Protests surge as Libyans demand PM Dbeibeh’s resignation: What to know
The latest protests were triggered by clashes between government-aligned militias in mid-May that left eight dead and deepened public frustration over militia control in Tripoli.
A wave of mass protests in Tripoli is ramping up pressure on Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh to step down, following an outbreak of violent clashes between militias in the capital earlier this month.
What happened: In what has become an almost nightly occurrence, growing crowds of demonstrators have gathered in the streets of the Libyan capital to call for Dbeibah’s resignation and venting frustration over deteriorating economic, living and security conditions. Videos circulating on social media show car tires burning and streets, including roads leading to government headquarters, blocked by demonstrators.
Protesters accuse Dbeibeh and his interior minister, Emad al-Trabelsi, of allowing militias to control the city and are demanding that the leadership in Tripoli take action to restore public safety.
The protesters have called for disbanding the Special Deterrence Force, also known as Rada, a powerful and controversial conservative militia that nominally operates under the Interior Ministry but has often acted autonomously, eliciting accusations of human rights violations and of exerting control over parts of the capital.
