Libyans storm Islamist militia base in Benghazi

Fri, Sep 21 20:57 PM EDT By Peter Graff and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Pro-government demonstrators stormed the headquarters of the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group in Benghazi on Friday and evicted fighters from the site in a sweep of militia bases in the Libyan city, Reuters witnesses said. Militia fighters made a stand at another heavily fortified compound across the eastern city, firing on demonstrators with heavy machine guns and wounding several people, protesters said. Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last week in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died. It denies involvement. Friday's action against the group appeared to be part of a coordinated sweep of militia headquarters buildings by police, government troops and activists following a mass public demonstration against militia units earlier in the day. Chanting "Libya, Libya," hundreds of demonstrators entered, pulling down militia flags and torching a vehicle inside the compound, Ansar al-Sharia's main base in Benghazi - once the base of forces of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The crowd waved swords and even a meat cleaver, crying "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," said demonstrator Hassan Ahmed. "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 the group's fighters had initially confronted the protesters and opened fire. Two protesters were shot in the leg, he said. "After that (the fighters) got into their trucks and drove away," he said. "When we got in, we found four prisoners in the compound and set them free." The demonstrators also took over a compound belonging to the Abu Slim brigade, another independent militia, and another compound belonging to Ansar al-Sharia. As the wave moved from location to location, the crowd swelled until it had reached thousands. Hundreds of vehicles backed up a highway as youths from across Benghazi converged on the city's western Hawari district to raid the headquarters of another militia. Gunfire could be heard from the compound. "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 caliber machine guns." An ambulance driver said around seven people had been wounded. Thousands of Libyans had earlier marched in Benghazi in support of democracy and against the Islamist militias that the United States blames for the assault on its consulate. Hundreds of Ansar al-Sharia supporters held their own protest. The "Rescue Benghazi day" demonstration called for the government to disband armed groups that have refused to give up their weapons since the NATO-backed revolution last year. "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," medical student Ahmed Sanallah, 27, said. "Without that, there will be no prosperity and no success for the new Libya." 'LIBYA LOST A FRIEND' Although the main demands of the marchers did not mention the attack on the U.S. consulate, it seems to have provided a strong impetus for the authorities to rally support behind the country's weak government. U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens was well liked, and many Libyans condemned the attack on the consulate despite being angered by the anti-Islamic California-made film that triggered it. Some protesters' placards read: "We demand justice for Stevens" and "Libya lost a friend." Others had mixed views. "I am out today to defend Benghazi. Killing the ambassador is a completely separate thing," said 26-year-old Amjad Mohammed Hassan, a network engineer. "I don't give a damn about the killing of the ambassador because the Americans offended the Prophet. I am just here for Benghazi." Benghazi, 1,000 km (600 miles) from Tripoli across largely empty desert, is controlled by various armed groups, including some comprised of Islamists who openly proclaim their hostility to democratic government and the West. Some are identified by local people as being among those who were at the consulate protest last week. U.S. officials have described the violence as a "terrorist attack." Abu Al-Qaa, a demonstrator at the Ansar al-Sharia counter-demonstration on Friday, said Stevens had been "preparing for the entry of American troops into Libya." "The will of the Prophet was to expel infidels from Muslim lands so that Muslims prevail. Terrorizing your enemy is one of Islam's tenets," he said. He said he had fought American troops in Iraq where he was arrested, sent back to Gaddafi's Libya and jailed for three years. One banner at the Ansar al-Sharia demonstration read: "Day to rescue Benghazi or day to rescue America?" (Additional reporting by Omar Al-Mosmary and Ali Shuaib; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Andrew Roche and Will Dunham) ============= Rivalry between Libyan cities sharpens over rebel's death Fri, Oct 05 06:18 AM EDT By Marie-Louise Gumuchian MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) - For Misrata shopkeeper Akram Abdesalam Sider, there is only one way Libya's leaders should deal with the former Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid - attack it. The rivalry between the two towns is long standing and they backed opposing sides in last year's war. But the divide has grown deeper since the death last week of Misrata rebel fighter Omran Shaban after two months in detention in Bani Walid. He was released in critical condition and flown to Paris but died soon after. Shabban was the man who caught Gaddafi hiding in a drain pipe in the former dictator's hometown of Sirte last October. Gaddafi was lynched by a crowd in a grisly climax to the uprising that ended his long rule. Misrata has been tense ever since. "If we leave Bani Walid as it is, they will become more powerful, they will kidnap more people, torture them," Sider, 25, said standing at the counter of his grocery shop, a picture