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Protestors attack militia compounds in Benghazi
Source: Agencies |
September 23, 2012, Sunday
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TWO Libyan protesters were killed and dozens wounded early yesterday as hundreds of demonstrators attacked militia compounds in a surge of anger at armed groups in Benghazi whose unchecked powers led to last week's killing of the US ambassador.
For many Libyans, the September 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was the last straw in one of the biggest problems Libya has faced since last year's ouster and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi: the multiple mini-armies armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that are stronger than government security forces.
But in an indication of government fears of a sudden security vacuum without the militias it relies on to keep order, officials called on protesters to respect "legitimate" militias.
While the late Friday protests were planned in advance through social networking sites and flyers, the storming of the heavily armed militia headquarters took many by surprise. After breaking off from a huge anti-militia march - the biggest in the eastern city since the fall of Gadhafi's regime last October - protesters overtook a building used by Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia, set fire to a vehicle and offices after freeing three detainees held in an underground cell. The group is linked to the killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Protesters on foot and in cars, some carrying guns and others machetes, moved to another heavily armed compound on Benghazi's outskirts that houses the Rafallah Sahati militia.
Panicked, Libyan government officials urged protesters to differentiate between what it called "legitimate and non-legitimate" militias.
The militias, a legacy of the rag-tag popular forces that fought Gadhafi's regime, tout themselves as protectors of Libya's revolution, providing security where police cannot. But they now face public criticism and are accused of acting like gangs, detaining rivals and carrying out killings.
Libyan military chief of staff Youssef al-Mangoush said three big militias - Rafallah Sahati, February 17 and Libya Shield - are considered "pro-government" and warned protesters against pushing for what he described as "counter-revolution" goals. The government heavily depended on Rafallah Sahati, for example, to secure Benghazi during the country's first national elections in July in decades. The militia took its name from an Islamist fighter who battled fiercely against Gadhafi's forces earlier in the revolution.
But most of Libya's militias still answer to their commanders before the state.
For many Libyans, the September 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was the last straw in one of the biggest problems Libya has faced since last year's ouster and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi: the multiple mini-armies armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that are stronger than government security forces.
But in an indication of government fears of a sudden security vacuum without the militias it relies on to keep order, officials called on protesters to respect "legitimate" militias.
While the late Friday protests were planned in advance through social networking sites and flyers, the storming of the heavily armed militia headquarters took many by surprise. After breaking off from a huge anti-militia march - the biggest in the eastern city since the fall of Gadhafi's regime last October - protesters overtook a building used by Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia, set fire to a vehicle and offices after freeing three detainees held in an underground cell. The group is linked to the killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Protesters on foot and in cars, some carrying guns and others machetes, moved to another heavily armed compound on Benghazi's outskirts that houses the Rafallah Sahati militia.
Panicked, Libyan government officials urged protesters to differentiate between what it called "legitimate and non-legitimate" militias.
The militias, a legacy of the rag-tag popular forces that fought Gadhafi's regime, tout themselves as protectors of Libya's revolution, providing security where police cannot. But they now face public criticism and are accused of acting like gangs, detaining rivals and carrying out killings.
Libyan military chief of staff Youssef al-Mangoush said three big militias - Rafallah Sahati, February 17 and Libya Shield - are considered "pro-government" and warned protesters against pushing for what he described as "counter-revolution" goals. The government heavily depended on Rafallah Sahati, for example, to secure Benghazi during the country's first national elections in July in decades. The militia took its name from an Islamist fighter who battled fiercely against Gadhafi's forces earlier in the revolution.
But most of Libya's militias still answer to their commanders before the state.
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