Libyan rebels under increasing strain after attack on 'renegades' in Benghazi

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Fears of a fracturing of Libya's opposition heightened after units loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council stormed the base of what it said was a renegade unit in the rebel capital, Benghazi.

Four fighters were killed and six wounded in the attack on the al-Nidaa Brigade, blamed for Thursday's assassination of army commander Abdul Fatah Younis.

NTC spokesman Mahmoud Shammam said the attack on the base was ordered two days after the brigade, which officials claim is Islamist, attacked two Benghazi jails, freeing more than 200 inmates.

"Thirty men surrendered and we took their weapons," Shammam said. "We consider them members of the fifth column."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/31/libyan-rebels-benghazi-misrata-nafusa

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Interesting but hardly unusual..

...there are whole swathes of the Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec (the Eastern Townships) settled by Tories we chased out of the soon-to-be-US.

Revolutions are like that -- which is why I find all the calls for one in this country I read here perplexing...

[PurityOfEssence]

2. Hold on a second: I thought members of the Islamist Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade iced him

I was under the impression that the al-Nidaa Brigade was NOT Islamist, but was overrun because they were suspected of being a fifth column for Qaddafi.

Conflation of bad-guys in this situation literally makes NO sense.

For all his many faults, Qaddafi is decidedly anti-islamist, so for a group accused of being secretly loyal to him to also be islamist is ridiculous.

Strange things are afoot in this little charade. Seemingly, the rebels are trying to rein in affiliated units and settle up old scores in the wake of an unexpected shake-up, but who is whom and what is what?

Reading various coverage of all this side-by-side doesn't EVEN pass the sniff test.

Anyone care to sort this out for those of us who are confused?