'12 die' in fight between rival anti-Kadhafi groups

[Bosonic]

Source: AFP

TRIPOLI — At least 12 people were killed and 16 wounded when two groups of fighters opposed to Moamer Kadhafi turned on each other in Libya's west, two officials said on Sunday.

The fighting, which has its roots in ancient rivalries and pitted combatants from the towns of Gharyan and Kikla on the one side and from Asabah on the other, broke out on Saturday, according to the chief of the Gharyan council and confirmed by the head of the military council of Asabah.

The towns are on the eastern edge of the Nafusa mountains and were important centres of resistance to Kadhafi's forces in months of fighting to oust the strongman.

"Twelve people were killed and 16 others were wounded during the fighting which erupted when a brigade from Gharyan and Kikla came under fire at the town of Asabah," said Gharyan council head Wahid Barshan.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtBLVagtL3gBMAglJJocopxAHhmA?docId=CNG.ee29706d29744c955731a90381f66cc5.451

[harmonicon]

1. There's liberty for ya.

USA! USA! USA!

[Amonester]

2. The Wild Wide West.

They're free to have a shot at it now.

[Amonester]

3. Coming-up next, their 'own' civil war...

Usually, that's what comes next after a tyrant ass-kicking revolution...

They're learning 'faster' though, thanks to the Internets? :sarcasm:

[PurityOfEssence]

4. All deaths from after March 19th are the personal responsibility of the interventionists

We stuck our nose into something that's very complex, and this is now our fault.

Admittedly, there would have been casualties from Qaddafi's forces taking Benghazi, but the rest of this is the fault of the corporatists and dupes.

EVERYTHING that happens there is the fault of the interventionists. If it's a messy affair that contributes to Obama and other Democrats losing the next election, It's the Administration's fault. These are real people who are no longer alive, unlike the mythical, hypothetical dead that would have been the result of Benghazi attacked.

Maybe it will be easy and gentle, but history does not suggest that.

[Ian David]

5. Same sort of thing happened in South Africa and in Ireland. n/t

[harmonicon]

6. How do you logically get there from here? nt.

[Ian David]

10. Groups rebelling against a regime or occupying power often fight amongst themselves. n/t

[harmonicon]

14. I don't see that many parallels though.

You could just say "people fight" and use any historical fight to back that up. I don't really see what Ireland and South Africa have in common either for that matter. Ireland was part of the British Empire and got independence. South Africa had a backwards, racist regime which was dissolved/destroyed from the inside with some help from "terrorists" like Nelson Mandela, but eventually by peaceful means.

I don't know much about the history, but I don't think there was a lot of infighting in the early Irish Republic, and I honestly don't know how much there was in apartheid South Africa, but in neither case did the groups opposing their governments take power in armed revolt.

[Ian David]

15. The point I was making was that rebel groups often fight each other...

... in situations where they SHOULD be JUST fighting a common foe.

When I was in High School, we had speakers who were actually IN Apartheid South Africa, taking part in the fight for freedom, who told us that there WERE armed conflicts between various anti-Apartheid groups.

[PurityOfEssence]

16. Yes, but they weren't caused by our military intervention

It's the interventionists' fault. Every drop of blood, every tear, every individual financial ruin, everything.

Dictatorships tend to be stable.

Mucking about in complex situations gets messy.

R2P: Right To Petroleum

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. I didn't think this would happen ...

until AFTER Qaddafi was captured, tried, and hanged, like Saddam.

I thought "le deluge" would wait.

[Prometheus Bound]

8. Forces stalled near Gadhafi stronghold amid reports of in-fighting

Forces stalled near Gadhafi stronghold amid reports of in-fighting
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 12, 2011 -- Updated 1021 GMT (1821 HKT)

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libya's new leaders are moving to unite fractious, heavily armed bands of fighters under a singular control, even as the forces struggled Monday to take control of Moammar Gadhafi's last bastions of support.

The announcement Sunday by the head of the National Transitional Council followed reports of in-fighting and arguments amongst bands of fighters stalled outside the town of Bani Walid after encountering stiff resistance during an assault.

