Tripolitania and Tripoli
While the main focus remains on the east of the country, armed clashes continue to be reported at various locations across Tripolitania. On 18 September, Libya Al Mustakbal reported the killing of seven Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) fighters by the Algerian Army after they had attempted to infiltrate the country near the borders with Libya and Niger. The group was driving in two vehicles and transporting Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition. Libya Al Youm reported sightings in Ghadames of Algerian fighter jets inside Libyan airspace on 18 September. Spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, Adil Al Barasi, later stated that the fighter jets were securing the Libyan-Algerian border within the parameters of a joint Libyan-Algerian agreement.
Unconfirmed reports on 18 September claimed that rebel militias associated with the government may be increasing their security presence in Buraq, 200 km east of Sirte, in response to a growing Qadhafi loyalist presence. The reports advised against all but essential travel to the region. The Libyan Ajel Libya news agency reported a series of explosions in Zliten’s District ‘Seven’ on 19 September. Preliminary reports indicate that the explosions targeted the Omar Al Sadaai shrine. The Libya Al Ahrar television station also reported the targeting of the Ali Al Bako shrine.
Clashes in Brak on 19 September resulted in the deaths of at least eight High Security Committee (HSC) fighters and several locals. Libyan Press Solidarity also reported on attempted intervention by regional elders to stop the fighting in the area. Residents of Brak, who belong to Libya's second largest tribe, the Al Magariha, have refused to hand over wanted individuals or their weapons. Unconfirmed reports subsequently claimed that a number of vehicles belonging to the HSC from Tripoli arrived at Brak Airport, to support ongoing HSC operations.
The Libya Herald reported that the wife of Sabha Military Council leader, Colonel Ali Della, was killed in a failed assassination attempt on her husband on 19 September. The two were travelling to a wedding near Obari when a car pulled up alongside their vehicle and opened fire. Qadhafi regime sympathizers are the primary suspects.
On 23 September the Libyan military announced that the National Army had conducted a number of operations in and around the capital as part of the ongoing crackdown against rebel militia groups. The Libya Herald reported that the National Mobile Forces, a newly created unit within the National Army, raided barracks on Airport Road housing a ‘renegade’ army unit, early in the morning of 23 September. Separate reports also claimed that Mobile Forces have been conducting ‘low-key’ operations to clear the western Tripoli district of Serraj of renegade militias, a military spokesman claimed that government forces raided a number of sites on 23 September, including one that served as a base for a pro-Qadhafi cell. The report claimed that the army seized a quantity of weapons during the operation.
