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| Africa North |
| Tripoli's iconic gazelle and mermaid statue destroyed by vandals |
| 2014-11-05 |
| [Libya Herald] 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... residents were shocked this morning to awake to find the iconic gazelle and naked woman fountain on the corniche gone. All that remains is part of the base, showing that the bronze statue was wrenched off its pedestal, probably by a mechanical digger. There have been a number of threats over the past year to destroy the fountain from bad boy who considered it immoral. "There was security information about the intent of some people to demolish the statue," Tripoli Head of Facilities in the Tripoli local council Husam Bash Emam told the Libya Herald. "It is a shock ‐ the statue was considered one of the most beautiful landmarks of Tripoli," Bash Emam added. Claims by Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... supporters online that the statue has simple been taken away for repairs after it was badly damaged in a previous attack by vandals have been dismissed by local residents who point out that the remains of the fountain show that the statue was ripped off and that the incident happened in the middle of the night, not a time when workers are operating. The claims have also been effectively refuted by Tripoli Local Council which has condemned the vandalism, called for a investigation into the attack and promised that the culprits will be caught. It also promised to protect other cultural artefacts in the capital. |
| Posted by:Fred |