Se recrudece la violencia en Libia: Rebelión, intervención y la lucha posterior

Asesinan a embajador de EU en Libia y a tres diplomáticos

Hombres armados atacan el consulado estadunidense en la ciudad de Bengasi; Obama condena el ataque y ordena reforzar la seguridad
Reuters y EFE
2012-09-12 08:41:00

Matan a embajador. Hombres armados atacaron el Consulado estadunidense en la ciudad libia de Bengasi y asesinaron al jefe de la misión diplomática y a otros tres funcionarios.


BEIRUT, 12 de septiembre.- El embajador estadunidense en Libia y otros tres empleados consulares murieron en un ataque con cohetes al vehículo en el que viajaban, luego de haber dejado la misión por la irrupción de militantes que denunciaban un filme hecho en Estados Unidos que insultaba al profeta Mahoma.

La noche del martes, hombres armados atacaron y quemaron la misión estadunidense en la ciudad oriental de Bengasi, centro de la revuelta que el año pasado derrocó a Muamar Gadhafi, causando la muerte de un funcionario consular de Estados Unidos. El edificio fue evacuado.

El funcionario libio dijo que el embajador, Christopher Stevens, estaba siendo sacado del consulado para ser llevado a un lugar más seguro cuando hombres armados abrieron fuego.

"El embajador estadunidense y tres miembros del personal murieron cuando hombres armados les lanzaron cohetes", dijo el funcionario en Bengasi.

Obama condena ataque y ordena reforzar seguridad

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, condenó el miércoles con firmeza "el ataque atroz" que provocó la muerte al enviado de su país y a los otros tres funcionarios de la misión en Libia.

El mandatario dijo que ordenó brindar todos los recursos necesarios para garantizar la seguridad del personal estadunidense en todo el mundo.

Los embajadores estadunidenses en países tan volátiles a menudo son acompañados por varios miembros de seguridad y usualmente viajan en caravanas bien protegidas.

Funcionarios de seguridad buscarán determinar si ambos ataques fueron coordinados.

Un alto funcionario libio acusó a seguidores de Gadhafi de perpetrar el atentado que mató al embajador en Bengasi.

"Había fuerzas explotando eso. Son remanentes del ex régimen", declaró el viceministro del Interior libio, Wanis al-Sharif, en una rueda de prensa en Bengasi.

En tanto, el viceprimer ministro libio, Mustafa Abu Shagour, describió la muerte del personal diplomático como un acto de cobardía.

El funcionario consular pereció luego de enfrentamientos entre las fuerzas de seguridad libias y militantes islamistas en los alrededores del edificio diplomático.

Los agresores saquearon el complejo vacío y algunos transeúntes tomaron fotografías luego de que el sector quedara en calma.

Parlamento pide perdón

El presidente del Congreso Nacional libio (Parlamento), Mohamed Yusef al Magrif, pidió hoy perdón por el ataque lanzado anoche contra el consulado de Estados Unidos en Bengasi, en el que murieron el embajador estadunidense, Chris Steven, y otros tres ciudadanos norteamericanos.

"Pedimos perdón a Estados Unidos, al pueblo estadunidense y al mundo entero", dijo al Magrif en una rueda de prensa conjunta con el primer ministro transitorio, Abderrahim al Kib.

Asimismo, Al Magrif, que calificó lo ocurrido de "ataque criminal y cobarde", agregó: "condenamos con rotundidad cualquier ofensa contra el islam y el profeta (Mahoma), como condenamos y rechazamos con rotundidad el uso de la violencia y el asesinato de inocentes como medio de expresión".

El ataque se produjo tras una protesta frente a la sede del consulado por un vídeo realizado en Estados Unidos y que supuestamente ofendía a Mahoma.

Indignación de musulmanes

En Egipto, manifestantes destrozaron y quemaron una bandera estadounidense durante una protesta. Algunos trataron de izar una bandera negra con las palabras "No hay más dios que Alá y Mahoma es su profeta".

El pastor estadunidense Terry Jones, que desató la indignación del mundo musulmán en el 2010 por su retórica agresiva, afirmó que había promovido el filme Innocence of Muslims (Inocencia de los Musulmanes), el cual según medios fue producido por el empresario de bienes raíces israelí-estadunidense.

Sin embargo, imágenes de otro filme llamado Mohammad, Prophet of Muslims (Mahoma, profeta de los musulmanes) había estado circulando durante semanas antes de las protestas.

La cinta representaba a Mahoma como un tonto, un filántropo y un ídolo religioso falso. En una de las imágenes publicadas en YouTube el profeta era mostrado en un acto sexual con un mujer.

Jones, un pastor de Florida, generó disturbios en Afganistán en el 2010 cuando amenazó con quemar copias del Corán.

Muchos musulmanes consideran que la representación del profeta es ofensiva y cualquier aparición de su imagen puede causar estallidos de ira en el mundo islámico y entre los musulmanes en Europa.

From Gadhafi to Benghazi

September 18, 2012 | 0900 GMT
By George Friedman
Stratfor

Last week, four American diplomats were killed when armed men attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The attackers' apparent motivation was that someone, apparently American but with an uncertain identity, posted a video on YouTube several months ago that deliberately defamed the Prophet Mohammed. The attack in Benghazi was portrayed as retribution for the defamation, with the attackers holding all Americans equally guilty for the video, though it was likely a pretext for deeper grievances. The riots spread to other countries, including Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, although no American casualties were reported in the other riots. The unrest appears to have subsided over the weekend.
Benghazi and the Fall of Gadhafi

In beginning to make sense of these attacks, one must observe that they took place in Benghazi, the city that had been most opposed to Moammar Gadhafi. Indeed, Gadhafi had promised to slaughter his opponents in Benghazi, and it was that threat that triggered the NATO intervention in Libya. Many conspiracy theories have been devised to explain the intervention, but, like Haiti and Kosovo before it, none of the theories holds up. The intervention occurred because it was believed that Gadhafi would carry out his threats in Benghazi and because it was assumed that he would quickly capitulate in the face of NATO air power, opening the door to democracy.

That Gadhafi was capable of mass murder was certainly correct. The idea that Gadhafi would quickly fall proved incorrect. That a democracy would emerge as a result of the intervention proved the most dubious assumption of them all. What emerged in Libya is what you would expect when a foreign power overthrows an existing government, however thuggish, and does not impose its own imperial state: ongoing instability and chaos.

The Libyan opposition was a chaotic collection of tribes, factions and ideologies sharing little beyond their opposition to Gadhafi. A handful of people wanted to create a Western-style democracy, but they were leaders only in the eyes of those who wanted to intervene. The rest of the opposition was composed of traditionalists, militarists in the Gadhafi tradition and Islamists. Gadhafi had held Libya together by simultaneously forming coalitions with various factions and brutally crushing any opposition.

Opponents of tyranny assume that deposing a tyrant will improve the lives of his victims. This is sometimes true, but only occasionally. The czar of Russia was clearly a tyrant, but it is difficult to argue that the Leninist-Stalinist regime that ultimately replaced him was an improvement. Similarly, the Shah of Iran was repressive and brutal. It is difficult to argue that the regime that replaced him was an improvement.

There is no assurance that opponents of a tyrant will not abuse human rights just like the tyrant did. There is even less assurance that an opposition too weak and divided to overthrow a tyrant will coalesce into a government when an outside power destroys the tyrant. The outcome is more likely to be chaos, and the winner will likely be the most organized and well-armed faction with the most ruthless clarity about the future. There is no promise that it will constitute a majority or that it will be gentle with its critics.

The intervention in Libya, which I discussed in The Immaculate Intervention, was built around an assumption that has little to do with reality -- namely, that the elimination of tyranny will lead to liberty. It certainly can do so, but there is no assurance that it will. There are many reasons for this assumption, but the most important one is that Western advocates of human rights believe that, when freed from tyranny, any reasonable person would want to found a political order based on Western values. They might, but there is no obvious reason to believe they would.

The alternative to one thug may simply be another thug. This is a matter of power and will, not of political philosophy. Utter chaos, an ongoing struggle that leads nowhere but to misery, also could ensue. But the most important reason Western human rights activists might see their hopes dashed is due to a principled rejection of Western liberal democracy on the part of the newly liberated. To be more precise, the opposition might embrace the doctrine of national self-determination, and even of democracy, but go on to select a regime that is in principle seriously opposed to Western notions of individual rights and freedom.

While some tyrants simply seek power, other regimes that appear to Westerners to be tyrannies actually are rather carefully considered moral systems that see themselves as superior ways of life. There is a paradox in the principle of respect for foreign cultures followed by demands that foreigners adhere to basic Western principles. It is necessary to pick one approach or the other. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that someone can have very distinct moral principles, be respected, and yet be an enemy of liberal democracy. Respecting another moral system does not mean simply abdicating your own interests. The Japanese had a complex moral system that was very different from Western principles. The two did not have to be enemies, but circumstances caused them to collide.

The NATO approach to Libya assumed that the removal of a tyrant would somehow inevitably lead to a liberal democracy. Indeed, this was the assumption about the Arab Spring in the West, where it was thought that that corrupt and tyrannical regimes would fall and that regimes that embraced Western principles would sprout up in their place. Implicit in this was a profound lack of understanding of the strength of the regimes, of the diversity of the opposition and of the likely forces that would emerge from it.

In Libya, NATO simply didn't understand or care about the whirlwind that it was unleashing. What took Gadhafi's place was ongoing warfare between clans, tribes and ideologies. From this chaos, Libyan Islamists of various stripes have emerged to exploit the power vacuum. Various Islamist groups have not become strong enough to simply impose their will, but they are engaged in actions that have resonated across the region.

The desire to overthrow Gadhafi came from two impulses. The first was to rid the world of a tyrant, and the second was to give the Libyans the right to national self-determination. Not carefully considered were two other issues: whether simply overthrowing Gadhafi would yield the conditions for determining the national will, and whether the national will actually would mirror NATO's values and, one should add, interests.
Unintended Consequences

The events of last week represent unintended and indirect consequences of the removal of Gadhafi. Gadhafi was ruthless in suppressing radical Islamism, as he was in other matters. In the absence of his suppression, the radical Islamist faction appears to have carefully planned the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. The attack was timed for when the U.S. ambassador would be present. The mob was armed with a variety of weapons. The public justification was a little-known video on YouTube that sparked anti-American unrest throughout the Arab world.

For the Libyan jihadists, tapping into anger over the video was a brilliant stroke. Having been in decline, they reasserted themselves well beyond the boundaries of Libya. In Libya itself, they showed themselves as a force to be reckoned with -- at least to the extent that they could organize a successful attack on the Americans. The four Americans who were killed might have been killed in other circumstances, but they died in this one: Gadhafi was eliminated, no coherent regime took his place, no one suppressed the radical Islamists, and the Islamists could therefore act. How far their power will grow is not known, but certainly they acted effectively to achieve their ends. It is not clear what force there is to suppress them. It is also not clear what momentum this has created for jihadists in the region, but it will put NATO, and more precisely the United States, in the position either of engaging in another war in the Arab world at a time and place not of its choosing, or allowing the process to go forward and hoping for the best.

