafi but refused to lay down their arms when the war ended in October 2011. According to some civilian leaders, these latter militias shifted from merely delaying the surrender of their weapons to actively asserting a continuing political role as "guardians of the revolution". Some of the largest, and most well-equipped militias were associated with Islamist groups that were forming political parties. Before the official end of hostilities between loyalist and opposition forces, there were reports of sporadic clashes between rival militias, and vigilante revenge killings.
In September 2012, Islamists attacked the United States consulate building in Benghazi, killing the US ambassador and three others. This prompted a popular outcry against semi-legal militias that were still operating and resulted in the storming of several Islamist militia bases by protesters. A large-scale government crackdown followed on non-government sanctioned militias, with the Libyan Army raiding several now illegal militias' headquarters and ordering them to disband.
Events
2011
November 2011
On 1 November, a group of intoxicated Zintan fighters stormed a hospital in Tripoli and demanded they hand-over of a fighter who was wounded earlier in the day in a clash that also left another militiaman dead. The doctors refused and a Tripoli militia, in charge of hospital security, forced the Zintanis out, but not before they shot rounds in the hospital. Both groups received reinforcements and the fighting, involving heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns, lasted for three hours. There were no direct fatalities from the fighting, but three patients at the hospital died due to stress-related causes linked to the clashes. Three Tripoli fighters were wounded. The fighting reportedly ended after calls from a local imam and senior commanders from both groups talked by phone with their men.
On 8 November, it was evident that loyalist remnants were also still active in the country, even more than two weeks after their defeat, when a pro-Gaddafi convoy tried to cross the border into Niger and was intercepted by the Nigerien army. 13 loyalists and one Nigerien soldier were killed.
Between 8 and 12 November, large-scale fighting erupted between Zawiya and Tripoli between a Zawiya-based militia and a group from the Wershifanna tribe. The Zawiya group accused their opponents of belonging to loyalist remnants and they reported seeing tanks and vehicles with the Gaddafi-era green flag and markings that said "Brigade of the Martyr Muammar Gaddafi". The Wershifanna denied this and stated that the men from Zawiya had been misled by a rumor that pro-Gaddafi fighters were in the area. The fighting was centered around the former loyalist Imaya military base and both sides vied for control. Grad rocket launchers were used at times during the clashes. 9–12 Zawiya fighters and nine Wershifanna fighters were killed.
On 23 November, a militia force in Bani Walid was ambushed after being sent there to arrest a known Gaddafi supporter. 15 militia members were killed. The survivors reported being shot at and hit with grenades and rockets from houses after they found out all the roads were blocked. Another report stated that the fighting started after a high-speed chase with a suspect vehicle in which a Gaddafi loyalist was killed. One civilian also reportedly died during the fighting.
December 2011
In early December, a group of Zintani gunmen attacked the convoy of a top army officer, General Khalifa Haftar, as it was speeding through a checkpoint set up by the group. In a separate incident, gunfire broke out between the army and the Zintan brigade at the Tripoli International Airport. On 16 December, Haftar said an armed group had abducted his son, Belgassim, and detained him at the airport.
On 6 December, Libya's interim government announced that, following consultations with Tripoli's local council, it had given militias lingering in the capital until late December to hand over security to the authorities. Officials said residents of Tripoli would convene rallies in support of the initiative to clear the city of weapons and out-of-town fighters. If militias had not withdrawn by 20 December, the authorities and members of the public intended to close the whole city to traffic. By January 2012, the former rebels had dismantled most of their checkpoints, while some key bases still remained.
On 11 December, fighting erupted south of Zintan, between the Zintan militia and members of the El-Mashasha tribe. The clashes started when the El-Mashasha attacked the convoy of a Zintan militia commander, killing him, as he tried to pass through the town of Wamis, around which the tribe was based. The Zintanis retaliated by attacking the town with artillery or rocket fire, hitting houses in residential areas. A mosque and a school were also hit. Over two days of fighting three townspeople were killed. By 13 December, a ceasefire was established. Officials from Zintan stated that the fighting was the result of the El-Mashasha killing several residents of Zintan earlier in week.
2012
January 2012
On 3 January, four fighters were killed in a gun battle in Tripoli as dozens of fighters from Misrata were trying to seize a group of prisoners being held in a security compound by Tripoli militias. Another report stated that there were two separate gun battles and put the number of dead at seven. In response to the incident, NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil warned that Libya risked sliding into civil war if the rival militias were not brought under control.
On 14 January, two fighters were killed and 36 were injured after clashes between militias from neighbouring towns of Gharyan and Asbi'a. It was reported that artillery and rockets were used during the clashes. On 15 January, the rival groups carried out a prisoner swap and agreed to a ceasefire. Officials said 12 people had been killed and around 100 wounded on both sides. In the days leading up to the fighting, the Asbi'a commander assigned to Gharyan, Ezzedine al-Ghool, was detained and tortured to death by members of the Gharyan militia. His body was dropped off anonymously at a hospital in Tripoli.