of his friend Shaban hanging behind him. "There are forces gathering outside of Bani Walid, they should attack it." Hailing Shaban as a "brave hero", the national congress has ordered the defense and interior ministries to find those who abducted him. Leaders in Bani Walid have until Friday to hand them over and negotiations with elders are currently under way. But in a move to put pressure on Bani Walid, militias operating alongside the Defense Ministry have deployed around parts of the town, stoking the possibility of new fighting. CHALLENGE TO NEW RULERS The tensions underline the challenge Libya's new rulers face in reconciling groups with long-running grievances and embracing those who chose not to back the revolt - whether out of fear, or because they supported Gaddafi, or because they benefitted in some way from his rule. With the police and courts weak and guns readily available, Libyans have settled their own scores since the revolution and clashes have broken out between former rebels and clans that backed Gaddafi or stayed on the sidelines. While Misrata spent weeks under siege by Gaddafi's forces during last year's fighting, Bani Walid, perched on a hilltop some 140 kms (90 miles) away, was one of the last towns to surrender to the rebellion. A town of around 70,000 people, it remains isolated from the rest of Libya and former rebels say are lingering pockets of support for the old regime. "It is not between Misrata and Bani Walid, this is a Libyan problem. There are some people there who are against the new government, they still support Gaddafi," Ramadan Ali Zarmoh of the Misrata military council said. "It is up to the leaders, the congress to decide what happens next. Maybe a solution can still be negotiated." "WHERE IS GADDAFI BURIED?" Thousands attended funeral prayers for Shabban last week in a football stadium after his body was flown home. In Misrata city centre, a giant black flag flies at half mast. Residents have put his picture up on walls and car windows. Many believe his treatment was a revenge attack after he shot to fame when he was seen in pictures grabbing Gaddafi. Outside Shaban's family home, tents have been set up for the hundreds of visitors who have come to pay their respects. Sitting in one of the tents, his father Giuma Abdallah Mohammed Shaban says the family received many calls when he was in detention, some offering his release on certain conditions. "We would get calls, messages. One message said: 'If you want Omran back, tell us where Gaddafi is buried'", he said, referring to the dictator's burial in a secret location. Shaban was kidnapped by armed men on July 12 close to Bani Walid while returning to Misrata after he had been on government business in western Libya to calm clashes there. His relatives said he had been shot and tortured while in their hands. After some 60 days in detention, the 21-year old was freed after mediation efforts by congress leader Mohammed Magarief. "He was almost dying when he went to France," his father said. "Doctors said he had been unconscious for a few days." Asked how he thought justice could be done, the 53-year old said: "I trust the government will do something, negotiate. Myself, I would let them go. Our Prophet says you have to be kind to others." Others in Misrata are not as forgiving, fed up of what they say is Bani Walid's continued defiance of the new authorities and a string of kidnappings. In January, Bani Walid, where Gaddafi's now captured son Saif al-Islam staged a last stand before fleeing into the Sahara, grabbed headlines when fighters threw Tripoli's men out of the city, installing its own local council. In July, Misrata fighters threatened to attack the town after two journalists from their town were detained. They were eventually released after mediation by the authorities. Misratans say there are more prisoners there. "Every single revolutionary here is angry, they want to advance on Bani Walid, they are fed up," one rebel fighter said. "Libya was declared liberated last year. Not all of it is, there are still armed gangs causing trouble." The renewed tensions between Misrata and Bani Walid come at a difficult time for Libyan leaders, trying to impose order on armed groups after the killing of the U.S. ambassador in an assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11. In a country where a new law banning the glorification of Gaddafi was passed by the now dissolved transitional council and then scrapped by the supreme court, they must strike the right balance and not risk alienating part of the country. Few forget that last year's uprising began in eastern Libya, a region favored under the monarchy and sidelined by Gaddafi after his 1969 coup, leaving resentment to fester. While rivals tell stories of Gaddafi's speeches still playing on car stereos there, many Bani Walid residents say they are being unfairly painted with the "pro-Gaddafi" brush, pointing that they too suffer from attacks from local groups. "The mood is quiet now but some are afraid of the attack by Misrata," one resident there said. Another resident said negotiations were ongoing but fuel supplies had been cut off. Since early this week, hundreds of men have deployed tens of kms outside Bani Walid, awaiting the deadline. The forces, who militia fighters said were from Misrata and other towns, are operating together in a coalition known as Libya Shield, affiliated to the Defense Ministry. Clashes broke out on Tuesday between former rebel fighters and a local group in which three people were wounded in the nearby area of Mardun. One Bani Walid resident was killed. "Those inside Bani Walid who are pro-Gaddafi should be caught and handed over to a court," Khaled Ahmed Atwil, a member of Misrata's Kanoon brigade, which sent fighters to the area. "People are controlling their anger right now. I would prefer a political solution, dialogue, but if they refuse, at the end of the day something needs to be done." (Additional reporting by Ali Shuaib; Editing by Angus MacSwan) ============== Letting us in on a secret Text Size Print E-mail Reprints By Dana Milbank, Thursday, October 11, 12:14 PMThe Washington Post When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big, and indeed it was: They accidentally blew the CIA’s cover. The purpose of Wednesday’s hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to examine security lapses that led to the killing in Benghazi last month of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. But in doing so, the lawmakers reminded us why “congressional intelligence” is an oxymoron. 