As I have written, a distinction is frequently drawn between the idealist and realist position. Libya is a case in which the incoherence of the distinction can be seen. If the idealist position is concerned with outcomes that are moral from its point of view, then simply advocating the death of a tyrant is insufficient. To guarantee the outcome requires that the country be occupied and pacified, as was Germany or Japan. But the idealist would regard this act of imperialism as impermissible, violating the doctrine of national sovereignty. More to the point, the United States is not militarily in a position to occupy or pacify Libya, nor would this be a national priority justifying war. The unwillingness of the idealist to draw the logical conclusion from their position, which is that simply removing the tyrant is not the end but only the beginning, is compounded by the realist's willingness to undertake military action insufficient for the political end. Moral ends and military means must mesh.

Removing Gadhafi was morally defensible but not by itself. Having removed him, NATO had now adopted a responsibility that it shifted to a Libyan public unequipped to manage it. But more to the point, no allowance had been made for the possibility that what might emerge as the national will of Libya would be a movement that represented a threat to the principles and interests of the NATO members. The problem of Libya was not that it did not understand Western values, but that a significant part of its population rejected those values on moral grounds and a segment of the population with battle-hardened fighters regarded them as inferior to its own Islamic values. Somewhere between hatred of tyranny and national self-determination, NATO's commitment to liberty as it understood it became lost.

This is not a matter simply confined to Libya. In many ways it played out throughout the Arab world as Western powers sought to come to terms with what was happening. There is a more immediate case: Syria. The assumption there is that the removal of another tyrant, in this case Bashar al Assad, will lead to an evolution that will transform Syria. It is said that the West must intervene to protect the Syrian opposition from the butchery of the al Assad regime. A case can be made for this, but not the simplistic case that absent al Assad, Syria would become democratic. For that to happen, much more must occur than the elimination of al Assad.
Wishful Thinking vs. Managing the Consequences

In 1958, a book called The Ugly American was published about a Southeast Asian country that had a brutal, pro-American dictator and a brutal, communist revolution. The novel had a character who was a nationalist in the true sense of the word and was committed to human rights. As a leader, he was not going to be simply an American tool, but he was the best hope the United States had. An actual case of such an ideal regime replacement was seen in 1963 in Vietnam, when Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam was killed in a coup. He had been a brutal pro-American dictator. The hope after his death was that a decent, nationalist liberal would replace him. There was a long search for such a figure; he never was found.

Getting rid of a tyrant when you are as powerful as the United States and NATO are, by contrast, is the easy part. Saddam Hussein is as dead as Gadhafi. The problem is what comes next. Having a liberal democratic nationalist simply appear to take the helm may happen, but it is not the most likely outcome unless you are prepared for an occupation. And if you are prepared to occupy, you had better be prepared to fight against a nation that doesn't want you determining its future, no matter what your intentions are.

I don't know what will come of Libya's jihadist movement, which has showed itself to be motivated and capable and whose actions resonated in the Arab world. I do know that Gadhafi was an evil brute who is better off dead. But it is simply not clear to me that removing a dictator automatically improves matters. What is clear to me is that if you wage war for moral ends, you are morally bound to manage the consequences.

Read more: From Gadhafi to Benghazi | Stratfor

Ordenan la disolución de grupos armados en Libia

La medida fue tomada luego de que libios protestaran contra una de estas milicias, por el asesinato del embajador Chris Stevens

LONDRES, 23 de septiembre.- Las autoridades de Libia ordenaron la disolución de todas las milicias y los grupos armados que no están bajo la autoridad del Estado tras la caída del dictador Muammar Gaddafi.

El anuncio fue realizado por Mohammed al-Megarief, el jefe de la asamblea nacional de Libia, que también mencionó la prohibición del uso de la violencia y el porte de armas en lugares públicos.

La medida fue tomada luego de que miles de libios protestaron pacíficamente el pasado viernes contra una de estas milicias, por el asesinato del embajador Chris Stevens y otras tres personas en un ataque al consulado de Estados Unidos hace 10 días.

Las autoridades decidieron poner en marcha un "centro de operaciones" en Benghazi, en donde participarán el ejército, las fuerzas del Ministerio del Interior y Ministerio de Defensa, conformadas por ex rebeldes, destacó la cadena de televisión qatarí Al Yazira.

En tanto, miembros de la Brigada de Abu Slim, una poderosa milicia en libia, informó este domingo su decisión de disolverse y abandonar los edificios públicos que ocupaban.

Aseguraron que iban a salir de sus bases en Derna, al este de Bengasi.

RT Actualidad / Breves
La provincia libia de Fezán autoproclama la autonomía
Publicado: 27 sep 2013 | 13:35 GMT

La región histórica de Fezán, en el suroeste de Libia, ha anunciado su descontento con el trabajo del Congreso Nacional General de Libia y se ha declarado provincia autónoma federal, informa la cadena Al Arabiya.


Como comunican las autoridades locales, la decisión de independizarse se tomó al "no cumplir el Gobierno las demandas del pueblo libio".


A comienzos del año 2012 la provincia nororiental de Cirenaica se autoproclamó independiente del Gobierno federal.

"En Libia en cualquier momento puede producirse un golpe de Estado"
Publicado: 10 oct 2013 | 13:43 GMT Última actualización: 10 oct 2013 | 13:50 GMT

La detención por parte de antiguos rebeldes del primer ministro libio es signo de que en cualquier momento puede producirse un golpe de Estado militar en Libia, donde reina "un descontrol total", señala la escritora y analista Conchetta Dellavernia.

Este jueves por la mañana un grupo de antiguos rebeldes conectados con las fuerzas de seguridad del Ministerio del Interior, que se autodenomina Centro de Operaciones de los Revolucionarios de Libia, detuvo al primer ministro libio, Ali Zeidan, y horas después lo liberó.

"Ha sido un secuestro 'exprés' por lo que se ve y probablemente sea un toque de atención sobre lo que probablemente pueda suceder en un breve espacio de tiempo en Libia, que será algún golpe de Estado", dijo en declaraciones a RT la analista Conchetta Dellavernia.

Tras ser liberado el primer ministro libio aseguró a través de su cuenta en Twitter que pese al secuestro no va a dimitir. "Si su objetivo era mi renuncia, no lo han conseguido. Estamos pasando por un período difícil, pero vamos por el camino correcto", sostuvo el político.

Dellavernia destaca que ahora mismo Libia "es un descontrol total y absoluto y en cualquier momento se puede producir un golpe de Estado militar pero del ala más radical de los islamistas", que son los que tienen el control, la información y están dentro del Ejército y del Gobierno. Aquello "no tiene ningún arreglo, ninguna solución", enfatiza la analista.

Dellavernia advierte que ante esta situación "ahora Libia surgirá como una nueva amenaza" teniendo en cuenta el hecho de que "todos los yihadistas que están en Túnez y en Libia entrenando con vistas a ir a Siria, ante el varapalo que están recibiendo por parte del Ejército de Al Assad están volviendo allí", dijo.

"Es un toque de atención sobre lo que pueda suceder en Libia, que será algún golpe de Estado"

Fuente: http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/view/108055-libia-primer-ministro-secuestro

Secuestran al primer ministro de Libia
INTERNACIONAL • 9 OCTUBRE 2013 - 11:51PM — AFP, EFE
Ali Zeidan fue plagiado por un grupo armado y llevado a "un lugar desconocido", afirmó el gobierno.

Trípoli, Libia • Un grupo de hombres armados mantiene retenido al primer ministro libio, Ali Zidán, en un céntrico hotel de Trípoli, informó una fuente gubernamental.

Según la fuente, que habló bajo condición de anonimato, el grupo de desconocidos irrumpió en el hotel Corintia donde se encontraba el primer ministro con dos de sus guardaespaldas.

Momentos después los asaltantes, cuya identidad y móvil se desconocen, liberaron a los dos guardias que acompañaban al primer ministro.

Según la fuente, que expresó su deseo de Zidán se encuentre con vida, el Consejo de Ministros se ha reunido de urgencia para estudiar la situación bajo la presidencia del viceprimer ministro Abdel Salam al Qadi.

Según la página oficial del Gobierno, el primer ministro "ha sido trasladado a un lugar desconocido, por causas desconocidas" por un grupo de antiguos rebeldes integrados en las fuerzas de seguridad del Ministerio de Interior, entre ellas el cuerpo de "La lucha contra el crimen"

Por otra parte, una fuente de "La lucha contra el crimen" aseguró que Zidán ha sido detenido porque pesan sobre él dos acusaciones.

Según la fuente, que no quiso revelar su identidad, Zidán está acusado de amenazar la seguridad del Estado y de corrupción.

Fuente: http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/763cea8491678581cb5db73d0abc7c1a

Ex rebeldes se adjudican secuestro del primer ministro libio
INTERNACIONAL • 10 OCTUBRE 2013 - 2:38AM — NOTIMEX
La autodenominada Cámara Libia de Operaciones Revolucionarias, señaló en un video que tomaron la decisión luego de que el secretario estadunidense de Estado, John Kerry, afirmó que Tripolí sabía de la operación contra un líder de Al Qaeda.

Madrid • La autodenominada Cámara Libia de Operaciones Revolucionarias se atribuyó hoy el secuestro del primer ministro del país norafricano Ali Zeidan, por haber permitido a Washington la captura de Abu Anas al-Libi, de Al Qaeda.

El grupo, formado por ex rebeldes que combatieron para el derrocamiento de Muammar Gadafi, quien gobernó Libia por 42 años, señalaron en un video que tomaron la decisión luego de que el secretario estadunidense de Estado, John Kerry, afirmó que Tripolí sabía de la operación contra al-ALibi.

La detención, como la llaman la CLOR, fue efectuada en el hotel Corintio de la capital libia, sin que hubiera disparos de acuerdo a un reporte del canal qatarí de noticias Al Yazera.

Al-Alibi, quien estaba en la lista de más buscados por el Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI), fue capturado por un comando estadunidense en Tripolí el pasado cinco de octubre acusado de participación en los atentados a las embajadas estadunidenses en Kenia y Tanzania en 1988.

Se estima que ahora se encuentra en un buque de la Marina estadunidense en el mar Mediterráneo.

El actual gobierno libio de transición ha estado luchando para contener las milicias tribales rivales y militantes islamistas que controlan partes del país, justo a dos años del derrocamiento y linchamiento de Gadafi.

Horas antes de su secuestro, Zeidan se habría reunido con la familia de Al Libi a última hora del miércoles, de acuerdo con el canal árabe de noticias Al Arabiya.

Entre otros problemas que enfrenta el gobierno libio se encuentra la exigencia de mejores salarios por parte del ejército, la cual llevó a un grupo de soldados a tomar las oficinas de Zeidan el lunes pasado.

Además, en el este libio milicias exigen ampliación de su autonomía respecto del gobierno, y han limitado la producción petrolera, fundamental para la economía del país por el monto de los ingresos que genera.

Fuente: http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/763cea8491678581cb5db73d0acb3494

Liberan al primer ministro libio
INTERNACIONAL • 10 OCTUBRE 2013 - 4:54AM — EFE
En un aparente rescate de las fuerzas armadas, el primer ministro libio, Ali Zidán, fue liberado horas después de que fue plagiado por un grupo de hombres armados.

Trípoli • El primer ministro libio, Ali Zidán, secuestrado esta madrugada por un cuerpo de seguridad dependiente del Ministerio de Interior, ha sido liberado, anunció el portavoz del Gobierno, Mohamed Yehia Kaber, a la agencia de noticias libia, WAL.

