Libyan security forces have seized a large cache of weapons hidden in a house in the city of Al-Khums, northwest Libya.
According to a statement by the Libyan Interior Ministry, police received a report about a man firing two RPG’s at a neighbour’s house.
The accused’s house was surrounded by the Special Task Force, who arrested him. The man confessed to possessing the missiles, and was placed in pretrial detention, until his referral to the Public Prosecution.
In February, Libyan security forces announced the seizure of “advanced and dangerous weapons” that were hidden in the desert, and due to be smuggled to Egypt.
The Director of the Tobruk Security Directorate in eastern Libya, said in a press briefing that the “weapons were seized in the southeastern region, in the village of Jaghbub, after we monitored suspicious movements in the region.”
In March, the United Nation’s top human rights official, Volker Türk revealed that the widespread violence in Libya by armed actors, the longstanding political impasse, and an increasingly restrictive civic space continue to destroy lives and severely harm rights.
During his speech, the UN official announced that “contempt for human beings reaches agonizing levels when war breaks out, and violence becomes a daily occurrence.”
A report by the Institute for Economics and Peace indicated that Libya witnessed sharp increases in the economic cost of violence, recording increases of more than 85% from 2020-2021. It ranked 151st globally out of 163 countries on the list, and 16th in the Arab world, ahead of Sudan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Over the years, kidnappings, arrests, and assassinations have increased substantially in western Libya. This is evident in the repeated statements of the Ministry of Interior, about the arrest of gangs and individuals involved in the kidnapping and extortion of expatriate workers.