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Clashes over Federalism Kill One in Libya
[An Nahar] Clashes pitting backers and opponents of federalism in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi killed one person and maimed at least five on Friday, a medical official said."One person was killed and at least five others were maimed," Basma Mohammed told Agence La Belle France Presse. The chairman of the Supreme Security Committee of Benghazi, Fawzi Wanis, said "matters were brought under control and the festivities between the two sides are over." But he said there had been no fatalities, only that two people had suffered gunshot wounds and three others had been knifed or stoned. The violence erupted  after hundreds of people demonstrated in favor of federalism, a political project that calls for the division of the country into three self-governed regions, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist at the scene said.After Friday prayers, the marchers went to Freedom Square, where Ahmed Zubair Senussi, who is calling for autonomy in the oil-rich east of the country, delivered a speech. Stones and gunfire were exchanged in festivities between those who favor a federal system of governance and those who, like the ruling National Transitional Council, reject the idea. Posted by: Fred 2012-03-17 |
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