Sasha
22nd September 2012, 10:32
wonder how the masters of cognitive dissonance anti-imps will spin this one in relation to the b.s. they dribbled all over this thread: http://www.revleft.com/vb/salafists-attack-u-t174972/index.html
Libyans storm militia bases in Benghazi
At least one person has died and 20 others injured after demonstrators in Benghazi attempted to stom the headquarters of militias based in the eastern Libyan city.
Protesters seized the headquarters of the Ansar al-Sharia militia and evicted its fighters from its bases on Friday night.
The confrontation appeared to be part of a co-ordinated sweep of militia headquarters buildings by police, government troops and activists following a mass public demonstration against armed groups earlier in the day.
Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last week in which J Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans died amid demonstrations over a YouTube video deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad.
The group denies any involvement in the killing of Stevens.
Chanting "Libya, Libya," hundreds of demonstrators entered the compound, pulling down militia flags and torching a vehicle inside the headquarters, Ansar al-Sharia's main base in Benghazi - once an internal security base under former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
People in the crowd waved swords and even a meat cleaver, shouting "No more al-Qaeda!" and "The blood we shed for freedom shall not go in vain!"
They tore down the banner of group while chanting “no no to the brigades”.
Second brigade targeted
After storming the Ansar al-Sharia compound, protesters made their way to the headquarters of Rafallah Sehati, an official brigade of the Libyan defence ministry.
The confrontation left one person dead and 20 others wounded.
It was not immediately clear who had started the shooting.
Ismail Salabi, leader of the Rafallah Sehati brigade, which is credited with securing the nation for parliamentary elections, told Al Jazeera's correspondent in Benghazi, Hoda Abdel-Hamid, that his vehicle was shot at about 4km from the base.
Salabi described the attack as an "assassination attempt".
The Libyan military chief of staff and defence minister both alluded to "Gaddafi loyalists" as being responsible for the raid.
The wounded, however, dismissed such allegations, saying instead that the government and its brigades responded in a violent manner reminiscent of the days of Gaddafi.
'Like the Bastille'
In addition to the attack on the US consulate, Ansar al-Sharia is also believed to be behind several attacks in recent months.
"After what happened at the American consulate, the people of Benghazi had enough of the extremists," Hassan Ahmed, a demonstrator, said.
"They did not give allegiance to the army. So the people broke in and they fled.
"This place is like the Bastille. This is where Gaddafi controlled Libya from, and then Ansar al-Sharia took it over. This is a turning point for the people of Benghazi."
Adusalam al-Tarhouni, a government worker who arrived with the first wave of protesters, said several pickup vehicles with Ansar al-Sharia fighters had initially confronted the protesters and opened fire.
Two protesters were shot in the leg, he said.
"After that [the fighters] got into their trucks and drove away," he said. "When we got in, we found four prisoners in the compound and set them free."
Our correspondent said: "We went there to hear their slogans and basically what they are saying is that they reject insults to the prophet but they also refuse terrorism in their city.
"They have also called for the disbanding of the militias, chanting: 'What are you waiting for?' They're asking the government how long it will take before they do that."
Groups like Ansar al-Sharia, which are said to have played a role in helping to topple the Gaddafi regime, have been accused of kidnappings and killings.
Protests against video
Friday night's raids followed protests earlier in the day when around 30,000 protesters from the Save Benghazi group marched through the city's al-Kish Square, which was a key battleground in the uprising that overthrew Gaddafi.
At the same time, about 3,000 supporters of Ansar al-Sharia group gathered in the same area.
Waving black Islamic flags, they chanted against the anti-Islam video as also cartoons of Prophet Muhammad published by a French satirical weekly.
"Our demonstration is in support of the messenger of God, and to condemn the abuse of Islam and Muslims carried out by any given country, chief among them France and the US," an Ansar al-Sharia member told the AFP news agency.
