The fighting detachments of the 444th Brigade announced yesterday that it is continuing its anti-fuel smuggling campaign on the edges of greater Tripoli.
The Combat Units of the 444th Brigade are part of the Tripoli Military District in the General Staff of the Libyan Army. They are not a militia that has been recognized by the state. In fact, they have clashed (September 2021) with militias on the outskirts of Tripoli over territoriality. They are not liked by other militias as they are seen as a threat to their existence.
Libyan governments, if they had the ability, would like to convert all militias into units within the army/police.
The 444 is most known for its April 2021 actions in shutting down dens of smaller unrecognised militias and forcing them out of state and private properties.
Reporting on its operations yesterday, the 444 Brigade (referred to in Tripoli simply as ‘‘the three fours’’) said it is ‘‘continuing its fight day and night in the Libyan desert and were able to arrest several people and seize three trucks loaded with 100,000 litres of smuggled (and state subsidised) fuel south of the city of Bani Walid.’’
