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Africa North
Clashes over Federalism Kill One in Libya
2012-03-17
[An Nahar] Clashes pitting backers and opponents of federalism in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi killed one person and maimed at least five on Friday, a medical official said.

"One person was killed and at least five others were maimed," Basma Mohammed told Agence La Belle France Presse.

The chairman of the Supreme Security Committee of Benghazi, Fawzi Wanis, said "matters were brought under control and the festivities between the two sides are over."

But he said there had been no fatalities, only that two people had suffered gunshot wounds and three others had been knifed or stoned.

The violence erupted after hundreds of people demonstrated in favor of federalism, a political project that calls for the division of the country into three self-governed regions, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist at the scene said.

After Friday prayers, the marchers went to Freedom Square, where Ahmed Zubair Senussi, who is calling for autonomy in the oil-rich east of the country, delivered a speech.

Stones and gunfire were exchanged in festivities between those who favor a federal system of governance and those who, like the ruling National Transitional Council, reject the idea.
Posted by:Fred

#1  Yes, when I read the name Senussi, I thought it sounded very familiar. Sure enough he is the scion of the great family of the East. Those people state their desire to have an autonomous Cyrenaica, but if left to their own devices they would create an Islamist and independent Cyrenaica. The region has a long history of Islamism, and a fierce independence streak. I'd keep an eye out for this whole Cyrenaica question. It's what immediately came to my mind when the Qaddafi regime started unraveling. And, like the article points out, most of the oil would probably fall within the traditional boundaries of Cyrenaica, if not a new "GREATER Islamist Caliphate of Cyrenaica."

From wikipedia:

He is a great-nephew of Idris of Libya, the only king of Libya, and was named after his grandfather Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi.[2][3] Ahmed al-Senussi graduated from the Military Academy of Iraq in 1958[4]. In 1961 he married his wife Fatilah, since deceased.[2]

In 1970, he began planning to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi one year after Gaddafi had seized power in a military coup. Along with his brother and other conspirators, he sought to replace the Gaddafi government and give people a chance to choose between a monarchy or a constitutional republic.[3] He was arrested and sentenced to death; however, in 1988 his sentence was commuted to an additional 13 years incarceration. He stayed in solitary confinement for the first nine years of his sentence and was frequently tortured.[2] He claims that the torture included frequent beatings with sticks, being strung up by his hands and legs, nearly drowned, and having his feet broken.[3] After being let out of solitary confinement, he shared a cell with numerous other prisoners, including Omar El-Hariri. After being transferred to Abu Salim prison in 1984, he learned that his wife had died while he was in captivity.[2] He received a pardon on the 32nd anniversary of Gaddafi taking power.[3] He was held as a political prisoner for 31 years until his release in 2001, making him the longest incarcerated prisoner in modern Libyan history.[5]

On 27 October 2011, the European Parliament chose him with four other Arab people to win Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2011.[6]

On 6 March 2012, Ahmed al-Senussi was announced as the leader of the self-declared Cyrenaica Transitional Council.[7]
Posted by: Kentucky Beef   2012-03-17 01:57  

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