Protesters break into grounds of Libya’s parliament
by Ali Shuaib
Reuters
October 21, 2012
(Reuters) – About 500 protesters broke into the grounds of Libya’s parliament building on Sunday to demand an end to violence in Bani Walid, a former stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi that is being shelled by militiamen from a rival town.
Militias, many from Misrata and aligned with the Defence Ministry, have been shelling the hilltop town of 70,000 people for several days. State news agency LANA said on Sunday 22 people had been killed and 200 wounded in the fighting.
“We are here to demand the government find a peaceful solution for the tribal war that is happening in Bani Walid,” protester Nasser Ehdein said.
Libya’s new rulers have led the nation to elections but have struggled to impose their authority on a country awash with weapons a year after Gaddafi was captured and killed.
Underscoring the chaos in the country, there were conflicting reports over the weekend over the fate of Gaddafi’s former spokesman and his son.
While Misrata spent weeks under siege by Gaddafi forces in last year’s war, Bani Walid was one of the towns that remained loyal to Gaddafi longest. It remains isolated from the rest of Libya and former rebels say it still harbors pockets of support for the old government.
The unarmed group of male and female protesters forced their way past security guards at the gates of the grounds of the parliament buildings in Tripoli, chanting “There is no God but God, and President (Mohammed) Magarief is God’s enemy.”
Security forces shot rounds into the air as they held their positions at the doors of the building, while elected members of the General National Congress met inside.
Ehdein said most of the protesters were residents of Tripoli who had family in or hailed from Bani Walid.
This is the second time protesters have broken into the grounds of the assembly since it took power in the summer.
The first time was on October 4 when a group of protesters who believed their town was underrepresented in a proposed Libyan government stormed the assembly as it prepared to scrutinize the prime minister-elect’s nominations.
ROCKETS
Bani Walid militia leader Abdelkarim Ghomaid said the attacks were continuing in the town, 140 km south of Tripoli.
“The shelling is coming from all sides,” he said by phone.
A Bani Walid resident said by phone: “Fighting is continuing today. There is smoke rising over certain parts of the city.”
Outside Bani Walid, hundreds of vehicles lined up in the village of Weshtata, 80 km (50 miles) from Tripoli, waiting to be checked by government forces as families fled the fighting.
“We are escaping the danger of the rockets, the shrapnel, and the deaths inside. There hasn’t been electricity for days,” said one man who had his family in a pick-up truck.
[hat tip: Land Destroyer]
A year on from Gaddafi’s death: Govt forces pummel Bani Walid [video included]
Russia Today
October 19, 2012
The Libyan army is continuing its assault of the anti-regime stronghold of Bani Walid for the second day. A year after the killing of Colonel Gaddafi the Libyan government seeks to crush the remnants of his loyalist followers entrenched in the town.
Fighting has gripped Bani Walid for the last two weeks as security forces and militia attempt to enter the town to arrest individuals accused of a series of kidnappings.
“All the families are still here, nobody decided to leave,” a town official, Abdul Salem Al Fukahi, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “They will stay in their homes and live or die.”
Mohammed Megaryef, Libya’s de facto head of state after the Congress fired PM Mustafa Abushagur, said that the fight for is not over yet.
“The campaign to liberate the country has not been fully completed,” Megaryef, the head of Libya’s national assembly, said on state television on Saturday. He cited the “corruption and weakness” of some government bodies as the root cause for the “state of discontent and tension among different segments of society.”
The fighting erupted earlier this week after militias allied to the Libyan army reportedly shelled the hilltop town.
The violence comes after the kidnap, shooting and torture in Bani Walid of, Omran Ben Shaaban, credited with capturing Gaddafi last year. Shaban died of his injuries last month while undergoing treatment in Paris. It is widely believed he was killed by Gaddafi loyalists.
Bani Walid October 19, following the government shelling of the town – RT source.
The General National Congress (GNC) said it would bring Mr. Shaaban’s killers to justice. It gave Bani Walid a deadline to hand him over and pro-government militias effectively put the town under siege for two weeks prior to Wednesday’s clashes.
Amnesty International say hundreds of the town’s residents have been unlawfully taken into custody by militia groups and that the town has been left without food and medical supplies.
