[Washington Post] Libya's political crisis deepened Monday as militias mobilized for a potential showdown with the rival forces of a former Libyan general who had seized control of the national parliament a day earlier.Hassan Shaaka, the deputy commander of a group of militias in the coastal city of Misrata, told the Libyan television channel al-Nabaa on Monday that his forces had received orders to move on the capital and that they would mobilize Tuesday morning. Other militias lined up to support each of the opposing sides.
The developments raised the possibility of a bloody clash between the rival camps -- and possibly even civil war.
The offensive by Khalifa Haftar, the former general, has sparked the most serious violence nationwide since a bloody uprising ended the rule of dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later...
in 2011.
The confrontation began last week, when forces loyal to Haftar launched strikes against Islamist militias in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing 70 people.
On Sunday, two other militias allied with Haftar attacked the General National Congress in the nation's capital and then declared the institution formally dissolved. Fighting on Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
's outskirts left at least two dead and dozens maimed Sunday night, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.
On Monday, other fighters threw their weight behind Haftar, including those at an air force base in the far-eastern city of Tobruk and members of a Benghazi militia. The capital was jittery Monday, with residents bracing for more violence.