Civil disobedience begins in Libya’s Tripoli as protests grow over power cuts

Several areas of the Libyan capital Tripoli saw protests from Sunday night into Monday over deteriorating living conditions and public services, official media reported.

Protesters denounced the electricity crisis, repeated water cuts, the weak health system and inflation, according to the Libyan News Agency (LANA).

Demonstrators set fire to car tires in the areas of Tajoura, Souq al-Jumaa, Al-Sarraj, Janzour, Zawiyat al-Dahmani and Al-Dhahra, and blocked road intersections, the agency added.

They also set up barriers in front of public institutions, including the Foreign Ministry and Libya National TV in Zawiyat al-Dahmani.

Barriers were also placed in front of the Audit Bureau building and the headquarters of the Telecommunications Holding Company in the Al-Nofliyeen area, signaling what protesters described as the start of civil disobedience.

The protests coincide with a severe heat wave that has gripped Libya for several days, causing power outages that have lasted more than 14 hours in some neighborhoods.

They chanted slogans including, “The people want justice that holds accountable those who wasted their money,” “The people’s money is a trust in your hands,” and “Electricity? Where did the billions go?”

The Government of National Unity, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, has worked since 2021 to address the electricity crisis, which improved significantly between 2023 and 2025.

Libya remains split between two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, headed by Dbeibeh and based in Tripoli, which administers western Libya; and a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022, currently headed by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which administers the east and most of the south.

For years, the UN Support Mission in Libya has sought to broker a political settlement leading to elections, which many Libyans hope will end the country’s political divisions and armed conflict that have persisted since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.