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| Africa North |
| Libya Militias Take Control of Tripoli Govt Offices |
| 2014-09-02 |
| [AnNahar] Libya's toothless outgoing government admitted Monday it had lost control of government offices 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... to armed militias. The interim government led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, which resigned last week and has taken refuge in the east of the country, said gangs were preventing government workers from entering their offices. "Ministry and state offices in Tripoli have been occupied by armed militias who are preventing government workers from entering and are threatening their superiors," the government said in a statement released overnight. It said the interim government was in contact with officials and "trying to ensure the continuity of services from afar." Libya has been sliding into chaos since Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... was tossed and killed three years ago, with interim authorities confronting powerful militias which fought to oust the veteran dictator. The interim government announced last week it had tendered its resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist administration was created. The parliament is also operating out of Libya's east for security reasons. A rival body, the General National Congress, last week named pro-Islamist figure Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government". Interim authorities have been steadily losing ground to the militias and the Fajr Libya (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 bdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... ) mainly Islamist alliance, which has seized Tripoli airport after weeks of fierce fighting with nationalist rivals. On Sunday, Islamist faceless myrmidons moved into the U.S. embassy compound in Tripoli that was evacuated in late July, with videos showing cheering men diving from an upstairs balcony into the facility's swimming pool. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |