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| Africa North |
| French embassy in Tripoli hit by car bomb |
| 2013-04-23 |
| A bomb exploded outside the French embassy in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, on Tuesday morning, the latest in a string of attacks on western diplomatic outposts in the north African nation still recovering from a 2011 armed uprising. News reports from Tripoli said at least two embassy Gendarmes were injured in the blast, which took place on a quiet street in the upscale Gergarish district. Photos from the scene showed a burning car belching black fumes into the sky and a badly damaged embassy compound wall. President François Hollande said in a statement: “France expects the Libyan authorities to shed light on this unacceptable act, to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. This act is aimed via France at all those countries in the international community engaged in the fight against terrorism.” The attack took place during a visit by a delegation of French lawmakers to the Libyan capital. Jean Glavany, a Socialist Party member of parliament, told a French broadcaster that one of the injured suffered grave wounds while the other was in good shape. “Everything is devastated,” he was quoted as saying. “The explosion was felt in all the neighbourhood and windows were shattered even a few blocks away.” Libya hailed France as a saviour during the 2011 Nato-backed uprising against former ruler Muammer Gaddafi. But the toppling of the former regime unleashed gangs of armed militants, some with hardline Islamist agendas and ties to al-Qaeda’s leadership in south Asia and northern Africa. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 So that's how it's said in Arabic. (at least the Libyan dialect...) |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-04-23 14:57 |
| #3 Their way of saying "Thank you for liberating us from Kadafi's oppression.". |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-04-23 13:32 |
| #2 I'm guessing it's the local Salafists, not that there's much diffo between them and AQIM. |
| Posted by: Fred 2013-04-23 10:29 |
| #1 AQ sent come kids over to express their dismay at the French hospitality in Mali. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2013-04-23 10:15 |