Tribal elders tried to negotiate a solution and they hoped the army would be able to enter Bani Walid peacefully. But reports from inside the town said Friday it was still being shelled.
There are also unconfirmed reports that chemical weapons may have been used in the fighting.
Ali Alkasih, a spokesman for the Warfalla Tribe abroad – the same tribe which supported Gaddafi throughout his 42 year rule – told RT by email that chemical weapons had been used in the attack resulting in one death and dozens suffering from suffocation. He added that tanks and artillery had also been used, information based on personal sources in the town.
RT was unable to verify these reports but Annie Machon, a former agent in Britain’s MI5, told RT that, “Gaddafi’s regime is reported to have stockpiled chemical weapons while in power so there is a possibility that there are still a lot of old chemical weapons floating about in Libya that might fall into rebel militia.” Although she added that she doubted that, “This stuff has been given to the official Libyan army and is being used against dissident populations.”
Libya’s GNC has so far failed to curtail violence in the country and bring militant groups formed of former rebels under control.
Bani Walid October 19, following the government shelling of the town – RT source.
A report by Human Right’s Watch released Wednesday revealed that the Libyan rebels who captured Gaddafi then abused and murdered him along with his son and loyalists.
Sabah Al-Mukhtar, President of the Arab Lawyers Association described the finding to RT as no surprise and an “embarrassment” for NATO, given that they had backed the same militia groups.
He added that government forces are not in control of the fragmented militias that still freely operate in Libya.
“Their allegiance is not to Libya. Their allegiance is to their tribe, their town or their background,” He said.
Machon explained that no matter how brutal Gaddafi had been, he did at least provide a certain degree of stability and quality of life.
“Yes he could be brutal but that very strength allowed him to bring together the disparate tribes and corrupting religious, secular groups within Libya and taking away that control NATO abruptly removed any centralized power and the people are suffering for it now,” she said.
‘Libya in chaos, divided as never before’ [video]
Russia Today
October 18, 2012
In Libya, at least 11 people have been killed and scores wounded after militia linked to the defence ministry shelled Bani Walid – a former stronghold of late Colonel Gaddafi. The country remains close to chaos following the Western-backed armed rebellion last year that toppled the nation’s long-time dictator. RT talks to Libyan political activist Ali Alkasa.
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200 Armed Militia Occupy Tripoli Occupation Gov`t, List of Ministers Torn Up
Mathaba
October 5, 2012
More than a year after being swept to power by U.S.-led neo-colonialist imperialist crusader forces the occupation regime head-quartered in Tripoli is now even unable to defend itself against attack.
At least 200 militia forces from Zawia entered the so-called General National Congress to deliver a clear warning to the regime that it has no legitimacy and should give up its power attempts.
The Libyan people want to activate the popular congresses system which had become corrupted in recent years due to the imposition of returned stray dogs into seats of power.
Stray dogs were those Libyans who had been stripped of citizenship and forced to live a low life of indignity as hostile traitors in the care of Britain, the USA and other imperialist powers.
After the unpopular compromise reached without the Authority of the People to install stray dogs into key positions over the heads of the masses, the Jamahiriya became weakened from within.
[hat tip: What Really Happened]
Libya Then And Now – Warfalla Man [video]
108morris108
October 11, 2012
People are afraid to say anything its just all round fear!
I hear today a road was opened to Bani Walid from trhonaa. Obviously this is precarious and could end at any moment again.
This is the contact information of the Media and Politics Centre of BaniWalid, for any information concerning BaniWalid please contact us.
Tel:00218535221012 Email: PMCBBaniWalid@yahoo.com
Warfalla Are Now The Palestinians of Libya – Warfalla Man [video]
108morris108
October 10, 2012
People are prepared to die even if fighting with sticks and stones. Warfalla are the name of the Tribe that is the town of Bani Walid which has been under siege for about two weeks. Nothing allowed in or out. A young man from Bani Walid with excellent English explains – he happens to have the flavour of Libya in him.
That desert feel ….
The speaker in this video is concerned that when he said warfalla is 300 years old he was wrong – and it is in fact much older.
Libyan Embassy London Demonstration 10 Oct 2012 – For Bani Walid [video]
108morris108
October 10, 2012
It was quite moving to be with these people – the mood while perhaps defiant was also somber.
All more dignified than what the paid rats were doing last year
PN 