A civilian was slightly injured, in addition to several personnel affiliated with the ministry, by declared Government of National Unity (GNU)/Turkish drone or air strikes near the Sayeda Zeinab area on May 25, 2023.

A tweet from @wady_dynar quoted spokesman for the Ambulance and Emergency Service, Osama Ali, who reported that “a person was slightly injured as a result of bombing near the Sayeda Zeinab area, south of Al-Zawiya” while the bombing in the Al Maya port did not result in any injuries. @omarbosadh reported “dead and wounded” from the bombing but did not specify who or how many.

The Government of National Unity (GNU) announced that the strikes ordered by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah had “successfully hit their targets” which were “hideouts used by gangs of smugglers in fuel, narcotics and humans” around Zawiya, as reported by the News Arab.

However, the parliament, which is based in the east of the country, said that the target of the strikes was the home of Zawiya lawmaker Ali Bouzribah, who is a rival of the GNU government: “Parliament followed with deep concern the drone strike on Zawiya targeting the home of the city’s representative Ali Bouzribah” and the “flagrant attack… on civilians and civilian installations” said the speaker’s office. Reuters reported that according to the parliament, several personnel affiliated with the ministry were injured.

The News Arab reported that drone strikes occurred around Al-Maya, a small port. A video posted by Al Zawiya Al Hadath 24 on Facebook shows a military vehicle at a Stabilization and Support headquarters in Abu Surra. According to Reuters, three residents of Zawiya said that they heard explosions and one also heard gunfire.

The LibyaHerald stated that despite the Defense Ministry having declared the strikes, many believe that the strikes were carried out by Turkish drones, with @libyapress2010 specifically referring to Turkish Bayraktar drones. Reuters pointed out that the GNU government has no known air power of its own.