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Libya: A Turbulent Month

Libya: A Turbulent Month May 28th: A Libyan soldier is shot dead and three others badly wounded when gunmen attack an army patrol in Benghazi. Armed militiamen block a key road leading to Sabha airport in southern Libya to protest against the alleged abduction in Tripoli of their commander, Al‐Lachi al‐Mahdi , a member of the Toubou tribe, reportedly kidnapped on May 27th. The interior ministry denies any involvement in his disappearance. Mahdi commands a militia of former rebels who helped topple Gaddafy. Toubou tribe members have had deadly run‐ins with other tribes in the country's south since the revolt. They faced discrimination under Gaddafy, still ongoing now. 3rd:Premier Ali Zeidan announces urgent two‐part measures to maintain security in the south. The first focusses on maintaining security in Ghat, Ubari, Murzuq, Sabha, Al‐Shati and Kufrah and the second on monitoring borders against being illegally crossed. “Army brigades and revolutionaries” will be entrusted with this task. The military police west of Tubruq City seizes a Libyan truck carrying 230 cases full of explosives. 8th: 33 people die in clashes between protesters and the Libya Shield 1 Force in Benghazi (see p. 19755) . 10th: The army apprehends in Tubruq a car carrying 94 suitcases of anti‐vehicle land mines, a pistol and a grenade heading for the town of Darnah. 11th: A car belonging to the Italian embassy explodes in Tripoli close to the Al‐Ghulah police station in the neighbourhood of Zawiyat al‐Dahmani. The explosion appeared to have been caused by “a locally produced… gelatine bomb”. No one was hurt. International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the authorities to rein in allied militia it says are responsible for detaining journalists. 13th: Clashes inside Sirte result in the death of two people and the injury of seven others. A military source says there was firing inside the university campus and the Shuhada al‐Zawiyah Battalion intervened. 15th: The headquarters of the Libya Shield, Brigade of the South, responsible for security in the Mazdah area, comes under attack by armed elements resulting in three deaths and eight injured, Wal reports.The attack comes in the wake of armed skirmishes between the Qantar and Al‐Mashashiyah tribes. Violent clashes break out in Benghazi between the Libyan army and an armed group which attacks several military barracks. Some local reports say at least six soldiers are killed. 17th: Two former Gaddafy aides – Abdelati al‐Obeidi and Mohamed Belgassem al‐Zwai – are acquitted of charges connected to the deadly 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. They remain in detention in connection with a separate case involving their role in repressing the 2011 rebellion. Security forces arrest six people suspected of taking part in the June 15th attacks in Benghazi. Three are believed to be members of the “Jamaa Ansar al‐Sharia ” or “Supporters of Islamic law”, while the others are members of Shield of Libya. 18th: The Libyan Judges’ Organization criticises the government for not doing enough to protect members of the judiciary after the killing of a judge in the city of Darnah. Prosecutors in Benghazi continue their strike in protest at the political isolation law (p. 19696) , which bans former‐era officials from holding government posts. They say many of them will be affected by the law, which they deem to be in breach of a 2006 law that regulates their work. 19th: A Benghazi police station – Al‐Hada'iq – is completely destroyed in an explosion executed “in a professional way” by a terrorist group. No one was hurt as the police station was disused since a man was killed while trying to free a number of detainees. 20th: A German engineer working for the Swiss ‐based ABB group and his driver are wounded when unidentified gunmen fire on their car in eastern Libya, a security official said. The vehicle carrying four ABB Energy engineers – three Germans and a Czech – was travelling between Ajdabiya and Zwitinah, where they were working on a power station control system. The masked gunmen had been on board two pick‐up trucks painted in military colours. 21st: The UN Security Council condemns arbitrary arrests and cases of torture. In a statement approved by all 15 members, the council said thousands of people were being detained by armed factions operating outside the authority of the state and without access to due process. The council called for their immediate release or transfer to prisons under state authority, and also urged the Libyan government to investigate all violations and bring their perpetrators to justice. 25th: Six Libyan soldiers are killed in an armed attack on an army checkpoint 120 km south of Sirte. Col Khalid al‐Akari, a member of the Zawiyah Martyrs’ Battalion in charge of securing the checkpoint, said. (WAL news agency, Tripoli; AFP, Tripoli & Benghazi; Al Jazeera; Libya al‐Ahrar;PANA) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

