New Killings Spark Protests In Libya's Benghazi

[Purveyor]

AFP

The killings of two policemen in Libya's second city Benghazi on Wednesday sparked protests by angry residents who blocked roads and burned tyres.

The fatal shootings of the two officers -- one serving, one retired -- came just a day after the UN mission in Libya voiced "deep concern" over the near-daily violence plaguing the North African country, particularly the east.

The serving policeman was killed by two bullets to the head close to his home in the Majuri neighbourhood, medical and security sources said.
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The killings, which followed the fatal shooting of another policeman on Tuesday, prompted dozens of protesters to take to the streets to vent their anger at the lawlessness gripping the city.

Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has seen near-daily attacks on security and other targets in recent months as the weak central government has tried to rein in former rebel brigades turned militias.

more...

http://www.france24.com/en/20140226-new-killings-spark-protests-libyas-benghazi-0/

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Long live the glorious revolution.

[pampango]

2. Juan Cole: Libya needs UN help on the ground but that's not likely.

From my August 31, 2011 post:

“Libya is a patchwork of tribal and regional affiliations, underpinning the social, political and economic foundation of the country. Given the number of casualties on both sides in the past six months, Libya faces a real possibility of descending into chaos, especially now the unifying slogan of bringing down Gaddafi is no longer viable. Libya has to follow the example of other countries and have an amnesty for former officials and supporters of the regime.”

More than two years later, and as the news of the last few months of chaos show categorically, Libya seems to, unfortunately, descend into that very fragmentations I feared then, and is reverting back, in the absence of the brute force of the Gaddafi regime, into a patchwork of tribal and regional affiliations, and even criminal networks of arms, drugs, and human trafficking gangs.

The first mistake, was the reluctance of the international community, and refusal of Libya’s rag tag army of rebels — mainly in the service of their self interest to be the only power on the ground — to plan and implement a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) strategy, that would have allowed the presence of international troops on the ground to maintain law and order after the fall of the Gaddafi regime and actively work on disarming and reintegrating the armed groups that fought against him. This was a direct byproduct of the refusal to admit and recognise that the Libya conflict of 2011 was indeed a civil war between Libyans with differing political agendas. It is now obvious to most however, that without security and law and order, it is practically impossible to reach any sort of consensus or agreement between the various segments of society. The armed groups will always be able to force their will, on those who are unarmed.

Libya today in my opinion is in no position to solve its current crises on its own without outside impartial help. Trust has broken down between regions, groups, political parties, and the government and its citizens, and no leadership seems to emerge that can provide that impartiality and credibility that is now a must. Libya needs international help again on both the security and political front, and this help needs to be international and under the UN, rather than bilateral with different countries separately. Allowing some segments of the population to own and use arms, while others are without weapons, will only produce an unsustainable political reality that will be dominated by the interests of certain groups at the expense of others.

http://www.juancole.com/2013/12/national-reconciliation-resolve.html