"El primer ministro ha sido liberado y se encuentra en buen estado de salud", dijo el portavoz, que subrayó que Zidan no había sido puesto en libertad por sus captores, dando a entender que su liberación se produjo gracias a un intervención de las fuerzas de seguridad.

Su liberación se produce poco después de que el Ejecutivo libio exigiera el fin del secuestro en un comunicado leído por el ministro de Justicia, Salah al Margani.

"Los secuestradores tienen que asumir la responsabilidad legal, moral y nacional de la seguridad personal del primer ministro y la obligación de liberarlo inmediatamente", dijo al Margani.

Asimismo, el ministro condenó lo ocurrido, que calificó de "crimen" y de "secuestro" y subrayó que sus captores tendrán que responder por sus actos ante la justicia.

En el mensaje, el Gobierno pidió la unidad de todas las fuerzas políticas y civiles y aseguró que la situación de seguridad en Libia "está bajo control".

AL Margani explicó que el primer ministro fue secuestrado a primera hora de la mañana (en el hotel Corintia de Trípoli) por parte de un grupo de hombres armados con armas ligeras y de calibre medio a bordo de 15 vehículos.

El cuerpo de seguridad conocido como "La lucha contra el crimen", formado por antiguos rebeldes dependientes del Ministerio de Interior, reivindicaron el secuestro y aseguraron que se trataba de una detención.

Según los asaltantes, Zidán estaba acusado de atentar contra la seguridad del Estado.

Fuente: http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/763cea8491678581cb5db73d0ad4736a

Al menos 31 muertos en Libia en manifestación contra las milicias.

Los enfrentamientos tuvieron lugar ante el cuartel de un grupo armado en Trípoli, al disparar los milicianos contra una manifestación pacífica.

AFP
15/11/2013 01:02 PM
Trípoli
Al menos 31 personas murieron y otros centenares resultaron heridas hoy cuando una manifestación pacífica contra la presencia en la ciudad de milicias terminó en enfrentamientos armados en Trípoli, donde la población está exasperada por los combates entre grupos armados.

El gobierno pidió un alto el fuego entre esos grupos, creados durante la revolución contra Muamar Gadafi en 2011 y que las autoridades son incapaces de controlar por falta de una policía y de un ejército profesionales. "Pedimos a todas las facciones armadas un alto el fuego para que el gobierno pueda [...] restablecer la calma en la capital", indicó un comunicado.

A primeras horas de la tarde, centenares de manifestantes se acercaron al cuartel general de una milicia formada con hombres de Misrata (una ciudad del este) pero llamada Gharghur porque tiene su sede en este barrio de Trípoli. Algunos milicianos lanzaron disparos al aire para intentar dispersarlos pero, como se negaban a hacerlo, abrieron fuego contra ellos.

Como represalia, por la noche hombres armados a bordo de camionetas descubiertas con cañones antiaéreos asaltaron e incendiaron el cuartel general de la milicia. "El balance es actualmente de 31 muertos y 285 heridos", dijo el ministro de Salud Nuredin Doghman, sin distinguir entre los manifestantes muertos a manos de la milicia Gharghur y las personas que fallecieron en el ataque posterior a su cuartel general.

El primer ministro dijo en un comunicado que "la manifestación era pacífica y dispararon contra ella cuando entró en Gharghur", rectificando sus declaraciones anteriores en las que había hablado de "manifestantes armados". Según Sadat al Badri, presidente del consejo local de Trípoli, el equivalente del ayuntamiento de la ciudad, los manifestantes era pacíficos y los disparos vinieron de dentro del cuartel de la milicia. "Vamos a anunciar una huelga general y vamos a entrar en desobediencia civil hasta que se vayan las milicias", dijo Badri.

Los imanes de la ciudad habían pedido a los habitantes de la capital libia que se manifestaran contra las milicias, haciéndose eco de los llamamientos del muftí (principal autoridad religiosa del país) y del consejo local. Entonando el himno nacional, los manifestantes se dirigieron al barrio de Gharghur, donde se encuentran varias milicias de Misrata.

"¡No a las milicias!", "¡Sí a la policía y al ejército!" se podía leer en las pancartas de la manifestación, muestra de la exasperación de la población frente a los abusos y la impunidad de estos grupos armados. La manifestación era una reacción a los enfrentamientos armados entre milicias del jueves por la noche que causaron dos muertos y una treintena de heridos en el centro de Trípoli.

Dos años después del derrocamiento de Muamar Gadafi, con la ayuda de países como Francia, Estados Unidos y Gran Bretaña, las autoridades libias de transición todavía no han logrado controlar a las milicias armadas. Tras la caída de Gadafi, el gobierno libio usó a las milicias, entre ellas varios grupos islamistas, para intentar garantizar la seguridad del país. Pero el plan de integración de estos jóvenes en las fuerzas regulares fracasó tras el rechazo de la mayoría de ellos de ser reclutados individualmente.

El Congreso General Nacional (CGN), la máxima autoridad del país, decidió el año pasado evacuar a las milicias de la capital, una medida que nunca se aplicó.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKEY_vrxvw

Milicias libias se enfrentan por el control del aeropuerto de Trípoli
Los combaten causan al menos nueve muertos y obligan a cerrar las instalaciones
Agencias Trípoli 13 JUL 2014 - 16:53 CEST


Combates y declaración del portavoz del primer ministro / Reuters Live!
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Una alianza de milicias islamistas ha intentado este domingo tomar el aeropuerto de Trípoli a los milicianos de Zintan que controlan las instalaciones. El ataque ha dejado a grupos de pasajeros atrapados en la terminal del aeropuerto de la capital de Libia desde primera hora de la mañana. Tras suspenderse varios vuelos, el aeropuerto internacional ha decidido cerrar las instalaciones durante los próximos tres días.

Efectivos de milicias como Escudo del Centro de Libia, Brigada Marsa Misratan, Hateen, 27ª Infantería Móvil o Sala de Operaciones Revolucionarias han atacado el aeropuerto desde todas las direcciones y han lanzado cohetes Grad contra las posiciones de los milicianos de Zintan en torno al aeropuerto, según el diario Libya Herald citado por Reuters.

La zona del aeropuerto ha estado controlada por milicianos de Zintan, en el noroeste de Libia, desde la caída del régimen de Muamar Gadafi en 2011, si bien han mantenido ya anteriormente enfrentamientos con otros grupos.
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Por el momento, las brigadas de Zintan han conseguido repeler el ataque, pero los combates se han extendido a las afueras de Trípoli, particularmente en el suroeste de la ciudad. La población ha podido escuchar numerosas explosiones y ha visto columnas de humo.

Los enfrentamientos han causado de momento nueve muertos y 36 heridos, según un portavoz del Ministerio de Sanidad libio. Este portavoz, que ha pedido el anonimato, según France Press, no ha podido precisar si las víctimas son civiles o milicianos.

La coalición atacante, autodenominada Operación Fajr (Amanecer), ha anunciado su intención de sacar de la capital a todas las brigadas "ilegales". Su principal objetivo son brigadas de tendencia liberal como las brigadas de Zintan, de Qaqaa y Sawaiq, que controlan el aeropuerto y la carretera que une estas instalaciones con la ciudad.

Todas estas brigadas, tanto las atacantes como las que controlan el aeropuerto son reconocidas oficialmente como fuerzas legales por el Gobierno libio y están todas ellas formalmente bajo su control.

Precisamente horas antes de los ataques, la agencia china Xinhua había informado de que las milicias iban a entregar este domingo el aeropuerto al Gobierno libio. En declaraciones a esta agencia, el portavoz del Batallón Dirh Libia, Ahmad Hadia, había indicado que se había llegado a un acuerdo con el Gobierno en virtud del cual sus combatientes abandonarían las instalaciones en un plazo de 24 horas para entregárselo a las fuerzas del Ministerio del Interior libio.

"Esta entrega se terminará. Significa que el aeropuerto será entregado a una agencia de seguridad oficial del Gobierno tras casi tres años de control rebelde", había explicado Hadia.

El sábado, una cadena de televisión local había informado de que otro aeropuerto en la capital, el de Mitiga, había sido entregado al Ejército libio por otro grupo de milicianos, también de Zintan.

De acuerdo con las fuentes consultadas por Xinhua, la entrega de los aeropuertos era un gesto de buena voluntad hacia el próximo Gobierno que se formará una vez se conozcan el próximo 20 de julio los resultados de las elecciones del mes pasado.

El enfrentamiento en torno al aeropuerto de Trípoli ha llevado a British Airlines a cancelar el vuelo previsto a Londres, según ha informado en su página web. Turkish Airways también ha cancelado su vuelo a Estambul. En las redes sociales se ha informado de que varios cohetes han impactado en la zona de aparcamiento delante de la principal terminal aérea.

Zintan militia in control of Libya airport
Armed group, which has held Tripoli airport since fall of Gaddafi, repulse attempt by rival militias to take facility.
Last updated: 16 Jul 2014 00:27
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Fighting between rival militias wrecked 11 civilian planes at Tripoli's airport and damaged the control tower [Reuters]

Fighters from Libya's Zintan militia, armed with anti-aircraft guns and mortars, have fanned out across Tripoli's airport, transformed into a battlefield by two days of fighting that has cut the capital off from the outside world.

Fighting between rival militias has left the control tower damaged and wrecked 11 civilian planes parked on the tarmac. The main terminal building has been turned into a field hospital.

At least 15 people have been killed in the capital and the eastern city of Benghazi since Sunday, the Reuters news agency reported.

In Benghazi, irregular forces loyal to renegade former general Khalifa Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally, bombarded rival armed group bases as part of his self-declared campaign to oust militias.

Special forces clashed with militia fighters in the city.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Washington was working to help end to violence that has brought the north African country to the edge of chaos three years after the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

The airport battle has prompted the UN to evacuate its staff from the country, where a new government is struggling to impose order over militias who rose up against Gaddafi and never disarmed.

The airport area is under the control of former fighters from the western town of Zintan who have held it since the fall of Tripoli in 2011.

Rival militias, who want to impose Islamic law, have fought with the Zintanis in recent days but failed to dislodge them.

For the past three years, the new authorities have tried to rein in militia fighters by putting them on the government payroll.

'Deeply concerned'

NATO helped rebels topple Gaddafi with air strikes, but the Western military alliance has not intervened since then to stem the subsequent chaos.

Kerry said the US, whose ambassador was killed in an attack in Benghazi in 2012, had sent diplomats to seek consensus among Libyan political groups.

"We are deeply concerned about the level of violence in Libya," Kerry told a news conference in Vienna.

"It is dangerous and it must stop. We are working very, very hard through our special envoys to find the political cohesion... that can bring people together to create stronger capacity in the government of Libya so that this violence can end."

Government spokesman Ahmed Lamine said Tripoli was studying the possibility of bringing in international forces to improve security.

Western powers fear chaos in Libya will allow arms and fighters to flow across its borders.

Political deadlock

A fragile government and parliament have been deadlocked in political struggles between rival religious, nationalist and tribal factions, each allied to competing brigades of heavily armed former rebels who refuse to disarm.

The Zintanis and their allies in Tripoli are loosely aligned with the more nationalist National Forces Alliance led by a former Gaddafi official.

Their main rivals include brigades from the city of Misrata and other militias closer to the Justice and Construction Party, a religious political bloc.

