Two powerful groups of former rebels who helped oust Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi rejected on Wednesday the government’s choice of a new army chief, raising fresh security concerns in the war-torn country.
The Coalition of Libyan Thwars (revolutionaries) and Cyrenaica Military Council — representing militias from several parts of Libya — said they do not accept the choice of Yussef al-Mangush as chief of staff as declared by officials on Tuesday.
The council, which represents fighters from eastern Libya, went so far as to name its own alternative candidate to head the new national army.
“We reject anybody who is not among the list of six candidates proposed by us to the NTC [National Transitional Council],” Behlool Assid, a founder of the Coalition of Libyan Thwars, said on the sidelines of a news conference.
The coalition represents powerful factions of former rebels from major Libyan cities such as Benghazi, Misrata and Zintan. These militias are armed with heavy arms, including artillery guns and tanks.
Security concerns stem from the fact that any dispute over who should head the army will delay the formation of a new army and the integration of former rebels. Several officers in the former army have also regularly criticized the NTC for moving slowly on appointing a new chief of staff.
Forming a new army is seen as a key step toward disarming militias in Libya, especially in the capital, Tripoli, where a gunbattle between ex-rebels on Tuesday killed four fighters.
The four were killed when gunmen from Misrata clashed with a militia faction from a central Tripoli neighborhood in broad daylight, trading anti-aircraft and heavy machinegun fire.
The NTC and the interim government of Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib, who has said that the issue of disarming these former rebels is “complex,” intend to integrate tens of thousands of these fighters into the security forces.
On Wednesday, the planning ministry proposed that former rebels who join the security forces of the interior and defense ministries would receive a minimum monthly salary of 600 Libyan dinars (US$500), the government Web site reported.
The ministry also proposed that fighters who want to return to civilian life receive aid for studies in Libya or abroad.
Assid told reporters his group was disappointed as NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil himself on Dec. 21 had urged the fighters to put forward names for the post of national army chief.
“The thwars had agreed to support the candidate who is selected from the list we proposed ... We feel that the procedure with which Mangush has been appointed is illegal,” Assid told reporters, adding that “selecting the army chief is not so easy.”
“The NTC is handling the appointment of such a sensitive post very negatively. It is not doing proper evaluations,” he said.
The six candidates proposed by the former rebels were largely unknown.
On Tuesday, two NTC members — Abdelrazzak al-Aradi and Fathi Baaja — said that Mangush, a former colonel in Qaddafi’s military and who fought against the former dictator during the conflict, had been chosen to head the army.
Mangush is currently deputy defense minister in Kib’s interim government.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese