The Libyans Strike Back - Hundreds of Lybians storm milita suspected of 9/11 Ambassador Attack's HQ
47 replies, posted
[quote]BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — [B]Hundreds of protesters stormed the compound of one of Libya's strongest armed Islamic extremist groups Friday, evicting militiamen and setting fire to their building as the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans sparked a public backlash against armed groups that run rampant in the country and defy the country's new, post-Moammar Gadhafi leadership.[/B]
Armed men at the administrative center for the Ansar al-Shariah militia, suspected to have led the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Benghazi consulate, [B]first fired in the air to disperse the crowd, but eventually withdrew from the site with their weapons and vehicles after it was surrounded by waves of protesters shouting [I]"No to militias."[/I][/B]
"I don't want to see armed men wearing Afghani-style clothes stopping me in the street to give me orders, I only want to see people in uniform," said Omar Mohammed, a university student who took part in the takeover, which protesters said was done in support of the army and police.
No deaths were reported in the incident, [B]which came after tens of thousands marched in Benghazi in a rally against armed militias.[/B] A vehicle was also burned at the compound, which was taken over by Libyan security forces after its occupants fled.
For many Libyans, last week's attack on the U.S. Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi was the last straw with one of the biggest problems Libya has faced since Gadhafi's ouster and death around a year ago — the multiple mini-armies that with their arsenals of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades are stronger than the regular armed forces and police.
The militias, a legacy of the rag-tag popular forces that fought Gadhafi's regime, tout themselves as protectors of Libya's revolution, providing security where police cannot. But many say they act like gangs, detaining and intimidating rivals and carrying out killings. Militias made up of Islamic radicals are notorious for attacks on Muslims who don't abide by their hardline ideology. Officials and witnesses say fighters from Ansar al-Shariah led the attack on the U.S. consulate.
Some [B]30,000[/B] people filled a broad boulevard as they marched along a lake in central Benghazi on Friday to the gates of the headquarters of Ansar al-Shariah.
[h2]"No, no, to militias,"[/h2] the crowd chanted, filling a broad boulevard. They carried banners and signs demanding that militias disband and that the government build up police to take their place in keeping security. "Benghazi is in a trap," signs read. "Where is the army, where is the police?"
Other signs mourned the killing of U.S. Amb. Chris Stevens, reading, "The ambassador was Libya's friend" and "Libya lost a friend." Military helicopters and fighter jets flew overhead, and police mingled in the crowd, buoyed by the support of the protesters.
Several thousand Ansar al-Shariah supporters lined up in front of their headquarters in the face of the crowd, waving black and white banners. There were some small scuffles, but mostly the two sides mingled and held discussions in the square.
The march was the biggest seen in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and home to 1 million people, since the fall of Gadhafi in August 2011. The unprecedented public backlash comes in part in frustration with the interim government, which has been unable to rein in the armed factions. Many say that officials' attempts to co-opt fighters by paying them have only fueled the growth of militias without bringing them under state control or integrating them into the regular forces.
Residents of another main eastern city, Darna, have also begun to stand up against Ansar al-Shariah and other militias.
The anti-militia fervor in Darna is notable because the city, in the mountains along the Mediterranean coast north of Benghazi, has long had a reputation as a stronghold for Islamic extremists. During the Gadhafi era, it was the hotbed of a deadly Islamist insurgency against his regime. A significant number of the Libyan jihadists who travelled to Afghanistan and Iraq during recent wars came from Darna. During the revolt against him last year, Gadhafi's regime warned that Darna would declare itself an Islamic Emirate and ally itself with al-Qaida.
But now, the residents are lashing out against Ansar al-Shariah, the main Islamic extremist group in the city.
"The killing of the ambassador blew up the situation. It was disastrous," said Ayoub al-Shedwi, a young bearded Muslim preacher in Darna who says he has received multiple death threats because has spoken out against militias on a radio show he hosts. "We felt that the revolution is going in vain."[/quote]
[url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-21/libyans-march-against-militias-after-attack#p2]Finish reading @ Bloomberg[/url]
This is really exciting news
[B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B]
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754124][B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B][/QUOTE]
no i think theyre rating my typo winner
[editline]adsa[/editline]
which the mods can change at their discretion
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754124][B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B][/QUOTE]
Sometimes violence is the answer.
How else will these fucks go away? Peaceful protests against militant Islamists is not the brightest idea.
[QUOTE=Robbi;37754143]Sometimes violence is the answer.
How else will these fucks go away? Peaceful protests against militant Islamists is not the brightest idea.[/QUOTE]
Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]
You can always rebuild.
But really, there's really nothing that doesn't involve violence that can stop those babies.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]A controlled burn is better than letting the whole city burn down.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754124][B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B][/QUOTE]
i bold my opinions because they matter more than anyone elses
They could always send them a strongly worded letter
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]
which creates fertile soil from which seeds can grow.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]
A pretty phrase is no substitute for a proper argument.
[QUOTE=Robbi;37754185]You can always rebuild.
But really, there's really nothing that doesn't involve violence that can stop those babies.[/QUOTE]
You can't rebuild deaths.
[editline]21st September 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Bletotum;37754221]i bold my opinions because they matter more than anyone elses[/QUOTE]
I am an Emperor, after all.
[editline]21st September 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Bletotum;37754228]A pretty phrase is no substitute for a proper argument.[/QUOTE]
I like to keep it simple.
Edit:
Seriously, what will this solve? It'll just add resentment by the radicals to attack more. And endless cycle of violence. No, I can't think of nor offer an alternative solution but I do not cheer this on either.
first doc brown and now a militia
whos next :(
I'm not sure why we're talking about violence and deaths in the first place, neither the article nor any other source I'm aware of is reporting any deaths
[QUOTE=smurfy;37754258]I'm not sure why we're talking about violence and deaths in the first place, neither the article nor any other source I'm aware of is reporting any deaths[/QUOTE]
I count setting fire to their building as violence.
-snip-
Well shit, these crazy libyans
Hopefully this will increase pressure on the government to get rid of the militias, through negotiation or force (likely depends on the militia in question). It's incredibly inconvenient that all of this shit has happened at a time when the government is in a transitional period with the new cabinet not coming in for another week or two yet
Some militias are pro-government and some are only running things because the army/police in their area isn't good enough to take over yet
Others like Ansar al-Sharia, I'm not sure how they can be dealt with without force. Ansar al-Sharia completely rejects democracy as a concept
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]
you know, you can't really apply western comfy suburban values to a civil war torn african country
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754160]Fighting fire with fire just burns everything.[/QUOTE]
This saying is the funniest thing because [I]the[/I] most effective form of wildland firefighting is to start other fires that burn the main fire's fuel/steal oxygen.
[QUOTE=XD!;37754225]which creates fertile soil from which seeds can grow.[/QUOTE]
and then another fire starts as the seeds are sprouting
Muslims aren't doing anything to combat extremism.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754124][B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B][/QUOTE]
It is indeed more violence. But without it Libya wouldn't even be "freed" from Qaddafi in the first place.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37754124][B]People are rating winner because they think it's justice. In reality, it's just more violence.[/B][/QUOTE]
I know man it should have just been a peaceful protest by the allies against the axis
Believe it or not, violence is a pretty effective way of dealing with problems, humanity has used violence to solve problems since the beginning.
People die, families are ruined, but life always goes on.
You guys seriously think that they'll just go away by asking nicely?
Where is Lybia?
Fuck yeah, go Libyan's.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.