The UN mission in Libya said the closure of Tripoli airport and the deteriorating security situation made it impossible for it to operate.

A Zintani airport official said the control tower would need replacement equipment to be imported before it could be fixed.

The airport in Misrata was also forced shut on Monday, while in the east, Benghazi airport has been closed since May.
Source:
Agencies

No end in sight for Libya violence
As violence escalates, fears are growing that the new parliament lacks serious security forces to confront the militias.
Al Jazeera Last updated: 16 Jul 2014 09:11
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About 90 percent of the planes which had remained at Tripoli airport have been damaged [AFP]
(un trabajo bien hecho, quien lo diría: me huele a israelí, no habia visto tanta eficiencia en los arabes desde.... bueno ustedes entienden el punto)

The bombardment and closure of Tripoli international airport over the past three days served as yet another confirmation that Libyan militia groups enjoy freedom of action, unencumbered by either law or government forces.

The fresh round of fighting broke out early Sunday morning when a coalition of Islamist militia groups along with another militia group from Misrata, located 193km east of the capital, attacked a rival militia group from Zintan, a small but powerful town in Libya's western mountains located 145km southwest of the capital, over control of Tripoli’s international airport.

Since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Tripoli international airport has been under the control of the Zintan militia group. Pictures posted on several social media platforms show the Zintan militias trenched inside the airport setting up a makeshift field clinic in the airport lobby.

Many Libyans wonder aloud which neighbouring country would tolerate armed bands launching artillery at their main airport, undisturbed by security forces. "It's incredible," said Mohammed, a waiter at a downtown coffee bar. "These guys (militias) go where they want, do what they want."

RELATED: Mapping Libya's armed groups

Rockets, anti-aircraft cannon and small arms fire peppered airport buildings and set planes ablaze, with staff and passengers running for cover. One airliner received a direct hit from a grad rocket, a second rocket slamming into the control tower. The air traffic control centre was abandoned by frightened staff, triggering the closure of western Libya's airspace.

The attackers have named their assault Operation Dawn, insisting the Zintani units were occupying the airport illegally.

All three militia groups are officially registered as government forces and paid government salaries, despite taking orders only from their own commanders.

Government police and army units, including thousands of newly trained cadres, stayed away. The government of caretaker Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, condemned the attack, but made no move to stop it, or even cancel the militia's salaries.

A government statement issued early Wednesday called on all military factions to cease their operations and report any field commanders breaching this order to the authorities.

The statement asked forces at Tripoli airport to withdraw from their positions to a distance of 20km, although it did not say how it would enforce this. According to official reports, 90 percent of the planes, which had remained at Tripoli airport, have been damaged.

The effects of the attack are profound. International airlines had recently returned after being scared away by a rocket strike on the runway last March, and have now suspended services indefinitely. Meanwhile 6,000 Libyans are stranded at airports across Europe and the Middle East trying to get back home.

Libyan Airlines launched a desperate plea through Facebook for volunteer pilots to cross the front-line and fly its remaining planes to safer airports, but there were no takers.

A second airline, Afriqiyah, having only recently been allowed to fly to European Union destinations, has seen two Airbus airliners, worth half a billion dollars, destroyed on the tarmac.

OPINION: Khalifa Haftar: Fighting terrorism or pursuing political power?

The airport battle is part of a wider conflict raging for the past two months between Islamists and the forces of former general Khalifa Haftar in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Haftar, backed by sections of the army and air force, launched his offensive, Operation Dignity, on May 16 against Islamist brigades in Benghazi, accusing them of harbouring jihadists.

The fighting has cost more than 200 lives and seen regular air strikes pound Islamist bases. Zintani militias are aligned with Haftar, and on May 18, they stormed the former Islamist-led General National Congress in Tripoli.
Benghazi’s own international airport was wrecked by rocket fire from this round of fighting earlier this month and Misrata, the country’s third international airport, has flights grounded by the ban on operations in western Libya, an ironic twist as their militias provided artillery for the Tripoli bombardment.

Look at this. We fought the revolution for democracy and we ended up with chaos.

- Hassan, a student from Tripoli

The conflict is now widening. Militias in western Tripoli’s Janzour district blocked roads into the city in support of the Dawn operation, while tribal militias of Tebu, in southwest Libya, and Washafani, west of Tripoli have mobilised to support Operation Dignity.

Tripoli itself is a honeycomb of roadblocks as local militias try to protect their neighbourhoods. Standing by a burning barricade blocking the main highway in western Tripoli, a student, Hassan, said: "Look at this. We fought the revolution for democracy and we ended up with chaos."

The United Nations and US Secretary of State John Kerry have called for mediation, but foreign officials are leaving. The UN evacuated all 200 staff from its coastal compound and foreign embassies are closing or scaling back.

The fighting threatens to undercut the election on June 25 of a new parliament, the House of Representatives, which is due to open on August 1 in Benghazi.

Security will be the number one priority for lawmakers as they try to prevent the disintegration of Libya. The economy is collapsing, there are power cuts, petrol lines and a militia oil blockade which has cost the country $30bn, added to which Libya is now cut off from air travel. "We Libyans have imposed our own no-fly zone," says one popular tweet circulating on Twitter.

But the House of Representatives will lack reliable security forces to confront the militias. Its one remaining power will be to cut militia pay cheques. But lawmakers will be aware that when the previous Congress tried such measures, it was stormed by those same militias.

Trípoli cierra tres días su aeropuerto tras choques armados entre dos milicias que alcanzaron las instalaciones

Por: Redacción / Sinembargo - julio 13 de 2014 - 10:33
De revista, Mundo, TIEMPO REAL, Último minuto - Sin comentarios


Trípoli, 13 jul (EFE).- El aeropuerto internacional de Trípoli permanecerá tres días cerrado, a partir de hoy, después de los violentos enfrentamientos de esta jornada entre milicianos de Zintán y los islamistas, informaron hoy fuentes aeroportuarias.

Según una nota oficial, el aeropuerto internacional de Trípoli permanecerá cerrado hasta las 3.59 hora local (21.59 GMT) del próximo 16 de julio.

El aeropuerto libio, que está bajo el control de milicianos de Zintán desde la caída del dictador libio Muamar al Gadafí en octubre de 2011, suspendió sus vuelos esta madrugada debido a los enfrentamientos entre milicianos.

Durante los choques, varios cohetes que fueron lanzados esta madrugada explotaron en aeropuerto, en un ataque que fue reivindicado por un grupo de milicias rebeldes islamistas, que buscan hacerse con el control de esa zona estratégica.

Por su parte, el Ministerio tunecino de Transporte ha decidido suspender todos los vuelos de Túnez a Trípoli hasta un nuevo aviso, informó la agencia libia WAL.

Según el Ministerio, la decisión fue tomada tras el cierre de la autoridades libias su espacio aéreo por motivos de seguridad. EFE

Libya oil-tanker fire blazes out of control
"Environmental disaster" feared after rocket lights second oil depot on fire in Tripoli amid militia clashes.
Last updated: 29 Jul 2014 00:27
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A fire from fuel tanks near Tripoli's international airport that has been ignited by rocket attacks is out of control as clashes between rival militias have resumed in the area, the National Oil Company says.

Six million litres of fuel were set ablaze by a rocket late on Sunday, with a second depot hit on Monday.

"It is out of control. The second tank has been hit and the firefighters have withdrawn from the site as the fighting has resumed in the area", National Oil Company spokesman Mohamed Al-Harrai told Reuters on Monday.

"The situation is very dangerous after a second fire broke out at another petroleum depot," the government said, warning of a "disaster with unforeseeable consequences".

The Libyan government earlier appealed for "international help" fighting the blaze amid heavy fighting that the Libyan government said has killed more than 150 people in Tripoli and Benghazi during two weeks of fighting.

A statement posted to the government's website on Monday warned of a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" after fighting between rival militias over the country's international airport caused the inferno.

Officials said that firefighters sent to the scene had been unable to put out the fire, AFP reported.

Al-Harrai said firefighters battled the blaze for hours before running out of water and being forced to leave.

As Libyan TV stations called on residents to evacuate areas near the aiport, social media sites posted images of black smoke billowing over Tripoli's skyline.

Earlier on Sunday, France, Britain, Germany and Spain called on their nationals to leave Libya due to the deteriorating security situation.

The US, the UN and Turkey have pulled their diplomats out of the North African country.

The US evacuated its embassy on Saturday, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia under heavy military protection because of clashes near the embassy compound in Tripoli.

A British embassy convoy was hit by gunfire during what an embassy official described as "an attempted hijack" as the convoy was on its way to the Tunisian border. No-one was injured in the incident.

Battle for airport

In Tripoli, 23 people, all Egyptian workers, were killed when a rocket hit their home on Saturday during fighting between rival militias battling over the city's main airport, the Egyptian state news agency reported.

Since the clashes erupted a fortnight ago, 94 people have died in the capital, and more than 400 have been injured as militias exchanged rocket and artillery fire across southern Tripoli, the Libyan Health Ministry said.

"Most of the victims we have noticed are civilians as the fighters have their own hospitals on the battlefield," a Benghazi medical source told Reuters news agency.

Another 55 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Benghazi since the clashes intensified over the past week between regular forces and militias entrenched in the city.

A new Libyan parliament was elected in June and legislators are set to meet in August for the first session.

Tripoli residents caught in violent clashes
Hundreds have fled Libya's capital, as fighting between rival militias has cut electricity, fuel, and water supplies.
Al Jazeera Last updated: 09 Aug 2014 11:01
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Many civilians have been injured in the fighting in Libya and hospitals are struggling to treat them [Reuters]

Tripoli, Libya - The air is thick in the Libyan capital, four weeks into a battle between rival militias that has shaken the city with the ferocious sounds of missiles and rockets, fired indiscriminately into built-up areas.

In one of the few cafes still open in Tripoli, three young men sit in an open-air terrace; usually filled by the aroma of fresh coffee, it is now overwhelmed by the stench of smoke. One man asks the group if this is where they saw the country going after the 2011 uprising the toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi from power; the answer is a resounding no.

Just over 15km away, the fire at Tripoli's main fuel storage site is still burning. The site was hit in the fighting between rival armed groups one week ago as they battled for control of Tripoli's airport. Meanwhile, the airport road, a motorway linking Tripoli's international airport to the city, has been a frontline for militias from Zintan, which control the airport and the road, and rival Islamist militias from Misrata and Tripoli, which control the city.

On Wednesday, Libya's newly elected House of Representatives issued a decree calling for a ceasefire, and called on all parties to conduct talks under the supervision of the United Nations. The call went unanswered, however, and the fighting continued.

Both groups have used missiles, rockets, and tank shells in the fighting. Many of the rounds have missed their targets and hit civilian farms and homes. On Wednesday, a missile hit a flat in Janzour, a district in west Tripoli, killing 18 Sudanese nationals.

The fighting has resulted in hundreds of deaths, according to reports released by Libya's health ministry, among them civilians caught in the fighting. The exact number of civilian casualties is unavailable.

"They can go to the desert and kill each other there, just stay away from us," said Marwan, a shopkeeper in Janzour. "A missile landed in my farm yesterday, I was lucky. What if it had hit the house?"

RELATED: Libya - Who will win the power struggle?

So far, more than 6,000 Libyans have fled the country, according to the Tunisian foreign minister, with many from Tripoli escaping the violence to neighbouring Tunisia.

