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| Africa North |
| Zintan breaks ranks |
| 2015-10-11 |
| [Libya Herald] The Zintan Military Council has apparently rejected the House of Representatives' extension of its term beyond 20 October and said that it is "disappointed" with the outcome of the "long-awaited" National. Accord. In a social media statement, which if indeed genuine, will give widespread pause for thought, it said: "We the Libyans take the responsibility of failure and its long-lasting consequences. We should stop blaming other people and instead, get back to negotiations among ourselves, without the participation of those with finished legitimacy". It continued, "The GNC finished its legality on 2 February 2014 and the HOR will run out of its legitimacy on 20 October this year". The military council said that the appearance of a third deputy prime minister from the south, to complement his colleagues from the east and the west of the country, appeared to advocate "the separation of Libya into three regions and the return to the obsolete time from the early 1960s". According to the posted statement, the Zantanis said " We are also perplexed to see the names of those warmongers and those who destroyed the country in leadership positions of this proposed government under UN supervision". The statement went on to say: " We don't say that the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... has failed, as they are coming from different cultures and it is difficult for them to understand us". Speaking of the agreement, the release continued, "Those who reject this invitation, [to join to Accord] including those who extended their terms [meaning both the GNC and HoR], and ones who are not convinced with any reason, should be excluded from such internal dialogue". The Zintani statement ended by warning that there was a clear constitutional vacuum. It said that most politicians spent their time out of the country and that the only meetings they attended were those that affected their terms of office. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Thanks Pappy, I read Zartan and prepared to put my fighting shoes on in their, no crab boil no peace! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2015-10-11 10:41 |
| #1 Background: The coalition of Zintan militias, under the umbrella organization of the Al-Zintan Revolutionaries’ Military Council, is considered to be the second strongest armed force in the country after the Misrata militia group. The Council was formed in 2011 and has 23 member militia groups which are organized into five brigades. These groups are based in the city of Zintan and the nearby Nafusa Mountains to the south of Tripoli. The most well-known brigade of the Al-Zintan group is the Martyr Muhammad al-Madani Brigade, which has about 4,000 fighters. The Al-Zintan militias formed one of the three major fronts during the 2011 uprising and were part of the surge into Tripoli at the end of the uprising. Following this, they held and managed the Tripoli international airport up until April 2012. Their current leader is Mukhtar Khalifah Shahub who previously served as a Libyan navy officer. The Al-Zintan group opposes both Congress and Islamists, giving them cause to align with Haftar’s Libyan National Army. Two Zintan militias attacked the national congress building in Tripoli two days after the Libyan National Army attacked Benghazi this May. They are now positioned across southwest Tripoli. The Zintan militias have clashed with other city militias somewhat frequently and possess a good deal of artillery as well as armored cars. They wear army-style uniforms similar to those worn by regular forces and have a strong and efficient chain of command. Other assets include various forms of media, such as a satellite channel called Libya al-Watan, multiple websites, and pages on Facebook. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-10-11 07:07 |