Armed groups that have been controlling Tripoli for more than a decade have agreed to leave Libya’s capital, the country’s interior minister said.
“After a month of consultations, we came to an agreement with the security groups that they will leave the capital soon,” said Imad Trabelsi, a member of Libya’s internationally recognised government, on Wednesday.
According to Imad, only city police officers, emergency police, and those who do criminal investigations will be in place.
The deal will also see the General Security Force, the Special Deterrence Force which controls the east of Tripoli, Brigade 444 in southern Tripoli, and Brigade 111, attached to the general staff, quit the capital.
The decision also concerns the Stability Support Authority (SSA), a group based in the neighborhood of Abu Salim, where 10 people were killed at the weekend, including SSA members.
Libya has been battered by armed conflict and political chaos since the 2011 uprising.
The country is divided between the internationally recognized Tripoli-based government led by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in the west and an administration in the east backed by Khalifa Haftar.
