Protesters in Tripoli shut roads and moved against public buildings as anger over long power cuts spilled into a civil disobedience campaign across parts of Libya’s capital.
The demonstrations began over outages and electricity costs, then spread through several districts by early Monday. Crowds blocked the coastal road in Janzour, west of Tripoli, on Sunday and gathered outside the West Tripoli power station after hours-long blackouts.
Videos verified by the reporting source showed protesters burning tyres into the early hours of Monday and closing main roads in the capital. Footage also showed demonstrators unloading a truck filled with dirt outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Sater Turba area in an attempt to block access to the building.
The campaign was launched by the Souq Al-Jumaa Movement, which has opposed Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity since May 2025. The movement said its aim was to “completely paralyse the government” rather than disrupt ordinary life.
It also called for accountability over alleged corruption and demanded the dissolution of Libya’s existing political institutions, including the government, the House of Representatives, the State Council and the Presidential Council.
The unrest spread east to Tajoura, where video showed three protesters placing a closure sign on the municipal office. The Tajoura Families and Youth Movement said it would begin a full boycott of state institutions on Monday, rejecting both the unity government and the House of Representatives.
In a statement, the group cited worsening electricity, water, education and health services, as well as fuel shortages, liquidity problems and medicine shortages, while “officials are preoccupied with political conflicts”.
The Government of National Unity did not immediately comment. Blackouts in Tripoli and other areas have reached up to 10 hours a day, forcing the state-run electricity company to resume load-shedding after two years of relative network stability.
Separately, White House adviser Massad Boulos said he held a “productive call” with Dbeibah on Sunday about steps toward Libyan unification and security cooperation between eastern and western factions.
