An official said that the exact cause of the blast was not known but said that the depot could have been rigged. A medical source said the total killed could rise and that there were “body parts” at the depot.
Another report claims at least 25 were killed and dozens injured at the arms depot. It claims that the Misrata militia had already left after clashing earlier with residents of the town. The explosion happened as residents entered the depot but it was not clear what set off the blast. The report said the town was just 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Tripoli. A local official Mohamed Assayed said: “The number of casualties is rising and we are working hard to transfer them to nearest hospitals.” He said about 30 people were injured. A resident of the town said that clashes between the militia began after a member of the militia group would not pay for goods in a local shop.
An Al Jazeera report claims more than 20 were killed. It speaks of the town being in the “restive east” when in fact it is in the west near Tripoli. The report also claims that a resident said that the clashes erupted after a dispute in a local shop when a member of the militia was refusing to pay. A tweet summed it up: Garabulli #Libya: Late night dispute at store escalated. Locals turned out against Misrata katibas. Clashes & fires. Quiet now. Road blocked.” Another tweet describes the road being blocked: “Garabouli main road (East of #Tripoli) blocked due to clashes b/w Misrata armed groups & Local armed groups #Libya.” Another report is similar to that of Al Jazeera. Locals decided to block the main road along the coast at Garabulli that connects Misrata to Tripoli. Misrata is about 140 kilometers east of Garabulli. One tweet claimed that the militia had gone back to the store and burnt it down but this had not been confirmed: “3. Garabouli Res. says militia “went back to store & burnt it down+ nearby family home of owner”this cld not b independently verified #Libya.”