But with the main airport closed due to the fighting, the only operating airport in the city is Metiga, a smaller landing strip that is currently being held by an Islamist armed group known as the Preventative Security Force. Demand for flights is high; tickets are only available at the airport itself, and queues of up to 12 hours are common.
Hundreds flee Tripoli as Libya fighting rages

The alternative is a dangerous two-hour trip to the Tunisian border by car, with a wait of up to 18 hours at the crossing due to the large number of people attempting to make the journey. The border between Libya and Tunisia has been unstable, and has not remained open consistently; on July 31, the border was closed after Egyptian workers fleeing Libya tried to storm into Tunisia.
Those who chose to leave also risk having their homes looted. One family in Gaser Ben Ghashir, a district of the capital where Misrata militias are based, left a note on their front door, saying: "There's nothing in here worth taking, so please just leave it alone."

Frequent electricity cuts are also plaguing the city. "Electricity is a pleasant surprise these days," said Ibrahim Elmayet, a resident of Tripoli who said power cuts sometimes last for up to 11 hours.

The power cuts may also lead to a water supply shortage in central Tripoli, where reserves are slowly declining as electricity is needed to work the pumps that feed water to the city's two million residents.

People have waited for three days at petrol stations to get fuel, sometimes going home empty-handed. "I pulled up to fill my car, waited two days and went home as I arrived, with no petrol," said Abdul Wareth, a 21-year-old medical student at Tripoli University.

There's nothing harder than turning down a patient who needs admission... We can only hope and pray for better days to come.

- Amal al-Hasari, a doctor at Tripoli's central hospital

"We need petrol to get supplies for the house," he added, explaining that with food prices rapidly rising, and empty shelves in many shops, people must now drive to get supplies elsewhere.

The rival militias have set up checkpoints to the west and south of the city, making it difficult to get around, even if fuel is available.

RELATED: Tunisia closes door on Libya's displaced

Hospitals and clinics in Tripoli have been hit hard by the shortages, and doctors are warning that they can't provide basic services. "There's nothing harder than turning down a patient who needs admission," said Amal al-Hasari, a doctor at Tripoli's central hospital. "On Sunday, only one doctor was in the accident and emergency wing of the hospital."

She said the lack of fuel and risk of being caught up in the fighting is preventing doctors and nurses from getting to work.

Locals have tried their best to keep the capital's health services running. On Tuesday, a man came to the hospital, asked Hasari if she was a doctor, and then gave her some petrol, she recalled. He also gave her his number and said she could call him whenever she or any other doctor needed fuel to get to work.

"We are running out of oxygen masks and antibiotics," Hasari said, adding that with no airports operating to full capacity, no one knows when supplies will be restocked. "We can only hope and pray for better days to come."

La intervención de países árabes en Libia alerta a Washington



Libia amenaza con convertirse en el escenario de un guerra de poder entre países árabes y musulmanes. La Administración Obama confirmó el martes que Egipto y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU) —países aliados y armados por Estados Unidos— han participado en ataques aéreos contra milicias islamistas en el país norteafricano.

La intervención, que ha tomado por sorpresa a Washington, evidencia una nueva realidad en el norte de África y Oriente Medio posteriores a las primaveras árabes: ante la cautela del presidente Barack Obama a la hora de intervenir, las potencias regionales actúan por su cuenta.

“Entendemos que ha habido ataque aéreos lanzados en días recientes por EAU y Egipto en Libia, y les remito a estos gobiernos para obtener más detalles”, dijo a la prensa el contralmirante John Kirby, portavoz del Pentágono.

“Creemos que la interferencia externa en Libia exacerba las divisiones actuales y socava la transición democrática en Libia”, criticaron, en un comunicado, los gobiernos de Estados Unidos, Francia, Alemania, Italia y Reino Unido.

La intervención armada de Estados Unidos y sus aliados europeos, en 2011, frenó las matanzas perpetradas por el régimen de Moamar El Gadafi y provocó la caída del dictador. Tres años después, el país mediterráneo se precipita hacia una guerra civil. En julio EE UU cerró la embajada en Trípoli.

Tanto Egipto como los EAU desmienten una intervención militar directa. La Administración Obama, por medio de fuentes anónimas, ha informado de que aviones de los EAU despegaron de bases egipcias para bombardear posiciones islamistas en la capital, Trípoli. En los últimos meses equipos de fuerzas especiales han destruido un campo islamista en la ciudad de Derna, en el este de Libia, según fuentes citadas por ‘The New York Times’.

El temor de Washington es que la intervención de los aliados árabes agrave la guerra civil en Siria en vez de resolverla. Que Egipto actuara sin avisar a EE UU, la potencia tutelar durante décadas, evidencia la tensión entre el mariscal Abdelfatá al Sisi, presidente egipcio, y Barack Obama.

Más preocupante, para EE UU, es la configuración de dos bloques en la región, uno encabezado por Egipto y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, y el otro por Turquía y Catar. Libia es uno de los países donde se dirime la batalla entre regímenes autoritarios árabes y movimientos islamistas; Siria es otro. Según las citadas fuentes, Catar ha suministrado armas a las fuerzas islamistas en Libia. El riesgo es que el conflicto que vive Oriente Medio, y que tiene en Irak y Siria sus focos más sangrantes, se consolide en la frontera sur de la UE, a apenas 400 kilómetros de territorio europeo.

Algunos analistas ven en la intervención extranjera en Libia una consecuencia del repliegue de EE UU en la región. “A la luz de la inacción de EE UU en Siria, el mensaje es claro: ocúpate tú de tus problemas”, dijo a la agencia Reuters el politólogo emiratí Abdulkhaleq Abdulla.

“Los socios de América en el Golfo [Pérsico] han pedido una mayor implicación americana en lo que entienden que es una batalla sectaria, una gran batalla por el poder y el dominio en un momento en que el orden regional se tambalea por las revoluciones árabes”, dijo Tamara Cofman Wittes, directora del Centro Saban para Oriente Medio del laboratorio de ideas Brookings Institution, en un coloquio reciente en Washington. En el mismo coloquio otro experto, Kenneth Pollack, habló del "creciente desencanto" y el "gran escepticismo" respecto a Obama en estos países.

La decisión de Obama, hace un año, de frenar en último minuto una intervención contra el régimen de Bachar El Asad en Siria se interpretó como un signo de que la primera potencia se abstendría de resolver por la fuerza problemas que Obama creía irresolubles.

Pero nada de lo que era válido hace unos meses sigue siéndolo. A principios de 2014 Libia era para EE UU un recuerdo lejano, incluso un ejemplo del éxito del multilateralismo: una intervención amparada por la ONU que consiguió desalojar a un dictador veterano. La Casa Blanca consideraba Siria un caso imposible donde, por lo menos, un acuerdo con Rusia permitió las armas químicas. E Irak no figuraba en la agenda del presidente, preocupado entonces por la inestabilidad en Ucrania y por el giro hacia Asia, el gran proyecto de su presidencia.

Ahora EE UU entra en la tercera semana de ataques aéreos contra Irak y sopesa ampliar los ataques a Siria, país que aviones norteamericanos han empezado a sobrevolar en busca de información sobre posibles objetivos. En 2013 el objetivo era golpear al régimen de Bachar el Asad; ahora el objetivo son sus enemigos del EI. El ascenso de los yihadistas del Estado Islámico (EI), que aspiran a crear un califato en Oriente Medio, ha forzado a Obama rectificar.

http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/08/26/actualidad/1409079707_951194.html

Libya government resigns to allow new cabinet
Government of Abdullah al-Thinni steps down amid fighting between rival militias in the capital, Tripoli.
Last updated: 29 Aug 2014 02:28

The House of Representatives and the government have moved to Tobruk to escape fighting in Tripoli [Reuters]

Libya's prime minister and his cabinet have resigned to make way for a new government based on parliamentary elections held in June, a government statement said.

Abdullah al-Thinni's cabinet said on Thursday that it had resigned according to Libya's constitutional rules to allow the new House of Representatives to form a government based on all parts of society.

The House of Representatives replaced the General National Congress in June, but was forced to move to Tobruk in the far east of the country to escape a month of street fighting in the capital, Tripoli.

Armed factions mainly from the northwestern city of Misrata expelled from the capital a rival group from Zintan, and have pushed to reinstate the previous parliament, the GNC.

Islamists were much stronger in the GNC than in the new assembly dominated by liberal and federalist politicians.

Thinni was appointed in March, but has faced opposition and a government teeterting on collapse for much of his tenure. The Islamist-leaning Ahmed Maetig was appointed prime minister following a breakdown of parliament in May but his position was later ruled unconstitutional and Thinni was reinstated as caretaker in June.

"This is just a routine step. There is no conflict between Thinni and the House of Representatives," an unnamed politician told the Reuters news agency.
Source:
Agencies

La ONU y los Veintiocho presionan a Libia con un embargo de crudo
Dos bandos en disputa inician ataques aéreos en vísperas de la reunión de los dos parlamentos impulsada por la ONU
Javier Casqueiro Rabat 16 DIC 2014 - 18:46 CET
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Las presiones y amenazas de sanciones económicas y de embargo en la compra de petróleo se han acrecentado en las últimas horas por parte de la comunidad internacional sobre Libia para que se inicie al fin el diálogo cara a cara entre las dos facciones políticas enfrentadas en el país mediterráneo, clave en la producción mundial de hidrocarburos. La ONU y la Unión Europea han trasladado abiertamente esa advertencia, tras comprobar este pasado fin de semana que las batallas entre las distintas milicias armadas se han recrudecido pero ahora y por primera vez con ataques aéreos entre los dos bandos y en torno los principales puertos petrolíferos.

El nuevo intento de comenzar las primeras conversaciones políticas entre los representantes del Parlamento elegido el pasado 25 de junio, reconocido internacionalmente y asentado en la ciudad costera de Tobruk, con los dirigentes del antiguo congreso en Trípoli, respaldado inesperadamente este octubre por el Tribunal Supremo del país, debía tener lugar este miércoles en la ciudad de Ojalaa, al sureste. Esa cita, auspiciada por el representante especial de la ONU, el español Bernardino León, no se celebrará. El encuentro sí podría organizarse mañana jueves, pero aún no está claro dónde ni en qué condiciones. Portavoces del gobierno autoproclamado en Trípoli han propuesto tras sus reuniones de este martes que se efectuara la cumbre pero en Houn, al sur.

Esa reunión es básica. Internamente, para impulsar en Libia una hoja de ruta en la que las conversaciones políticas sustituyan a las armas, los muertos y las amenazas pero también para la comunidad internacional. Los ministros de Exteriores de la Unión Europea, reunidos el lunes en Bruselas, fueron informados de nuevo por León de que el proceso está enquistado y de que puede afectar y desestabilizar a los países vecinos, como advirtió este martes la enviada especial a la región del Sahel, Hiroute Gebre Selassie.

El ministro español, José Manuel García Margallo, fue bastante claro a la salida del cónclave. Amenazó con sanciones, embargo petrolífero y con prohibir a los países y compañías internacionales comprar petróleo libio. Varios países europeos están en esa tesis. La jefa de la diplomacia europea, Federica Mogherini, repitió este martes esa advertencia. Margallo estuvo cinco horas hablando este lunes con León y sigue respaldando su intento de cuadrar un diálogo entre los dos bandos políticos en Libia, pero con mucho escepticismo.

