Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash
By Mahmoud Habboush | Reuters – 7 hrs ago
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya on Tuesday named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from the anti-Gaddafi bastion of Misrata, as head of the armed forces in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military.
The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gun battle between rival militias in Tripoli, underlining the interim government's difficulties in controlling the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
More than two months after he was captured and killed, real power remains in the hands of the militias, who have carved up Libya and its capital into competing fiefdoms, each holding out for the share of power they say they are owed.
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Manqoush's appointment by National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil could pave the way toward forming a structured military. But it is not clear yet whether militia commanders will accept him.
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