Mass Demolitions and violent raids in Sebha Leave Over 2,000 Refugees Displaced, Including Women and Children

Screenshot from a video depicting the after mass of a violent raids in Sebha, Southern Libya by security forces and militias affiliated with the Ministry of Interior

Sebha | Today

At dawn today, military forces supported by heavy machinery carried out large-scale demolitions in residential areas of Sebha, forcibly displacing more than 2,000 refugees, including women and children, according to acknowledgements by the Sebha Security Directorate.

Homes and makeshift shelters were demolished using bulldozers, and residents were expelled from their homes without prior notice, judicial orders, or legal procedures, eyewitnesses and affected persons reported.

The Sebha Security Directorate itself confirmed that the number of people affected exceeds 2,000. Despite official statements framing the operation as part of migration-related enforcement, observers and local sources indicate that the actions bear no clear connection to migration regulation or residency enforcement procedures.

According to multiple accounts, the operation appears instead to be linked to local political disputes and security rivalries, raising serious concerns that migration is being used as a pretext for collective punishment and political retaliation. The demolitions targeted entire residential areas, impacting families who had no opportunity to contest the action or secure alternative shelter.

As of the time of writing, no emergency accommodation, compensation mechanisms, or legal remedies have been announced for those displaced.

Libya is not safe.

The original video can be watched here.