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| Africa North |
| Libyans demand end to security chaos |
| 2012-12-11 |
| [Magharebia] Libya officially dissolved militias and gangs two months ago. So why is it taking so long for people to feel safe? It is very hard to answer the question. According to Colonel Hassan Alakoui, Libyan security officials "are trying to take control of Benghazi, but there is a dark hand messing us up in terms of security." "We don't know whose hand it is. Someone is waiting for the night to spread chaos, and so far, we have failed to arrest the culprits", he told Magharebia. Students at the University of Benghazi are tired of waiting for the security apparatus to take shape, so they staged a sit-in on Thursday (December 6th). Many of the same students were among the 30,000 Libyans who held the September 21st "Save Benghazi" rally to demand an end to armed paramilitary brigades. Chanting "Libya, Libya" and "No more al-Qaeda", hundreds of the protesters later stormed the compound of the hard-line Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia The same name as the Yemeni group, but presumably not the same group. and forced the armed fighters to flee. Ansar al-Sharia has been accused of involvement in the September 11th attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Some fear the rogue militias could return to the forefront. As novelist and Benghazi resident Mohamed al-Asfar notes, "Following the 'Save Benghazi' rally, the armed brigades disappeared from the streets." "However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... their arms are still with them, they are still organised and they can come back anytime," al-Asfar adds. "The return of armed brigades can take place any moment in view of a weak army and police and a weaker government." Others wonder if the armed Islamists might be behind the on-going violence. "There are hidden hands messing around with this country and don't want to see it stable as far as security is concerned," Youssef Mohamed, a young man, tells Magharebia. "We still don't know why these groups are creating this security chaos in Libya," Mohamed adds. The government is trying to bring the militias under control, authorities insist. Libyan Amy Chief of Staff Youssef al-Mangoush said this week that 15,000 revolutionaries had joined the Libyan army. "We disbanded the brigades and they ended their service," he said. "We also started the integration of revolutionaries in state institutions." Libya's nascent army has also been aided by unmanned drones from partner nations. According to military advisor Dhaoui Bouras, "These planes can make good contributions to the counter-terrorism effort based on intelligence and aerial reconnaissance by Libyans in the Libyan army." "They are excellent for protecting security and providing information on suspicious movements," he says. |
| Posted by:Fred |