Los responsables de la UNSMIL (la misión especial de la ONU) han comprobado que justo cuando estaba a punto de cerrarse la cita, de admitir los dos parlamentos que podrían verse las caras y hablar sin reconocerse mutuamente ninguna legitimidad y hasta de nominar a sus cuatro representantes, estos tres últimos días han saltado de nuevo todas las alarmas con una escalada de la violencia.

La Compañía Nacional de Petróleo (NOC) tuvo que cerrar dos grandes refinerías en el golfo de Sirte, tanto Es Sider (la primera del país) como Ras Lanuf (la tercera), tras los ataques registrados durante el fin de semana, que contabilizaron 17 muertos. Se enfrentaron las milicias de Misrata que tenían tomadas allí posiciones contra las tropas del general Jalifa Hifter, que respalda el gobierno de Tobruk. Las fuerzas de Hifter atacaron con un avión y dos helicópteros. El lunes, las milicias respondieron por primera vez con un contraataque aéreo. Esas centrales petrolíferas, que tienen capacidad para producir 550.000 barriles diarios, quedaron selladas y redujeron la producción del país de casi 800.000 barriles que llegaron a alcanzar en octubre a menos de 200.000 ahora, pero en un momento de clara debilidad en el precio mundial del petróleo.

Los bombardeos también se constataron en la zona fronteriza con Túnez de Ras Jedir, con los partidarios de las milicias de Amanecer Libia y del general Jifter disputándose aún hoy ese enclave. Túnez cerrará de nuevo la frontera con Libia ante esta situación de cara a las elecciones presidenciales del domingo.

Se derrite tanque petrolero en Libia


Xinhua
Benghazi , Libia (29 diciembre 2014).- Las fuerzas del Gobierno libio anunciaron que se derritió uno tanque petrolero incendiado en Sidra, el mayor puerto petrolero de Libia, por lo que el crudo se está derramando y podría encender los otros recipientes de hidrocarburos en el muelle.

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"Uno de los tres tanques petroleros que se estaba quemando se salió de control luego de que explotó y se derritió, lo que regó crudo en llamas alrededor de los tanques restantes que contienen 6.2 millones de barriles de petróleo", dijo un técnico de Waha Oil Company que opera el puerto.

Las fuerzas del Gobierno anunciaron el que lograron extinguir las llamas en cuatro de los siete tanques petroleros incendiados en el puerto de Sidra luego del ataque perpetrado el jueves por milicianos de Amanecer Libio en la región petrolera de la media luna.

El funcionario técnico solicitó ayuda extranjera para controlar el incendio por la gravedad de la situación y la falta de alternativas, además del masivo desastre ambiental y la gran tragedia que podría causar el que el incendio se propague al resto de los tanques.

El fuego ha destruido siete de los 19 tanques de la zona conocida como granja de tanques, indicó el funcionario técnico.

La región petrolera de la media luna incluye a un grupo de ciudades entre Benghazi y Sirte, y tiene las mayores reservas de petróleo del país, además de a los puertos de Sidra, Ras Lanuf y Brega.
Hora de

¿Cómo se unió una ciudad libia al EI?



AP
Trípoli, Libia (17 noviembre 2014).-
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Una noche fría, unos milicianos barbudos se reunieron en un escenario adornado con luces de colores en Darna, una ciudad en la costa del Mediterráneo, tristemente célebre, desde hace tiempo, por ser el centro de reunión en Libia para radicales yihadistas.

Ahí, los milicianos juraron lealtad al líder del grupo Estado Islámico (EI).

Con esa reunión reciente, los milicianos hicieron que Darna se convirtiera en la primera ciudad fuera de Iraq y Siria en unirse al "califato" anunciado por el grupo extremista.

Los tribunales religiosos de la ciudad ordenaron asesinatos en público, azotes a residentes acusados de violar la ley sharia, así como la segregación forzada de estudiantes varones y mujeres.

Los oponentes de los milicianos se han escondido o huido, aterrados por una serie de asesinatos que tenía la meta de callarlos.

La toma de control de la ciudad, a unos mil 600 kilómetros del territorio más cercano controlado por el EI, ofrece un vistazo revelador de cómo el grupo radical puede explotar las condiciones locales.

Ahora un nuevo "emir", miembro del Estado Islámico, identificado como Mohammed Abdullah, un miliciano yemení enviado desde Siria y conocido por su nombre de guerra Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi, dirige la ciudad, según varios activistas locales y un ex miliciano de Darna.

Un número de milicianos líderes del EI llegó a la ciudad desde Iraq y Siria durante este año, en el transcurso de algunos meses unieron a los múltiples pero fraccionados grupos extremistas.

Preparó el camino ultimando a sus rivales, incluyendo a milicianos, de acuerdo con activistas locales, ex miembros del Ayuntamiento y un ex miliciano entrevistado por The Associated Press.

Todos hablaron a condición del anonimato porque temían por sus vidas.

Darna podría ser un modelo para que el grupo intente expandirse en otras partes.

Notablemente, en Líbano, elementos del Ejército recientemente capturaron a un número de milicianos que se creía planeaba tomar varias aldeas en el norte del país y proclamarlas como parte del "califato".

En toda la región, unos cuantos grupos milicianos han jurado lealtad a su líder, el iraquí Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Pero ninguno controla un territorio unido como los que están en Darma.

El juramento de lealtad en Darna le da al EI un pie en Libia, una nación rica en petróleo, donde el control del Gobierno central colapsó en el caos desde el derrocamiento y muerte en el 2011 del veterano dictador Muammar Gadafi.

Esta primavera, un número de yihadistas libios volvió a Darna.

Los que regresaron, conocidos como el Grupo Battar, formaron una nueva facción llamada el Consejo Shura para la Juventud del Islam, que empezó a alentar a otros milicianos locales a unirse al EI.

En septiembre, llegó al-Azdi.

Muchos de los milicianos de Darna se unieron al EI.

Parte de Ansar al-Shariah, una de las facciones islámicas más poderosas del país, ingresó mientras que otra parte se negó.

El principal grupo miliciano que se negó fue la Brigada de los Mártires de Abu Salem, alguna vez el grupo más fuerte en Darna.

Este grupo fundamentalista se ve como una fuerza libia nacionalista y exige un Gobierno democráticamente formado, pero que imponga la ley sharia de manera más estricta.

Durante los últimos meses, ha luchado contra los combatientes de al-Battar y el Consejo Shura.

Al-Battar acusó a la milicia Abu Salem de matar a unos de sus más altos comandantes en junio y amenazó en una declaración con "llenar el país con tumbas".

Mientras tanto, una campaña miliciana de asesinatos en Darna fue dirigida contra los activistas liberales que alguna vez encabezaban plantones contra ellas, así como abogados y jueces.

Los milicianos también tomaron las casillas electorales, deteniendo la votación en Darna durante elecciones a nivel nacional en marzo y junio.

En julio, una ex legisladora liberal en Darna, Farieha el-Berkawi, fue acribillada en pleno día.

Su asesinato en particular dio escalofríos al movimiento anti-miliciano, comentó una fuente cercana de el-Berkawi.

"La gente ha hecho su mejor esfuerzo (para obligar a los milicianos a irse) y sólo recibió más derramamiento de sangre", sentenció.

La guerra llama a las puertas de Libia



IPS
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Podría ser una casa ocupada más: hay música a casi toda hora, una emisora de radio y una pequeña exposición de arte. Pero en el edificio de esta occidental ciudad libia, las armas se entremezclan con los instrumentos de música y la mayoría viste de camuflaje.

"El edificio pertenecía a un antiguo miembro de los servicios secretos de Muammar Gaddafi así que decidimos ocuparla y acondicionarla para los jóvenes de Zwara", explicó el electricista Fadel Farhad, quien compagina su oficio con la participación en la milicia local en Zwara, un enclave amazigh a 120 kilómetros al oeste de Trípoli.

El centro se llama "Tifinagh", el nombre que recibe el alfabeto amazigh.

También llamados bereberes, los amazighs son habitantes nativos del norte de África.

La llegada de los árabes a la región en el siglo VII fue el inicio de un lento proceso de arabización de la zona, que se aceleró bruscamente durante las más de cuatro décadas en las que Gaddafi (1969-2011) ostentó el poder libio.

Ahora, en Libia los amazighs rondan los 600 mil, casi el 10 por ciento de la población.

Al igual que la mayoría, Farhad sabe que puede ser movilizado por la milicia local en cualquier momento.

Durante la primera semana de diciembre, Zwara ha sido objeto diario de bombardeos, con un saldo desconocido de víctimas, que incluye a trabajadores subsaharianos.

Tres años después del levantamiento que acabó con el régimen y la vida de Gaddafi, Libia vive en un estado de convulsión política que ha puesto al país al borde de la guerra civil.

Hay dos Gobiernos y sendos parlamentos: uno con sede en Trípoli, y otro en la ciudad de Tobruk, a mil 200 kilómetros al Este de la capital.

Este último cuenta con el reconocimiento internacional, tras ser elegido en unos comicios celebrados el 25 de junio, que sólo contaron con 10 por ciento de participación y que la comunidad amazigh boicoteó.

En este escenario, distintas milicias luchan agrupadas en dos alianzas paramilitares: "Fayer (amanecer, en árabe)", liderada por las brigadas de Misrata, que actualmente controlan Trípoli, y la otra "Karama (dignidad)", dirigida por Jalifa Haftar, un antiguo general del Ejército libio.

"En Zwara contamos con unos 5 mil hombres agrupados en diferentes milicias", desveló el combatiente Younis, quien pertenece a la milicia de Tamazgha y prefirió no dar su nombre completo.

"Nunca quisimos que esto pasara pero el problema es que todos nuestros enemigos se han alineado con Tobruk", añade el miliciano, junto a una de las pick ups estacionadas a la entrada del edificio.

La polarización del conflicto en Libia ha empujado a varias milicias bereberes a combatir de forma esporádica junto a la coalición liderada por Misrata, que cuenta con grupos islamistas en sus filas.

En cualquier caso, el ambiente en la casa ocupada se antoja en las antípodas de la ortodoxia religiosa, en parte gracias a Bondok Hassem, un conocido músico local que ha conseguido una improbable fusión entre la música tradicional amazigh y el "death metal", un subgénero extremo del heavy metal.

A sus 30 años Hassem es, además de músico, profesor de tamazight, la lengua amazigh, y uno de los comandantes de la milicia Tamazgha.

"Tanto Misrata como Tobruk luchan por convertirse en el macho alfa de esta guerra", aseguró Hassem entre sorbos de un vaso de boja, el aguardiente local.

"Puede que hoy haya algunos amazigh luchando junto a los de Misrata para defender su territorio, pero todos sabemos que acabaremos luchando contra ellos en el futuro", se lamenta.

Las intrincadas alianzas internacionales tampoco facilitan las cosas. Egipto, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Arabia Saudita y Francia se han alineado con Tobruk mientras que Misrata cuenta principalmente con el apoyo de Qatar y Turquía.

La Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte (OTAN) se muestra dividida respecto a una posible intervención y la mayoría de las delegaciones diplomáticas han abandonado Trípoli, excepto las de Italia y Hungría.

Frágil equilibrio


Entre los amazighs que parecen no sentirse demasiado incómodos con el Gobierno de Misrata se encuentra Moussa Harim.

