Stability Support Apparatus (Libya)

The Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) was a Libyan security body formally established in 2021 by the Ministry of Interior of the National Unity Government. It evolved from the Abu Salim Brigade, a powerful militia active in Tripoli since 2012.^[1] It was dissolved in May of 2025, after the assassination of Abdel Ghani Al Kikli

Stability Support Apparatus
Active	2012–2021 as Abu Salim Brigade 2021–2025 as Stability Support Apparatus
Country	Libya
Allegiance	Ministry of Interior (Libya), Government of National Unity (Libya)
Branch	Libyan Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	Tripoli Military Region
Garrison/HQ	Al-Falah, Tripoli
Engagements	2023 Tripoli clashes, 2025 Tripoli clashes
Commanders
Current commander	Abdel Ghani al-Kikli X

History and disposition

The Abu Salim Brigade, later known as SSA, was founded in 2012 by Abdel-Ghani Al-Kakli, a civilian participant in the February 2011 revolution. The group initially operated from Abu Salim, the largest district of Tripoli, and expanded its control to nearby areas.^[2]

The Abu Salim Brigade was involved in several armed operations throughout Tripoli, including Bab Ben Ghashir, Sharqiya, Al-Hadba, and the area of the former Ministry of Interior. The brigade worked closely with local authorities and received ongoing financial support, weapons, and payment.^[3]

In mid-2021, the Ministry of Interior rebranded the Abu Salim Brigade as the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). This gave the SSA the right to set up branches outside Tripoli, including in Sabratha and Al-Zawiya.^[4]

On May 12 2025, during a meeting with leaders affiliated with the GNU at a base of their rival militia, the 444th Infantry Brigade, its leader Abdel Ghani Al Kikli, was assassinated under mysterious circumstances, leading to clashes between the SSA and the 444th. His assassination triggered the dissolution of the SSA and the takeover of all its bases by the Ministry of Defense, which the 444th Brigade is heavily integrated with.

Activities

The SSA uses official social media to report on operations targeting illegal migration, smuggling, and crime.^[5]

Human rights violations

Multiple international and Libyan human rights organizations have documented serious violations committed by the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) and its members during its years of activity. These include arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and abuses against migrants and refugees.

In a May 2022 report, Amnesty International described the SSA as a “state-funded militia” whose commanders were responsible for killings, unlawful detentions, forced labor, and other grave crimes under international law, calling on Libyan authorities to hold them to account.^[6]

Following the assassination of its leader Abdel Ghani al-Kikli in May 2025, renewed clashes in Tripoli between the SSA and other armed groups caused civilian casualties and significant damage to residential areas. Human Rights Watch reported that civilians were “caught in militia clashes” and urged independent investigations into the killings and destruction.^[7] Amnesty International similarly called on the Government of National Unity to ensure accountability of militia leaders following the outbreak of violence.^[8]

On 4 June 2025, the UN Human Rights Office stated that it was “horrified” by evidence of gross human rights violations discovered at sites under the SSA’s control in Tripoli, including secret detention facilities, and urged the Libyan authorities to secure and investigate those sites impartially and transparently.^[9] Reuters reported that at least 58 unidentified corpses were found in a Tripoli hospital previously under SSA-linked control, prompting demands for international scrutiny.^[10]

Locally, the human rights organization Libya Crimes Watch (LCW) called for the surrender of SSA commanders accused of grave violations and urged an international investigation into crimes committed by the apparatus.^[11] LCW’s monthly report for May 2025 further documented widespread arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and ill-treatment of civilians by security forces, including SSA-affiliated groups.^[12]

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) also noted in a 2022 joint statement with Libyan NGOs that patterns of arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and torture had become widespread among state-affiliated armed groups, including the SSA, amid a total absence of accountability.^[13]

According to human rights law, these acts constitute violations of Libya’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and potentially amount to crimes under international law requiring prompt, independent, and impartial investigations.