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Shelling, clashes between militias resume in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... where rival militia brigades were battling for control of the capital's main airport in some of the worst festivities since the 2011 revolt which ousted Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... Around 200 people have been killed since the festivities erupted two weeks ago in the capital and also in the eastern city of Benghazi, where a coalition of gunnies and former rebels have overrun a major army base in the city. Thuds of artillery and anti-aircraft cannons echoed across Tripoli from early Thursday morning, a day after a temporary cease-fire agreed by factions to allow firefighters to put out a huge blaze at a fuel depot hit by a rocket. Three years after the fall of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's fragile government and nascent army has been unable to impose authority on heavily armed brigades of former rebels who have become the North African country's powerbrokers. Most of the fighting is limited to southern Tripoli where warring factions have exchanged Grad rockets ...Soviet-developed 122-mm rockets, usually launched from trucks. Newer versions are reported to have a range of up to 30 km.... , artillery shells and cannon fire between the airport controlled by Zintan brigade fighters and enclaves of their Misrata brigade rivals. In the eastern city of Benghazi, an alliance of gunnies and former rebels has also overrun a special forces base in the city, forcing the army into a retreat, local residents and army officials said. Residents said there was little sign of the army or police on the ground in Benghazi on Thursday, two days after fighters from Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... and the coalition of former rebels the Benghazi Shoura Council overtook a main special forces base. Posted by: Fred 2014-08-01 |
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