Libya: A Turbulent Month

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© John Wiley & Sons Ltd 2013
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2013.05180.x
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Abstract

May 28th: A Libyan soldier is shot dead and three others badly wounded when gunmen attack an army patrol in Benghazi. Armed militiamen block a key road leading to Sabha airport in southern Libya to protest against the alleged abduction in Tripoli of their commander, Al‐Lachi al‐Mahdi , a member of the Toubou tribe, reportedly kidnapped on May 27th. The interior ministry denies any involvement in his disappearance. Mahdi commands a militia of former rebels who helped topple Gaddafy. Toubou tribe members have had deadly run‐ins with other tribes in the country's south since the revolt. They faced discrimination under Gaddafy, still ongoing now. 3rd:Premier Ali Zeidan announces urgent two‐part measures to maintain security in the south. The first focusses on maintaining security in Ghat, Ubari, Murzuq, Sabha, Al‐Shati and Kufrah and the second on monitoring borders against being illegally crossed. “Army brigades and revolutionaries” will be entrusted with this task. The military police west of Tubruq City seizes a Libyan truck carrying 230 cases full of explosives. 8th: 33 people die in clashes between protesters and the Libya Shield 1 Force in Benghazi (see p. 19755) . 10th: The army apprehends in Tubruq a car carrying 94 suitcases of anti‐vehicle land mines, a pistol and a grenade heading for the town of Darnah. 11th: A car belonging to the Italian embassy explodes in Tripoli close to the Al‐Ghulah police station in the neighbourhood of Zawiyat al‐Dahmani. The explosion appeared to have been caused by “a locally produced… gelatine bomb”. No one was hurt. International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the authorities to rein in allied militia it says are responsible for detaining journalists. 13th: Clashes inside Sirte result in the death of two people and the injury of seven others. A military source says there was firing inside the university campus and the Shuhada al‐Zawiyah Battalion intervened. 15th: The headquarters of the Libya Shield, Brigade of the South, responsible for security in the Mazdah area, comes under attack by armed elements resulting in three deaths and eight injured, Wal reports.The attack comes in the wake of armed skirmishes between the Qantar and Al‐Mashashiyah tribes. Violent clashes break out in Benghazi between the Libyan army and an armed group which attacks several military barracks. Some local reports say at least six soldiers are killed. 17th: Two former Gaddafy aides – Abdelati al‐Obeidi and Mohamed Belgassem al‐Zwai – are acquitted of charges connected to the deadly 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. They remain in detention in connection with a separate case involving their role in repressing the 2011 rebellion. Security forces arrest six people suspected of taking part in the June 15th attacks in Benghazi. Three are believed to be members of the “Jamaa Ansar al‐Sharia ” or “Supporters of Islamic law”, while the others are members of Shield of Libya. 18th: The Libyan Judges’ Organization criticises the government for not doing enough to protect members of the judiciary after the killing of a judge in the city of Darnah. Prosecutors in Benghazi continue their strike in protest at the political isolation law (p. 19696) , which bans former‐era officials from holding government posts. They say many of them will be affected by the law, which they deem to be in breach of a 2006 law that regulates their work. 19th: A Benghazi police station – Al‐Hada'iq – is completely destroyed in an explosion executed “in a professional way” by a terrorist group. No one was hurt as the police station was disused since a man was killed while trying to free a number of detainees. 20th: A German engineer working for the Swiss ‐based ABB group and his driver are wounded when unidentified gunmen fire on their car in eastern Libya, a security official said. The vehicle carrying four ABB Energy engineers – three Germans and a Czech – was travelling between Ajdabiya and Zwitinah, where they were working on a power station control system. The masked gunmen had been on board two pick‐up trucks painted in military colours. 21st: The UN Security Council condemns arbitrary arrests and cases of torture. In a statement approved by all 15 members, the council said thousands of people were being detained by armed factions operating outside the authority of the state and without access to due process. The council called for their immediate release or transfer to prisons under state authority, and also urged the Libyan government to investigate all violations and bring their perpetrators to justice. 25th: Six Libyan soldiers are killed in an armed attack on an army checkpoint 120 km south of Sirte. Col Khalid al‐Akari, a member of the Zawiyah Martyrs’ Battalion in charge of securing the checkpoint, said. (WAL news agency, Tripoli; AFP, Tripoli & Benghazi; Al Jazeera; Libya al‐Ahrar;PANA)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Jul 1, 2013

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