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Tripoli military school hit by deadly airstrike
[DW] More than two dozen cadets have been killed in a raid on a military academy in Libya's besieged capital, 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... . Medical workers are still sifting through the rubble and warn the corpse count could rise. An  ...KABOOM!... hit a military school in southern Tripoli late Saturday, killing at least 28 students and injuring dozens more, Libyan health authorities said. The bombing targeted the capital's Hadaba area, which has been the scene of intense fighting between the besieged UN-backed government and a self-styled army led by General Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... A Health Ministry front man said the raid struck as cadets gathered on a parade ground before retiring to their dormitories. Medical workers at the scene were looking for bodies in the rubble, and warned the number of victims could rise. Authorities also called for blood donations to help hospitals treat the maimed. The internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) holds Tripoli, but since April has been under sustained attack by Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is supported by a rival administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's strike. The government in Tripoli has blamed the LNA, which denied involvement. BATTLE INTENSIFIES Clashes have escalated in recent weeks following Haftar's announcement of a "final" offensive to seize the capital. The push came after Tripoli authorities signed military and maritime deals with ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , which has authorized the deployment of troops to Libya. More than 280 civilians and over 2,000 fighters have been killed since the start of Haftar's assault, according to the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... Libya's two governments began vying for control after the 2011 fall of dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... plunged the country into chaos. Haftar's LNA and the eastern administration enjoy the support of La Belle France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and other key Arab countries, while the Tripoli-based government is backed by Turkey, Italia and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... Posted by: trailing wife 2020-01-05 |
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