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| Africa North |
| Protesters in Libya's Benghazi march against militias |
| 2014-08-02 |
| [UK.REUTERS] Two thousand people erupted into the streets of Benghazi on Friday to protest against Islamist forces of Evil and former rebel militias who have been fighting armed forces and taken over an important military base in the eastern Libyan city. The heavy festivities in Benghazi and the 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... over the past two weeks have been the worst since the 2011 fall of Muammar Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens... , killing more than 200 people and forcing most Western governments to pull their diplomats out of the North African state. Fierce fighting among rival factions in the country's two major cities also underscores Libya's fragile control over the heavily armed brigades of former anti-Qadaffy rebel fighters and militias who refuse to disband. The Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council, an alliance formed by former rebels and Islamist forces of Evil 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... , which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization, have forced the army to pull out of Benghazi. Chanting slogans praising Libya's army and condemning extremism, protesters marched in Benghazi, the city where in 2012 the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S. mission blamed on Islamist fighters. "We are here to say Benghazi will not become another djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... ," said Seraj Byouk, a doctor, referring to the Iraqi city which has fallen under the control of an al Qaeda splinter group. The battle in Benghazi has pitted Islamist forces of Evil and militias against special forces who have joined ranks with a renegade former army officer, Khalifa Haftar, who had vowed to oust forces of Evil from the city. While Haftar initially gained support from some Libyans weary of bad boy attacks and liquidations, he has failed to make significant gains. Critics dismiss him as a power-hungry, former Qadaffy ally. There were no sign of the Libyan army, Haftar's forces or Shura Council forces in the city on Friday, and only civilians were controlling checkpoints and organising traffic, a Rooters news hound said. The city's main cop shoppe was destroyed by bombs placed inside the building on Friday morning. The special forces base was empty three days after it was overrun, and other parts of the city were quiet. Mediators including tribal leaders and elders have been trying to negotiate separate ceasefire agreements to stop the militia festivities that have turned the two biggest Libyan cities to battlefields. Libya's new elected parliament is set to hold its first session, in the town of Tobruk on Saturday. Libya's acting prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, other ministers and around 100 members of parliament arrived in the eastern town on Friday. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 R2P - send in the Samantha Powers Brigade! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-08-02 12:44 |
| #1 I wonder if they were stirred up by a YouTube video too. |
| Posted by: Lowspark 2014-08-02 10:59 |