Libyan Islamist militia swept out of Benghazi bases
Sat Sep 22, 2012 9:05pm GMT
* Headquarters of Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group targeted
* Group was linked to last week's attack on U.S. consulate
* Crowd also attacked pro-govt militia and arsenal in error
* Eleven killed, more than 60 wounded
* Libyans had marched in Benghazi to support democracy
By Peter Graff and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 22 (Reuters) - An Islamist militia was driven out of
the city of Benghazi early on Saturday in a surge of anger against the armed
groups that control large parts of Libya more than a year after the
overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
A spokesman for Ansar al-Sharia, which some U.S. and Libyan officials blame
for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last week in which the U.S.
ambassador and three other Americans were killed, said it had evacuated its
bases "to preserve security in the city".
In a dramatic sign of Libya's fragility, after sweeping through Ansar's
bases the crowd went on to attack a pro-government militia, believing them
to be Islamists, triggering an armed response in which at least 11 people
were killed and more than 60 wounded.
The invasion of Ansar al-Sharia's compounds, which met little resistance,
appeared to be part of a sweep of militia bases by police, troops and
activists following a large demonstration against militia units in Benghazi
on Friday.
The two main Islamist militias in Derna, a city in eastern Libya known as an
Islamist stronghold, withdrew from their five military bases and announced
they were disbanding, residents said on Saturday.
"Abu Slim had three camps and Ansar al-Sharia had two. So it's five. Empty.
All empty," Siraj Shennib, a 29-year-old linguistics professor who has been
part of protests against the militia, said by telephone.
Demonstrators in Benghazi pulled down militia flags and set a vehicle on
fire inside what was once the base of Gaddafi's security forces.
Hundreds of men waving swords and even a meat cleaver chanted "Libya,
Libya", "No more al Qaeda!" and "The blood we shed for freedom shall not go
in vain!"
"After what happened at the American consulate, the people of Benghazi had
enough of the extremists," demonstrator Hassan Ahmed said. "They did not
give allegiance to the army. So the people broke in and they fled.
"This place is like the Bastille. This is where Gaddafi controlled Libya
from, and then Ansar al-Sharia took it over. This is a turning point for the
people of Benghazi."
Adusalam al-Tarhouni, a government worker who arrived with the first wave of
protesters, said several pickup trucks with Ansar fighters had initially
confronted the protesters and opened fire. Two protesters were shot in the
leg, he said.
"After that they got into their trucks and drove away," he said. Protesters
had freed four prisoners found inside.
PRESSURE ON OBAMA
Libya's government had promised Washington it would find the perpetrators of
what appeared to be a well-planned attack on the U.S. consulate, which
coincided with protests against an anti-Islam video and the anniversary of
the 9/11 attacks.
The attack and the outrage directed at the United States over the video
across the Muslim world raised questions about President Barack Obama's
handling of the so-called Arab Spring.
Although Ansar al-Sharia denies any role in the consulate attack, the latest
events in the cradle of Libya's revolution appeared at least in part to
vindicate Obama's faith in Libya's nascent democracy.
"It's a pretty clear sign from the Libyan people that they're not going to
trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of the mob," said White
House spokesman Josh Earnest.
Libyan political scientist Ahmad al-Atrash told Reuters: "People in Benghazi
and all over Libya want to get these militias under control ... The
overwhelming feeling is against any element that keeps the situation
unstable."
The second half of Friday night's protest proved his point.
Continuing to chant anti-Ansar slogans, the crowd, swelling into the
thousands, moved on to attack a separate compound where the powerful
pro-government Rafallah al-Sahati militia, safeguarding a big weapons store,
opened fire on the assailants.
As looters later tried to leave the scene, vigilantes wielding clubs and
machetes tried to prevent them driving off with heavy weapons.
Officials at three hospitals told a Reuters correspondent they had a total
of five dead and more than 60 wounded from the night's violence.
Police found six more dead bodies near the compound on Saturday morning,
police officer Ahmed Ali Agouri said.
The six dead men were bodyguards of a colonel in the regular Libyan army who
went missing on Friday, and the prospect that the killings and kidnapping
may have been the work of a militia group suggested there could be more
tension between the army and militia in coming days.
"We came as peaceful protesters. When we got there they started shooting at
us," student Sanad al-Barani said. "Five people were wounded beside me. They
used 14.5 mm machineguns."
Nasser Abdelhaaq, a Rafallah al-Sahati commander, said the brigade had
returned to their compound on Saturday morning.
He suggested that the crowd had been deliberately manipulated to turn on
Rafallah al-Sahati, an officially approved militia that also has Islamist
leanings.
RELIANT ON MILITIAS
"Twenty-five percent of those who came were there as saboteurs," he said.
"Some of them, we know who they are, they were working with Gaddafi's
security brigades."
While the compound was being looted, the government texted Benghazi mobile
phones asking citizens to go home and "not allow saboteurs to destroy your
noble and successful demonstration".
Libya's new rulers know that, while militias pose the biggest threat to
their authority, the state's weak security forces rely on former rebel
units, armed with heavy weapons, that fought in the uprising.
Like the rest of Libya, Benghazi is still prowled by dozens of armed groups
operating openly, usually with the official permission of a government that
is powerless to stop them.
Ansar al-Sharia's overt Benghazi presence was never huge. But it was one of
the few groups operating openly without official licence.
Its leaders proclaim democratic government to be incompatible with Islam,
and the presence on the streets of pickup trucks bearing their Kalashnikov
logo was an affront to the government's authority.
But a doctor in hospital where Ansar al-Sharia had been providing security
for the past six weeks said the group had prevented anarchy.
"I don't know about their religion or ideology, but they solved problems,"
said Abdulmonin Salim. "I don't care if they come from another planet. I
want a secure hospital."
Ansar al-Sharia and other Islamist militias have bases elsewhere in eastern
Libya, notably around the coastal city of Derna, known across the region as
a major recruitment centre for fighters who joined the wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Syria.
The attack on the U.S. consulate seems to have provided a strong impetus for
local authorities to rally support behind the weak national government.
Thousands of Libyans marched in Friday's "Rescue Benghazi Day" in support of
democracy and against Islamist militias.
"It's obvious that this protest is against the militias. All of them should
join the army or security forces as individuals, not as groups," student
Ahmed Sanallah said. "Without that, there will be no prosperity and no
success for the new Libya."
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens was well liked, and many Libyans
condemned the attack on the consulate despite being angered by the
anti-Islamic U.S.-made film that triggered it.
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Sat Sep 22 2012 - 17:54:00 EDT
