The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned late on Sunday the violent incident in Abu Salim area, as 10 people were reported killed in Tripoli, adding that it continued to monitor the situation.
UNSMIL said on X platform that the killing incident highlighted concerns repeatedly raised by the UN envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily about the serious risks posed by rivalries between security actors that continued to threaten the fragile security in Tripoli.
UNSMIL urged relevant Libyan authorities to ensure an independent, prompt and thorough investigation into the incident and prevent any actions that could lead to escalation and further violence.
The Tripoli Security Directorate announced that the Public Prosecution had launched investigations into the murder in Abu Salim, explaining that the incident claimed the lives of 10 people. Tripoli Security Director Khalil Wahiba said in a press briefing that “a report was received at the Abu Salim Police Station at 1:30 a.m. by the control room regarding the killing of 10 people, some of whom were affiliated with the Stabilization Support Apparatus, inside a house near the Abu Shaala Mosque. He said the report said they were killed by an unknown armed group."
He added that the Public Prosecution was informed about the incident, which in turn began an investigation, along with the Criminal Investigation Office, as they moved to the crime scene in order to gather fingerprints, search the house, and conduct a visual examination of the bodies.
The bodies had suffered several bullets while the prosecution ordered that they be presented to forensics to determine the time of the murder, the mechanism of its occurrence, the weapons used, and the ammunition to be seized and presented to the weapons expert, according to Wahiba.
Identical sources from the Abu Salim area in Tripoli said that 11 people, including brothers, were killed on Saturday night, in what appeared to be a targeted killing operation, while the victims were present in a vacation house in the Al-Hadba Project area of the Abu Salim municipality.
Some sources described what happened as a "massacre," while they did not determine the reason for committing this crime, as it was not possible to obtain official information. Libyan social media circulated conflicting information about the incident since Sunday morning.