Natural de Jadu, en el bastión amazigh de la cordillera de Nafusa, a 100 kilómetros al sur de la capital, y exiliado en Francia durante el mandato de Gaddafi, Harim es viceministro libio de Cultura desde marzo de 2012, un cargo que sigue manteniendo en el Gobierno de Trípoli.

Reconoce que los islamistas constituyen un peligro, pero matiza que en Misrata "hay islamistas, pero también gente de filiaciones muy diversas, comunistas incluidos".

Es la propia localización geográfica la que, según Harim, empuja a los amazighs hacia Misrata.

"Excepto por un pequeño enclave en el Este, nuestro pueblo vive en el oeste del país, y la mayor parte del mismo en Trípoli", acota el alto funcionario.

Pero existen voces discordantes, como la de Fathi Ben Khalifa, natural de Zwara, disidente histórico durante décadas y miembro ejecutivo del Congreso Mundial Amazigh, organización que presidió hasta 2013.

Se trata de una entidad fundada en 1995 y que engloba organizaciones de todo el norte de África para la defensa de la cultura e identidad del pueblo bereber.

"Esta no es nuestra lucha porque se trata de una disputa entre nacionalistas árabes e islamistas, ninguno de los cuales reconocerán jamás nuestros derechos", subraya por teléfono Ben Khalifa desde Marruecos.

El activista reivindica el derecho de su pueblo a defender su territorio, pero da como fecha límite el 24 de diciembre para adoptar una postura más clara.

"Será entonces cuando se presente oficialmente la Constitución libia, aún en proceso de redacción. Si no se reconocen nuestros derechos legítimos como pueblo, ese ha de ser el momento de tomar las armas", afirmó tajante el reconocido dirigente.

Al anochecer, y tras otro día marcado por los turnos en los puestos de control y las patrullas por los alrededores de la ciudad, los milicianos cambian sus fusiles por una armónica y una guitarra.

Tocan parte del repertorio de Matloub Lounes, un conocido cantante de Kabilia, el principal bastión amazigh de Argelia.

"Cuando acabe la guerra quemaré mi uniforme y volveré a mi trabajo", apuntó Anwar Darir, profesor de lengua amazigh desde 2011, el año que vio el fin del Mandato de Gaddafi.

Pero la guerra continúa en Libia.

Hora de publicación: 00:00 hrs.

Dispatch
‘A Ground Invasion of the Capital Is Imminent’

All-out war is coming to Libya, as rebel militias and a government-in-hiding begin a battle for control of the country.

By Bel TrewBel Trew is broadcast and print journalist based in Cairo. Follow her on Twitter at @beltrew.
December 29, 2014
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‘A Ground Invasion of the Capital Is Imminent’

TRIPOLI, Libya — Zeina, 27, was hanging out her washing when the first Grad rocket smashed into a neighbor’s house at the end of her dusty street. The deafening boom was followed by the telltale buzz of more incoming rockets. Libya’s civil war had landed on her doorstep.

“It started as a normal day — then we heard the sound of shelling and rockets,” said the young mother. “Without warning, they hit our houses. We fled with just the clothes we were wearing.”

Zeina is now crammed together with seven other people in a cinderblock outhouse that is part of Tripoli’s zoo. They are just a handful of the more than 400,000 people who are currently displaced inside Libya, which is witnessing its worst crisis since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

For three years, Libya has been without a functioning government, police force, or army. The country has been ripped apart by warring fiefdoms of ex-rebels who helped oust Qaddafi but have since directed politics with AK-47s and anti-aircraft guns. This summer, as the battle lines began to harden, two rival factions emerged to vie for control of Libya: On one side is the newly elected parliament that has been banished to the eastern city of Tobruk — supported by the fractured remains of Qaddafi soldiers who defected during the uprising, as well as regional powers like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other side is Libya Dawn, a self-described revolutionary coalition of militiamen and Islamist-leaning politicians that originated in the western city of Misrata, allegedly backed by Turkey and Qatar.

Zeina’s hometown of Kikla, which lies less than 100 miles southwest of Tripoli, is on the front line between the two factions, which are battling for control of the capital. With two governments and two parliaments, both of which have a tenuous grip on power and access to funds, there is no one in authority to ask for help.

“It’s winter now, and we’re in a desperate situation,” Zeina said. “We heard our houses have been flattened and burned. What do we do?”
* * *

Hundreds of miles to the east, smartly dressed lawmakers, Salafi militants, fighter jet pilots, and tribal leaders sat in a glittering hotel lobby. The building was under strict military lockdown — its long driveway studded with concrete roadblocks and checkpoints. But inside the hushed halls, uniformed waiters moved between the groups serving cappuccinos and croissants. Lavish three-course meals were served in the dining and conference rooms. Outside, the legislators’ children — forced into exile with their parents — played soccer on the abandoned tennis courts that overlook the Mediterranean.

This is the exiled parliament’s stronghold in Tobruk, over 900 miles to the east of Tripoli. When Libya Dawn staged an armed takeover of the capital this summer, it forced the House of Representatives, which had been elected in June, to flee here. Now, loyalists are plotting their return to Tripoli.

Money and war are the main topics of conversation. The country’s oil authorities and ministries now lie in the hands of Libya Dawn, which claims to be the legitimate government. The Islamist coalition’s case was bolstered after a November Supreme Court decision, which it said nullified the House of Representatives and a constitutional amendment on which the June elections were based.

The Libyan Central Bank, fighting to maintain its neutrality, has refused to channel the country’s lucrative oil revenues to either administration since the court decision. It is only paying “expenses” for both administrations, and basic salaries, which ironically includes those of the militias, who were absorbed into the interior and defense ministries by the former parliament in 2012.

The decision has rendered the Tobruk parliament’s plans and newly drafted $42 billion budget for the next financial year nothing more than pieces of paper.

For the politicians and military leaders in Tobruk, that means war.

“The easiest solution is a military takeover [of Tripoli]; it’s the only way to move forward from this ridiculous stalemate,” said one senior lawmaker, dressed in a crisp suit. “We are trying to build a new central bank and premises for different ministries, but this is temporary until we take back Tripoli.”

The United Nations was supposed to have chaired a fresh round of peace talks between the warring factions this month. But so far they have been unable to set a date, let alone an agenda to resolve the crisis.

Tobruk’s military forces, meanwhile, don’t seem to be in the mood for talking. Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a formerly rogue military leader who embarked on a self-styled “War on Terror” against Islamists earlier this year, is at the helm of the recently rebranded “Libyan National Army” — the remnants of the Qaddafi-era armed forces that defected during the revolution. And he seems to believe the wind is at his back.

“A ground invasion of the capital is imminent,” Haftar told me from his sprawling military base in the countryside outside Merj, a town that lies roughly an hour-long helicopter ride west of Tobruk.

Haftar, 71, has seen his fortunes improve dramatically in recent months. He was declared an outlaw by the authorities after unsuccessfully attempting to overthrow the previous Islamist-dominated parliament in February, and was only recently reinstated by the House of Representatives, which lacked a military force of its own to wrest control back from the militias. Haftar quickly changed that: He absorbed pro-government western militias into his army, and is currently encircling the capital and fighting Libya Dawn militiamen in Kikla.

Haftar’s first major offensive was in the eastern city of Benghazi, where his troops have gained serious ground after six months of battling Libya Dawn-allied eastern militias and jihadis — including the U.N.-designated terror group Ansar al-Sharia. Haftar claims his forces have “secured” around 95 percent of the city.

Seeking to build on his momentum, Haftar then turned west. In November, he sent his battered MiG fighter jets to Tripoli to bomb Libya Dawn positions and weapons depots. This month, the general pushed further west, striking targets on the border with Tunisia, which briefly closed the largest border crossing, Ras Jedir. On Dec. 28, his forces hit Misrata, the hometown of most of the Libya Dawn leadership.

“We cannot continue with two governments, two parliaments, so Libya Dawn should end or we are going to arrest them all,” he said, promising further airstrikes in Misrata.

Haftar’s men told me that a large multimillion-dollar arms deal with an Eastern European country, which would see the acquisition of updated fighter jets, helicopters, and heavy weaponry, will be the nail in the coffin of their enemies. The Tobruk authorities are footing the bill, and are just waiting for delivery.

Tobruk Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, a former military man himself, echoed Haftar’s hawkishness.

“We are supporting the front line with more jet fighters to break the deadlock,” he told me from his temporary offices in Labraq, a city just west of Tobruk, consisting of stark, Soviet-style concrete buildings. “Citizens of Tripoli are getting ready now and are waiting for the moment when the army enters the city.”

But there is lingering bad blood between Thinni and his military commander, which could presage a future conflict. In June, Thinni, who had been serving as prime minister then too, had been among those in the previous parliament who blacklisted Haftar. That same month, Haftar said that he wanted most of Thinni’s cabinet jailed. The distrust between the two men is still palpable, as both claim ownership of the war in the west.

Thinni said he would only come to the negotiating table if Libya Dawn accepted the legitimacy of his parliament, dropped its alliance with terror groups like Ansar al-Sharia, and gave up Tripoli — an impossible set of preconditions sure to scupper any U.N.-backed mediation initiative. “Libya Dawn members who committed crimes should be tried,” he added.

Establishing his government’s authority over the whole country is going to take a massive influx of money — and Thinni knows it. The prime minister admitted it was near impossible to run a country without access to the country’s government buildings and funds. As an interim solution, he appointed his own heads of the National Oil Corporation, the body solely response for the sale and purchase of oil and gas, and the Libyan Central Bank, which controls the country’s purse strings. He wants to move their offices east, to Benghazi and Ras Lanuf, redirecting oil funds and effectively carving Libya in two.

“It’s about who is controlling the money. We can change the direction of flow of oil income into the banks we choose,” he said. “So Libya Dawn can just sit in Tripoli and invent their own authorities, but in fact they control nothing.”
* * *

In Tripoli, Libya Dawn’s ascendance is visible by simply walking down the street. The Che Guevara-looking Zintan fighters, who backed the Tobruk government, were chased out of town, and have been replaced by Misrati militiamen, who cruise the neighborhoods in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Their trucks — scrawled with text reading “Correcting the direction of the February 17 revolution” — guard the main ministries and parliament buildings. Graffiti praising Misrata, where Libya Dawn originates, has been scrawled on Qaddafi-era brigade bases they have commandeered.

The charred apartment blocks near the bombed-out airport are a stark reminder of the summer’s fierce fighting. Tripoli residents now tentatively go about their daily business, but activists in the city — who have been outspoken against the militias for years — say there has been a spike in kidnappings against their community since the summer, driving many into hiding or out of the country.

Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi, a 55-year-old former academic from Benghazi who was appointed by Libya Dawn, has the same idea as his rivals. He has moved quickly to seize control of the country’s sole remaining institutions: He headquartered his administration at the National Oil Corporation, taken over government buildings and websites, and appointed his own oil minister.

His forces are also on the offensive against oil sites held by Libya Dawn’s rivals. A few months ago, Libya Dawn militiamen seized control of the lucrative oil fields in the south — including El Sharara, Libya’s largest — bringing production to a grinding halt. In early December, they moved on the eastern oil ports and oil fields currently controlled by forces loyal to the Tobruk authorities, prompting new clashes with Haftar’s men. In the last week, five oil tanks that stored almost a million barrels of oil were set ablaze.