260 Comments Weigh In Corrections? Recommend Tweet Personal Post Dana Milbank Dana Milbank writes a regular column on politics. Archive @Milbank Facebook RSS Gallery U.S. ambassadors killed in the line of duty: U.S. Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens is the eighth American ambassador to die in the line of duty since 1950. Here are the others. Video New details of what led to Ambassador Christopher Stevens’s death in Libya emerged this afternoon. In a heated, partisan back-and-forth, Darrell Issa said security at the mission in Benghazi could have been better. Diplomatic correspondent Anne Gearan joins us, to tell us what she heard in the hearing. You may also like... Ruth Marcus The artful dodger Richard Cohen Tough-guy talk Through their outbursts, cryptic language and boneheaded questioning of State Department officials, the committee members left little doubt that one of the two compounds at which the Americans were killed, described by the administration as a “consulate” and a nearby “annex,” was a CIA base. They did this, helpfully, in a televised public hearing. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was the first to unmask the spooks. “Point of order! Point of order!” he called out as a State Department security official, seated in front of an aerial photo of the U.S. facilities in Benghazi, described the chaotic night of the attack. “We’re getting into classified issues that deal with sources and methods that would be totally inappropriate in an open forum such as this.” A State Department official assured him that the material was “entirely unclassified” and that the photo was from a commercial satellite. “I totally object to the use of that photo,” Chaffetz continued. He went on to say that “I was told specifically while I was in Libya I could not and should not ever talk about what you’re showing here today.” Now that Chaffetz had alerted potential bad guys that something valuable was in the photo, the chairman, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), attempted to lock the barn door through which the horse had just bolted. “I would direct that that chart be taken down,” he said, although it already had been on C-SPAN. “In this hearing room, we’re not going to point out details of what may still in fact be a facility of the United States government or more facilities.” May still be a facility? The plot thickened — and Chaffetz gave more hints. “I believe that the markings on that map were terribly inappropriate,” he said, adding that “the activities there could cost lives.” In their questioning and in the public testimony they invited, the lawmakers managed to disclose, without ever mentioning Langley directly, that there was a seven-member “rapid response force” in the compound the State Department was calling an annex. One of the State Department security officials was forced to acknowledge that “not necessarily all of the security people” at the Benghazi compounds “fell under my direct operational control.” And whose control might they have fallen under? Well, presumably it’s the “other government agency” or “other government entity” the lawmakers and witnesses referred to; Issa informed the public that this agency was not the FBI. “Other government agency,” or “OGA,” is a common euphemism in Washington for the CIA. This “other government agency,” the lawmakers’ questioning further revealed, was in possession of a video of the attack but wasn’t releasing it because it was undergoing “an investigative process.” Or maybe they were referring to the Department of Agriculture. That the Benghazi compound had included a large CIA presence had been reported but not confirmed. The New York Times, for example, had reported that among those evacuated were “about a dozen CIA operatives and contractors.” The paper, like The Washington Post, withheld locations and details of the facilities at the administration’s request. But on Wednesday, the withholding was on hold. The Republican lawmakers, in their outbursts, alternated between scolding the State Department officials for hiding behind classified material and blaming them for disclosing information that should have been classified. But the lawmakers created the situation by ordering a public hearing on a matter that belonged behind closed doors. Republicans were aiming to embarrass the Obama administration over State Department security lapses. But they inadvertently caused a different picture to emerge than the one that has been publicly known: that the victims may have been let down not by the State Department but by the CIA. If the CIA was playing such a major role in these events, which was the unmistakable impression left by Wednesday’s hearing, having a televised probe of the matter was absurd. The chairman, attempting to close his can of worms, finally suggested that “the entire committee have a classified briefing as to any and all other assets that were not drawn upon but could have been drawn upon” in Benghazi. Good idea. Too bad he didn’t think of that before putting the CIA on C-SPAN. danamilbank@washpost.com For more Washington Sketch columns, visit washingtonpost.com/milbank. ================