Police raids have been carried out against “criminal hideouts and wanted persons” suspected of murder, kidnapping, and arms and human trafficking, according to the authorities.
The city, with a population of around 250,000, is subject to recurring fighting between armed groups. Zawiya is also notorious for smuggling networks that have, among other things, brought fuel to neighboring Tunisia.
The city has an important oil terminal and a large refinery.
Since the fall of totalitarian leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been torn apart by power struggles between armed groups, a lack of functioning state power and widespread lawlessness.
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