"It wasn't enough for them to produce a film denigrating the prophet in America, off goes France insisting on publishing cartoons in its newspaper that are offensive to our prophet. We will never tolerate that."
source with video; http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/201292205259561409.html
Libyans storm militia bases in Benghazi
At least one person has died and 20 others injured after demonstrators in Benghazi attempted to stom the headquarters of militias based in the eastern Libyan city.
Protesters seized the headquarters of the Ansar al-Sharia militia and evicted its fighters from its bases on Friday night.
The confrontation appeared to be part of a co-ordinated sweep of militia headquarters buildings by police, government troops and activists following a mass public demonstration against armed groups earlier in the day.
Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last week in which J Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans died amid demonstrations over a YouTube video deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad.
The group denies any involvement in the killing of Stevens.
Chanting "Libya, Libya," hundreds of demonstrators entered the compound, pulling down militia flags and torching a vehicle inside the headquarters, Ansar al-Sharia's main base in Benghazi - once an internal security base under former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
People in the crowd waved swords and even a meat cleaver, shouting "No more al-Qaeda!" and "The blood we shed for freedom shall not go in vain!"
They tore down the banner of group while chanting “no no to the brigades”.
Second brigade targeted
After storming the Ansar al-Sharia compound, protesters made their way to the headquarters of Rafallah Sehati, an official brigade of the Libyan defence ministry.
The confrontation left one person dead and 20 others wounded.
It was not immediately clear who had started the shooting.
Ismail Salabi, leader of the Rafallah Sehati brigade, which is credited with securing the nation for parliamentary elections, told Al Jazeera's correspondent in Benghazi, Hoda Abdel-Hamid, that his vehicle was shot at about 4km from the base.
Salabi described the attack as an "assassination attempt".
The Libyan military chief of staff and defence minister both alluded to "Gaddafi loyalists" as being responsible for the raid.
The wounded, however, dismissed such allegations, saying instead that the government and its brigades responded in a violent manner reminiscent of the days of Gaddafi.
'Like the Bastille'
In addition to the attack on the US consulate, Ansar al-Sharia is also believed to be behind several attacks in recent months.
"After what happened at the American consulate, the people of Benghazi had enough of the extremists," Hassan Ahmed, a demonstrator, said.
"They did not give allegiance to the army. So the people broke in and they fled.
"This place is like the Bastille. This is where Gaddafi controlled Libya from, and then Ansar al-Sharia took it over. This is a turning point for the people of Benghazi."
Adusalam al-Tarhouni, a government worker who arrived with the first wave of protesters, said several pickup vehicles with Ansar al-Sharia fighters had initially confronted the protesters and opened fire.
Two protesters were shot in the leg, he said.
"After that [the fighters] got into their trucks and drove away," he said. "When we got in, we found four prisoners in the compound and set them free."
Our correspondent said: "We went there to hear their slogans and basically what they are saying is that they reject insults to the prophet but they also refuse terrorism in their city.
"They have also called for the disbanding of the militias, chanting: 'What are you waiting for?' They're asking the government how long it will take before they do that."
Groups like Ansar al-Sharia, which are said to have played a role in helping to topple the Gaddafi regime, have been accused of kidnappings and killings.
Protests against video
Friday night's raids followed protests earlier in the day when around 30,000 protesters from the Save Benghazi group marched through the city's al-Kish Square, which was a key battleground in the uprising that overthrew Gaddafi.
At the same time, about 3,000 supporters of Ansar al-Sharia group gathered in the same area.
Waving black Islamic flags, they chanted against the anti-Islam video as also cartoons of Prophet Muhammad published by a French satirical weekly.
"Our demonstration is in support of the messenger of God, and to condemn the abuse of Islam and Muslims carried out by any given country, chief among them France and the US," an Ansar al-Sharia member told the AFP news agency.
"It wasn't enough for them to produce a film denigrating the prophet in America, off goes France insisting on publishing cartoons in its newspaper that are offensive to our prophet. We will never tolerate that."
source with video; http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/201292205259561409.html