On 20 January, Libya's former ambassador to France died less than a day after he was arrested by a Tripoli militia group. Human Rights Watch said on 3 February, that marks on Omar Brebesh's body suggested he died as a result of torture while he was in detention.
On 22 January, a new clash broke out in Tripoli when NTC fighters attempted to arrest a former prisoner, charged with murder, who was released by the Gaddafi government at the start of the civil war the previous year. He and his brother took shelter in their home and opened fire on the militia with RPGs and automatic weapons. Both brothers and an NTC fighter were killed and five militiamen were wounded.
On 26 January, the humanitarian aid non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières (which had been present in Misrata since April 2011, during the Libyan Civil War) announced the suspension of their work in the city detention centres, as detainees were tortured and denied urgent health care. MSF General Director Christopher Stokes stated: "Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for more interrogation. This is unacceptable. Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions.". Amnesty International had described two days ago "widespread torture and ill-treatment of suspected pro-Gadhafi fighters and loyalists.", with several detainees dying across Libya in the precedent weeks.
Uprising started in Bani Walid on 23 January 2012 due to an incident in the city of Bani Walid in which the "May 28 Brigade" militia wished to arrest local men in unclear circumstances. The May 28 Brigade and their compound were then attacked by local fighters who then took control of the town.
February 2012
On 6 February, seven male black Libyan civilians from Tawergha were killed by militias who raided their makeshift refugee camp at a former naval academy in Janzour, a suburb of Tripoli. The survivors said that they appeared to be from Misrata because of their license plates, though the Misrata militia denied this.
On 12 February, conflict erupted between Zuwayya and Toubou tribesmen in southern town of Kufra. This conflict lasted several months and led to government military intervention which started uneasy truce between two tribes.
On 15 February, Amnesty International reported that at least 12 detainees had been tortured to death while in militia custody.
March 2012
On 2 March, the head of the security committee in Derna, Colonel Mohammed Al-Hassi, was shot and killed outside a petrol station in the town. He had previously survived two earlier assassination attempts and was also the head of Derna's anti-drugs unit. He cracked down hard on local drug smugglers during and before the civil war.
On 6 March, tribal and militia leaders in Benghazi declared unilaterally semi-autonomy for the eastern region of Cyrenaica. This was met with anger from the NTC government in Tripoli and anti-autonomy demonstrations erupted in the capital and Benghazi. On 16 March, a pro-autonomy demonstration was held in Benghazi, which was attacked by unknown gunmen, leaving one person dead and five injured.
On 18 March, a clash erupted between the Zintan militia and residents of Tripoli's Abu Salim district, previously loyal to Gaddafi. One militiaman was killed before a cease-fire was brokered by the district's own militia commander.
Late on 25 March, clashes erupted in the southern city of Sabha, between Arab and Toubou tribesmen, after a man from the Abu Seif tribe was killed in a dispute over a car by the Toubou which lasted for one week.
April 2012
On 1 April, 21–34 Zuwara militiamen were detained by members of a neighboring town's militia. The Ragdalein fighters stated that they captured the men after months of abuses by a Zuwara brigade, including the looting of property. For their part, the Zuwara local council head accused Ragdalein to be a hub of Gaddafi loyalists. A third version of the events came from the government Interior Ministry which stated that the trouble started when a Zuwara hunting party near Al-Jumail shot and killed a person from that town by mistake. The hunters were then arrested but released later. Another Zuwara council head claimed that the men were tortured before being released and stated that Zuwara came under mortar and anti-aircraft fire by militias from both Ragdalein and Al-Jumail.
On 3 April, reports emerged that the fighting in the Zuwara area was still continuing with at least one Zuwara militiaman killed and five wounded. The losses for Ragdalein and Al-Jumail were not known. Clashes were reported at the entrance to Ragdalein while Al-Jumail was shelling Zuwara. At least 14 were killed and 80 injured.
On 4 April, the fighting escalated with the use of tanks and artillery. The reported number of dead was said to have risen to 26, eight from Zuwara and 18 from the outlying towns, and another 142 Zuwarans were wounded. Unconfirmed reports rose up the death toll to 48 killed in the clashes.
On 6 April, French leading newspaper Le Figaro reported that a dozen people were killed near Ghat on 1 and 2 April in fighting between former pro-Gaddafi Tuaregs and the Zintan tribe.
On 20 April, fighting restarted in Kufra with 12 people being killed and more than 35 wounded when the Tobu fighters were reportedly attacked by units under the command of the Libyan National Army. The fighting began when a Tobu tribesman was killed by members of the Zuwayya tribe. The battles lasted late into 21 April.
May 2012
On 8 May, protests outside prime minister office turned violent when ex-rebels, which protested on the non-payment of the promised cash handout by the government, attacked the office in Tripoli. One Interior Ministry's Supreme Security Committee (SSC) guard was killed, while four others, one protester and three SSC guards, were injured.