Hassi also sounded just as uncompromising about his enemies in Tobruk as they did about him. He described Thinni and Haftar as criminals for ignoring the court verdict invalidating the House of Representatives, and called on the international community to boycott the exiled parliament.

“Their crimes are huge and they are exacting a collective punishment on us all,” he said. “Whoever doesn’t listen to the court becomes an outlaw and should be stopped.”

Hassi called for fresh parliamentary elections “once the war stops.” Until that day, he argues that his “salvation government” should rule and preside over any peace talks. He defended his administration’s alliance with Ansar al-Sharia — saying the jihadi group had been misunderstood and actually represented a “simple, beautiful, friendly idea.”

Hassi promised his government “was all about dialogue,” but his militiamen, embittered by Haftar’s airstrikes in Tripoli and Benghazi, appear more determined than ever to fight to the death.

“They will keep going until the last man is gunned down — you can forget about peace deals or negotiations,” said the head of one of the largest Islamist militias operating in Benghazi. “We are losing between 20 and 25 men a day; there is no way after such huge losses the men will give up.”

While hatred for Haftar unites all the militias under Libya Dawn’s banner, wildly differing views of the country’s future could drive them apart in the future. The coalition includes both liberals and radical Islamists — and already there are signs of discontent simmering beneath the surface among some on the extremes.

Speaking on the phone from the front line in Benghazi, one Ansar al-Sharia fighter said they were not happy with Libya Dawn’s insistence on pursuing the trappings of a democratic state. “We’ll be happy if sharia law is properly implemented — but we won’t settle for less,” he said tersely.
* * *

Back in the cramped cinderblock outhouse that Zeina calls home, the young mother and her friends are stockpiling blankets in preparation for winter. They count themselves lucky, because they have access to running water. Next door, a family hastily constructs their own makeshift concrete block home in the dusty street. Others have been forced to make do living in parks and schools.

But there are many others who have fared far worse. Libya Body Count, a local independent monitoring organization, reports that over 2,700 people have been killed this year alone. As battles across the country intensify, that number goes up every day. Hundreds of thousands of civilians who have fled the war are now struggling to stay alive as the temperatures drop, and aid workers are unable to provide urgently needed medical care, food, and shelter. Meanwhile the economy is in tatters — Libya relies on oil revenues, and the fighting at the oil ports has seen production plummet by 60 percent in recent days.

The poorest and most vulnerable, like Zeina, have been hit hardest by the crisis. And with nobody truly in charge of the country, they have been left to fend for themselves.

“We just want to go home and for this war to stop,” Zeina said. “We were promised everything. It’s been three years now, and what good have we seen?”

Unos 12.000 egipcios han huido de Libia desde que 'EI' asesinó a 21 coptos

lainformacion.com

martes, 24/02/15 - 02:49
[ ]

Han regresado a su país después de que el grupo terrorista 'Estado Islámico' decapitara a 21 cristianos coptos la semana pasada.


Miles de trabajadores egipcios en Libia abandonan el país por miedo al Estado Islámico -Fotogaleria: AFP

Alrededor de 12.000 egipcios han regresado a su país huyendo de Libia a través del puesto fronterizo de Sallum tras la ejecución de 21 cristianos coptos a manos del grupo terrorista Estado Islámico, según ha informado el diario egipcio 'Al Ahram'.

El jefe de la oficina de seguridad de la gobernación de Marsa Matruh, Anani Hamuda, ha afirmado que las autoridades están trabajando para garantizar que ninguno de los que han vuelto al país pertenece a algún grupo terrorista.

"Analizamos la identidad de todos los expatriados que vuelven y nos aseguramos de que los que migraron (a Libia) de forma ilegal no escapan de los tribunales o no pertenecen a grupos terroristas", ha dicho.

Por otra parte, el Gobierno egipcio está facilitando el traslado por vía aérea de los egipcios que quieran volver a su país y que hayan viajado hasta el puesto fronterizo de Ras Jedir, ubicado entre Libia y Túnez.

Egipto lanzó varios bombardeos contra las posiciones del grupo yihadista en Libia después de que la formación publicara un vídeo con la ejecución de 21 coptos secuestrados en el país entre los meses de diciembre y enero.

El portavoz del Ejército libio reconocido internacionalmente, Mohamed Heyazi, indicó que un total de 64 milicianos han muerto en los bombardeos en las ciudades costeras de Derna y Sirte, al tiempo que recalcó que los mismos se llevaron a cabo en coordinación con los militares libios.

Libia sufre la peor crisis desde la caída del régimen de Gadafi, el 20 de octubre de 2011. Con dos gobiernos y dos parlamentos --solamente unos, los de Tobruk, reconocidos internacionalmente-- y continuos combates en el este, se teme que el país caiga en otra guerra civil.

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A Snapshot of the Islamic State’s Libyan Stronghold

By Mohamed Eljarh
April 1, 2015 - 1:58 pm
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A Snapshot of the Islamic State’s Libyan Stronghold

The eastern Libyan city of Derna has been in the news a lot lately. Last October it became the first place outside of Syria and Iraq to fall under the control of the Islamic State (IS). More recently, on Feb. 16, the Egyptian and Libyan air forces conducted airstrikes against IS targets in the city in response to the group’s beheading of 21 Coptic Egyptians, which shocked the world. Several days later, IS militants retaliated with deadly suicide bombings in the nearby town of al-Qubbah, killing at least 45 civilians.

Because IS forces are in control in Derna, it’s hard to get a picture of what’s going on there. For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to find out as much I can. I’ve been meeting with people who have been to the town recently, and I’ve been in touch with others who are still there. In the process I’ve tried to sample as many different views as possible, including those that are partly or wholly supportive of the Islamists. Here’s what I’ve found out.

Over the past few months, Derna has developed into a typical example of a city under IS rule. The new IS administration has worked to set up its own police force and courts and to transform the education system. Boys and girls are segregated at school, and subjects such as science and philosophy have been banned from the curriculum. The new rulers have also outlawed cigarette shops, and anyone caught smoking will be fined or otherwise punished. IS fighters have carried out public lashings and executions as they seek to implement a strict penal code. Perhaps most disturbing of all, members of the group have taken over the homes of families that have fled, a measure clearly aimed at intimidating residents into staying. The group has also attended to the more mundane elements of governance, implementing a tax of 1.5 dinars per square meter in the city’s main market area, according to residents from Derna I spoke with.

It’s no surprise that Derna was the place that ended up becoming Libya’s first IS affiliate. The city has suffered social, economic, and political neglect for many decades. In the 1990s, it became a stronghold of the Libya Islamic Fighting Group, a jihadi organization that aimed to overthrow the Qaddafi regime by force. Qaddafi responded by placing the city under siege, and once his forces gained control, they conducted brutal house-to-house searches for jihadis, further alienating the population. The city, once a major cultural center, endured systematic abuse and neglect. The lack of social and economic investment led to high unemployment rates and a widespread sense of injustice among the young. Those who governed the city after the 2011 revolution failed to address its long-standing problems.

These persisting social ills have fueled Derna’s susceptibility to extremism. Islamist militias have operated in the city for years, but IS-linked groups really only began to register a significant presence starting last summer. IS fighters gradually gained the upper hand over the other major Islamist militia in the area, the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade, and steadily asserted their control over the local government, culminating in the announcement of fealty to the Islamic State last fall. IS in Derna includes a large contingent of Libyan jihadis who have returned from Syria and Iraq, though some reports claim that at least 5,000 foreign fighters have also joined the group. (In the photo, a motorcade belonging to members of Derna’s Islamic Youth Council, which has pledged allegiance to IS, drive along a road in Derna.)

It should be clear that overcoming IS rule will thus need to go well beyond a military solution by addressing the long-standing grievances of the population. A corresponding political strategy would use a range of policies to address decades of underdevelopment and create better economic opportunities for the young. In addition, reviving the city’s legacy as a center of culture could help to counter the appeal of violent jihadi ideology.

As things stand now, the people of Derna have no representatives in either the internationally recognized parliament in Tobruk or in the Constituent Assembly in Bayda, which is still working, despite the civil war, to draft a new constitution for the country. The reason for this is that the Islamist extremists who have been in control have succeeded in preventing elections from taking place since 2012. As a result, the people of Derna have been deprived of any chance to participate in the debates over the future of their city. They seem to have lost their voice amid Libya’s chaos and instability.

Libyans seem to be of two minds about the best way to respond to the rise of the Islamic State. On the one hand, some want to see swift and decisive military action against IS in order to prevent the group from continuing to exploit the institutional and security vacuum in Derna. An air force colonel who found himself compelled to flee Derna for Tobruk told me the city’s only hope is a military intervention like the one staged by Qaddafi in the 1990s, when he bombed the Libyan Islamic Fighting group out of the city and into exile. While others in Derna I spoke to agree that some sort of military operation against extremist groups in the city will have to take place, they also raised concerns about an ill-devised military solution.

They’re right to express caution. Bombing in a tightly packed city with decrepit houses and infrastructure is likely to render it virtually uninhabitable. Without a comprehensive plan to house and provide for the city’s eighty thousand people, the result will be a humanitarian catastrophe — and an even more fertile recruiting ground for IS. An activist from the city told me that any strategy that doesn’t take the population’s concerns into account is almost sure to result in disaster, and could backfire by creating even bigger problems in the future.

A local journalist from Derna also warned against ill-advised plans to take back the city by force. “Derna suffered at the hands of the Qaddafi regime,” he told me. “Every house in the city was searched in the 1990s by Qaddafi’s security apparatus and the military. It’s crucial that commanders who lead the operation against IS are carefully picked to avoid aggravating historical sensitivities.” He’s absolutely right about that. Otherwise, groups like IS will have a perfect chance to further exploit old grievances.

It’s equally important to note that deciding to stay in the city, as many Derna residents have done, should not be equated with support for the Islamic State. As Libyans well know, opting to leave one’s home under the current circumstances in the country can lead to grim consequences; the internally displaced live miserable lives. According to the Derna activist, local residents are waiting for an official announcement of an upcoming military operation to leave the city. “People in Derna are extremely worried by statements on TV from the air force chief, who is claiming that those deciding to stay in Derna are sympathetic to terrorist groups,” he said.

In truth, many locals — even many local Islamists — are no friends of IS. The Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade, made up mostly of local fighters, has refused to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, even though (like so many other Islamist militias) they’re also opponents of Operation Dignity, the anti-Islamist military campaign led by General Khalifa Haftar. Salem Darbi, the head of Abu Salim Martyrs brigade, traveled to al-Qubbah to pay respects to the families of around 45 people killed by the suicide bombings that rocked the town on Feb. 20. Darbi apparently sought to convince people in the town that he didn’t agree with mass killings carried out by IS militants. This was a remarkably open expression of opposition to the tactics and actions of the Islamic State — additional evidence that not all Islamist militias in Libya are automatically on the side of groups like the Islamic State and Ansar al-Sharia. It is just such divisions of opinion that offer important openings for a possible political strategy.

A military campaign to retake the city from the Islamic State will work only if the concerns of its residents are taken into account. IS has been making use of the city’s long history of neglect to recruit young people who see no other prospects for their future. The longer Derna’s problems are left unaddressed, the more intractable the terrorism problem in this part of Libya will get.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer