At least five soldiers were killed in clashes between Libyan special forces and armed protesters outside a special forces’ base in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military official said yesterday.
Residents in the area said heavy gunfire and explosions were heard during the fighting and hours earlier a group of men had forced their way into a different army compound to steal weapons.
“The clashes lasted from 2am until 6am, but are over now,” Libyan Colonel Mohammed Sharif of the special forces told reporters.
It was not immediately clear who the protesters were and if any had been killed.
Explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard at about 4am near the headquarters of the special forces and in al-Lithi District on the road to the airport, not far from the city center, a foreign journalist and witnesses reported.
The special forces said on Facebook that its members exchanged light arms and rocket fire with an “outlaw” group.
They reported three of its members were shot dead and two wounded as they “were defending the legitimacy of the state with courage and honor.”
Then soon after they announced two soldiers had been “liquidated” by “the takfir group,” in a clear reference to Islamist extremists.
The special forces warned that “they would target anyone who shot at them.”
The latest clashes came just hours after dozens of protesters forced a brigade of former rebel fighters from their base in Benghazi on Friday evening.
The protesters had burned two vehicles belonging to the First Infantry Brigade, before moving on the barracks, a Libyan officer said.
The brigade was forced to quit its headquarters as the protesters took it over.
A witness on site said the protesters, some of whom were armed, had fired in the air and launched a rocket-propelled grenade at an external wall of the barracks, though nobody was hurt.
The protesters later attacked a police station, the offices of border guards and facilities and another office building of the First Infantry Brigade, witnesses said.
Salem al-Konidi, the interim leader of the National Libyan Army, warned of the danger of a “bloodbath” as the unrest in Benghazi flared again.
He said he did not know who had launched the attack or what their motive was, but appealed to elders and dignitaries to act to try to head off the unrest.
Al-Konidi replaced General Yusef al-Mangoush, who resigned on Sunday last week, a day after at least 31 people were killed and 100 injured in clashes between armed protesters, eventually backed by special forces, and a militia group in the city.
The protesters had been demanding the disbanding of militias and clashed with members of the Shield of Libya brigade.
Al-Mangoush had come under mounting criticism for having failed to form a national army in the face of resistance from militias unwilling to surrender their independence.
Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising that ousted Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, has become increasingly marred by clashes between militias made up of former rebels who fought the late leader’s forces and the still infant regular forces of the new authorities.
Militias with different tribal and ideological links now control parts of Benghazi, where there has been a wave of attacks on army and police officers and facilities.
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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was