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| Africa North |
| Clashes in Benghazi Kill 16 Pro-Government Forces |
| 2014-12-24 |
| [AnNahar] Clashes on Monday between pro-government forces and Islamist holy warriors in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi killed 16 people and maimed dozens, security sources and medics said. Forces loyal to former general Khalifa Haftar ... 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. 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... and to internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani have been battling for weeks against Islamists who have taken control of much of Libya's second city, 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... The Benghazi Medical Center said it received the bodies of seven people and 35 maimed in the festivities, while al-Jala hospital said it took in four bodies and 25 maimed. Medical sources said the casualties were all from Haftar's ranks and pro-government forces. Islamist militias rarely report their casualties. The fighting raged in southern and central Benghazi, security sources said. Farther east, in the Islamist stronghold of Derna, five soldiers were killed on Monday when gunnies attacked a checkpoint in the city's western suburb of Dahr el-Ahmar, a military front man said. Earlier this month the Islamists staged a military parade in Derna with tanks and combatants carrying black flags. Three years after dictator Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... was toppled and killed in a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... -backed revolt, Libya is awash with weapons and powerful militias, and run by rival governments and parliaments. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |