Libya: Service delivery protests reported in central Tripoli July 15 /update 2

Event

Several dozen people gathered outside the Presidential Council offices in the Sikka area of central Tripoli on Wednesday, July 15, for a demonstration against ongoing power outages in the city. The demonstrators are reported to have blocked the road outside the building causing localized disruption, but there were no reports of violence.

Similar related protests took place in Tripoli on June 30 and July 1 over poor service delivery. 

Demonstrations and associated localized disruptions are likely to continue in Tripoli in the near term.

Context

Damage from more than a year of fighting in the city, lagging maintenance, and a lack of investment since the 2011 civil war have left Tripoli's electricity in a poor state of repair. Inadequate electricity generation capacity in recent years has seen regular load-shedding outages of up to ten hours in some areas, with blackouts increasing in the summer months as high temperatures put additional strain on infrastructure. The electricity supply issues have prompted several service delivery protests in the city in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for the dismissal of General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). Although these demonstrations have remained largely peaceful, they have typically caused disruptions in the vicinity of the Presidential Council offices.

Advice

Those in Tripoli are advised to monitor developments, anticipate localized disruption, and heed any directives issued by local authorities. All demonstrations and political gatherings in Libya should be avoided due to the risk of incidental violence and aggressive crowd-dispersal operations by security forces.