Libya: Clashes in Janzour expose fragility of security deal

Heavy clashes broke out on Sunday in Janzour, west of Tripoli, between rival armed groups affiliated with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity (GNU).

Fighting erupted after Mahmoud Boujaafar’s Joint Force stormed the Sixth Brigade headquarters led by Munir Al-Sweih, sparking a counterattack with medium and heavy weapons.

The violence forced the closure of the coastal highway to Zawiya and the central vegetable market, while significant military reinforcements were deployed in the area.

The unrest comes just days after a fragile security agreement between the GNU and the Special Deterrence Force (Radaa), which outlined Radaa’s withdrawal from Mitiga Airbase, a reshuffle in the Judicial Police, the transfer of wanted individuals to the Attorney General, and Turkish monitoring to prevent renewed hostilities. Libya remains politically divided, with the UN-recognized GNU controlling the west and a rival administration under Osama Hammad in the east, supported by Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.