Libya PM reaffirms government commitment to enforce security strategy

(MENAFN) Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enforcing its security strategy and cracking down on militias and unauthorized armed groups operating in the country.

Speaking in a televised interview, Dbeibeh stated that Libya will continue pushing forward with efforts to disband militias that fall outside the official structures of the defense and interior ministries. These groups, he noted, emerged in the aftermath of the 2011 conflict, taking advantage of the nation’s fragile security environment.

"We are continuing our security plan. We will not back down from eliminating militias and armed formations. Whoever does not want war to be declared against them must abide by the state, its institutions and laws," he said.

Dbeibeh explained that there had initially been an expectation for these armed groups to integrate into official state institutions, but those hopes were not realized.

"What these armed groups are doing is a coup against the state, not the government,” he said.

He revealed that authorities had seized several aircraft used by these groups for illegal purposes. According to him, only a small number of such formations remain active—no more than two or three—but they function like organized criminal networks.

"The weapons in the hands of these formations are more than the weapons in the hands of the state and have been used to blackmail official institutions," Dbeibeh added.

He also pointed out that the chief prosecutor has issued approximately 125 arrest warrants for individuals linked to the Rada militia group, which operates near Mitiga Airport. Dbeibeh emphasized that operations targeting all unauthorized armed entities—those not part of the police or military—will persist as part of the government’s broader mission to reestablish state authority.

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