- Six soldiers killed in attack on army base
- Flights disrupted as Benina Airport closed
- Bomb explosion at Libya Hurra TV station
Ahmed Ruhayem and Ayman Amzein
BENGHAZI – Clashes between Libyan elite forces and
gunmen Saturday killed six soldiers in Benghazi, the army said, in the
latest bout of unrest as the government struggles to control rebels from
the 2011 uprising.
The interim leader of Libya’s army warned of the danger of a “bloodbath”
as the unrest in Benghazi flared again a week after violence killed
more than 30 people in the eastern city.
Explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard at about 4:00 a.m. (0200
GMT) near the headquarters of the special forces and in Al-Lithi
district on the road to the airport, not far from the city center.
Benghazi’s Benina Airport was closed and all flights were affected. The
closure was confirmed by Captain Hussain Fitouri, head of the Libyan
Pilot’s Union. It is not known how long it will last.
“We were told our flight had been cancelled because no pilots had turned
up”, one frustrated Benghazi passenger told the Libya Herald.
There were large crowds of people waiting, he said, in the hope that flights would restart shortly.
The special forces said on Facebook that its members exchanged light arms and rocket fire with an “outlaw” group.
They reported three of its members were shot dead and two wounded as
they “were defending the legitimacy of the state with courage and
honour”.
Then soon after they announced two soldiers had been “liquidated” by
“the takfir group”, in a clear reference to Islamist extremists.
The special forces warned that “they would target anyone who shot at them”.
The latest clashes came just hours after dozens of protesters forced a
brigade of former rebel fighters from their base in Benghazi on Friday
evening.
The protesters had burned two vehicles belonging to the First Infantry
Brigade, before moving on the barracks, said a Libyan army officer.
The brigade was forced to quit its headquarters as the protesters took
it over. A witness on site said the protesters, some of whom were armed,
had fired in the air and launched a rocket-propelled grenade at an
external wall of the barracks, though nobody was hurt.
The brigade was set up by former rebel fighters and says it takes its orders from the defence ministry.
The attackers later attacked a police station, the offices of border
guards and facilities and another office building of the First Infantry
Brigade, witnesses said.
Following that first attack, Salem Al-Konidi, the interim head of the
army warned “there will be a bloodbath” if the special forces are
targeted.
“There could be a catastrophe in Benghazi. If they have demands, they can wait until (Saturday). We can discuss with them.”
He said he did not know who had launched the attack or what their motive
was, but appealed to elders and dignitaries to act to try to head off
the unrest.
Konidi is the interim replacement for General Yusef Al-Mangoush, who
resigned last Sunday, a day after fighting in Benghazi killed 31 people
and left dozens more wounded. He had come under mounting criticism for
having failed to form a national army in the face of resistance from
militias unwilling to surrender their independence.
A bomb exploded outside the Libya Hurra (Free Libya) internet TV station
in Benghazi early Saturday morning. No one was injured in the attack
which occurred around 1 a.m. in the city’s Hadayeq district, but there
was some damage to buildings and at least one car parked in the street.
Reports indicate that the device was home-made, possibly a gelatina. The
reason for the attack is as yet unknown. Nor it is clear whether there
is any link to the deadly protests against the Libya Shield forces on
Saturday which left 31 dead.
The station was founded by Mohamed Nabbous at the start of the
revolution but he was shot dead by a Gaddafi sniper a month later.
Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising that ousted Muamer Gaddafi’s regime
in 2011, has become increasingly marred by clashes between militias
made up of former rebels who fought the late dictator’s forces and the
still infant regular forces of the new authorities.
Militias with different tribal and ideological links now control parts
of Benghazi, where there has been a wave of attacks on army and police
officers and facilities.
Extremists have often been blamed for attacks in Benghazi, but some
observers say militias in general have launched attacks in a bid to stop
regular security forces from regaining control of the city, despite
local opposition.
In last week’s violence, armed demonstrators opposed to the city’s
militias attacked the pro-Islamist “Shield of Libya” brigade at its
barracks. The Shield of Libya is mostly made up of rebels who battled
Kadhafi in 2011, and is also under defence ministry control.
The new authorities, who are struggling to form a professional army and
police, regularly use these former rebels to secure the borders or to
intervene in tribal conflicts.
The new government has failed to disarm and disband the former rebel
groups who implement the law the country and are trying to legitimise
some of them despite the opposition of a majority of the population. –
Libya Herald/Agencies
هددت
قبائل بشرق ليبيا، مساء أمس السبت، بأنها تعتزم ''إهدار دم من قتل أبنائها
في حال لم تطبق الدولة القانون على القتلة''. جاء ذلك في بيان وقعه عدد من
رموز قبائل شرقي البلاد عقب اجتماع موسع عقدوه في منطقة ''سلوق'' جنوب
غربي مدينة بنغازي (شرق) السبت لبحث تطورات الاشتباكات التي شهدتها المدينة
خلال الأيام الماضية.