Rival militias battle in Benghazi in latest sign of chaos in Libya

[Sally]

So much for the Arab Spring. It's really looking like these Arabs need a strongman in charge even if it was some sadistic person as Gaddafi.


Rival militias battle in Benghazi in latest sign of chaos in Libya

MOHAMED JUMA, LAURA KING contact the reporter

Militias battle in Benghazi as Libya's post-Kadafi chaos continuesFighters in Benghazi clash with warplanes, anti-aircraft fire as ex-general's forces battle IslamistsLibya's weak central government is unable to rein in militias as nation's key oil and gas industries sufferRival armed groups battled Friday with warplanes and antiaircraft guns in the eastern city of Benghazi in the latest outbreak of militia-linked chaos in energy-rich Libya.
Fighters from a faction led by a retired general used aircraft bearing military insignia to bomb a barracks on the outskirts of the city occupied by an Islamist group, witnesses said. The defenders responded with antiaircraft fire.

The state news agency LANA said there had been fatalities in the fighting, but did not say how many.

Continue reading at:

Rival militias battle in Benghazi in latest sign of chaos in Libya*-*Los Angeles Times

 

[waltky]

Shades of Kaddafi - Ex-General leads Libyan coup attempt...

Libya’s Factions Ramp Up Battle for Control
May 20, 2014 — Libya's electoral commission has announced that it will hold national parliamentary elections on June 25.

The announcement comes as days of clashes between government forces and those loyal to a rogue general renewed fears of a descent into civil war. General Khalifa Haftar touts himself as a nationalist who is waging a war to save Libya from Islamic extremists. Fighting between his forces and their rivals has killed at least 70 people since Friday. Forces loyal to Haftar, which overran parliament Sunday, vow to press their fight against what they call an illegitimate government, its Islamist allies as well as regional and al-Qaida-affiliated militias.

Colonel Wanis Boukhamada, who offered the support of his elite forces to Haftar’s side Monday, issued a plea to what he called “authentic revolutionaries” for more help. Boukhamada said his special forces will join in the battle against current authorities until “terrorism” is stamped out. Fighting between Haftar forces and their rivals in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi has left at least 70 people dead since Friday. Military forces who remain loyal to Libya’s current government pledged to fight back, and asked for help from Islamist allies in order to support what they call the legitimate order.

Libyan ex-General Khalifa Haftar addresses a press conference in Benghazi

Chief of Staff General Abdel Salam al Obeidi urged that power be transferred in a legal and peaceful way, echoing calls for new elections. Most of Libya’s many political and militia forces stake their claim to legitimacy on the uprising that forced longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi from power in 2011. No single force or coalition has been able to exert effective central control since. The unrest has prompted the U.S. military to increase troops and aircraft stationed in southern Italy in case U.S. personnel in Libya need to be evacuated. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other states have closed their diplomatic missions in Libya in recent days.

In an interview with al-Sharq al-Aswat newspaper, Haftar said he is trying to rid Libya of the Muslim Brotherhood, and accused members of the Islamist group in Egypt of fueling unrest in Libya. Egyptian police near the Libyan border say they have received orders to close the frontier until stability has been restored. Scores of Egyptian migrant workers have been kidnapped and held for ransom in eastern Libya in recent weeks.

Libya?s Factions Ramp Up Battle for Control

 

[Sunni Man]

Oh my ...

 

[P F Tinmore]

Libya had tons of gold.

Find that gold and you will find who started that war.

Follow the money.

 

[longknife]

The general in charge of the push is/was a US citizen and lived for many years in the states.

He's NOT trying to conduct a coupe as much as fighting to ensure Islamic radicals take over and turn it into another Iran. He has clearly indicated his support for an open and democratic election to establish a government representative of ALL Libyans.

This is a man who deserves world support.

 

[Stephanie]

We can thank Obama and his comrades in arms for destabilizing these two countries

Take out their leaders/dictators and then leave the people there to fend for themselves

this administration is EVIL in what they've done in the Middle East

I think we'll end paying for this on our home front...lets pray it won't be another 9/11

 

[waltky]

Gen. Haftar gets air commander on his side...

Clashes erupt in Libyan capital after air chief backs rogue general
Wed May 21, 2014 - Explosions and fighting erupted in Libya's capital on Wednesday, killing at least two people after the top air defense commander signaled support for a renegade general who is campaigning to dissolve parliament and wipe out Islamists.

It was not immediately clear who started the clashes, but government figures and Islamist groups in parliament - some of them with allied militias - have become increasingly alarmed by signs of growing support for General Khalifa Haftar. Forces he said were loyal to him stormed parliament on Sunday. Western powers fear Haftar's call for army units to join his campaign will split the military and trigger more turmoil in the oil producer which is struggling to restore order three years after the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Tripoli residents reported several loud explosions early on Wednesday near the al-Yarmouk air defense barracks after air defense top commander Juma al-Abani released a video message saying he was joining "Operation Dignity" - Haftar's campaign against Islamists. Heavy fighting involving anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on trucks also broke out overnight near an army camp in Tajoura, an eastern suburb, witnesses said. The city was quiet by dawn.

At least two people from Mali died in the fighting, a health ministry source said. Compounding the political chaos, state news agency LANA said on Wednesday the interior ministry had also joined Haftar's campaign - a report that was dismissed minutes later by the acting interior minister.

POLITICAL BATTLE