....Similar incidents have been reported during the months-long war, raising concerns about a lack of discipline and leadership among the ragtag group of fighters and the possible threat that could pose to the country's stability.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/12/libya.war/

[Prometheus Bound]

9. Libyan interim PM warns of in-fighting

Libyan interim PM warns of in-fighting
Published On Thu Sep 08 2011

TRIPOLI—Interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, in Tripoli for the first time since Libyan rebels seized the capital, warned his allies that “the tyrant” Moammar Gadhafi was not yet finished and warned against factional in-fighting which some see as a growing threat.

.....Jibril assured people in Tripoli that the NTC would have completed its move there from Benghazi by the end of next week — though previous forecasts have been followed by delays.

Some of that hesitation seems to stem from long-standing regional rivalries and from a sense that Tripoli may not be a safe place for every Libyan official, as potential political rivalries coalesce around the rebel brigades which swept in to the city from different towns and provinces, eager for a share of power that for 42 years was in the hands of one man only.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1051321

[Prometheus Bound]

11. Tension rises between rebel and civilian leaders in Libya

Tension rises between rebel and civilian leaders in Libya
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

September 12, 2011
Reporting from Tripoli, Libya—

A plan approved Sunday by Libya's transitional leadership team to bring rebel fighters under civilian authority has stoked tension between the new civilian leadership and the rebel commander whose troops patrol the city.

The dispute involves two of post-revolutionary Libya's best-known figures — Mahmoud Jibril, who serves as a kind of interim prime minister, and Abdel-Hakim Belhaj, Tripoli's top rebel military leader. Their differing backgrounds give some hint of the diversity of leadership in the new Libya.

.....But it is widely known that Belhaj is upset at council plans to put military units under its umbrella.

"This proposal will divide everyone," said one pro-Belhaj military official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

On Sunday, Belhaj, who theoretically has thousands of troops under his command, did not appear at the news conference announcing the plan.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-fighting-20110912,0,2472090.story

[Prometheus Bound]

12. Libya rebel leader arrives in Tripoli, rebel infighting increases

Libya rebel leader arrives in Tripoli, rebel infighting increases
Sep 11, 2011 - 21 hours ago

Tripoli - Infighting amidst rebel factions in Libya is on the increase. Experts say the arrival of the head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, in Tripoli, may help ease tensions but some refuse to welcome any from the former Gaddafi regime.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, interim head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, finally arrived in Tripoli yesterday for the first time since Gaddafi was ousted. His stay is only planned as temporary and he is expected to return to Benghazi until Libya is fully liberated. His arrival was delayed due to security concerns which could well prove warranted as infighting amongst the various rebel factions is evident already.

....Rebels who fought against Gaddafi have resorted to infighting and not all welcome Jalil’s leadership. Tensions are escalating between the different factions in Benghazi, Tripoli and Mistrata. Power relations are in a constant state of flux amongst rivals and resentment is mounting against the current leadership of the NTC in Mistrata.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/311389#ixzz1XjgwO28s

[Prometheus Bound]

13. Tribal friction cripples advance on Gaddafi bastion

Tribal friction cripples advance on Gaddafi bastion
Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:52am GMT

By Maria Golovnina

NORTH OF BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 12 (Reuters) - - Secret informants and tribal frictions have stalled efforts by Libyan interim government troops to establish control over one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining bastions of resistance.

At Bani Walid, a besieged city still loyal to the deposed leader, anti-Gaddafi fighters said traitors among their ranks were passing information to Gaddafi loyalists inside the city, making progress difficult on one of the last frontlines of Libya's 7-month-long war.

The interim government has sent additional brigades to Bani Walid -- home to Libya's biggest tribe, the Warfalla -- to help take the stubborn city. But some fighters on the ground said the move had only added tension to existing tribal sensitivities.

"Locals don't listen to NTC (interim government) commanders," said one fighter, Esam Herebish. "They do what they like. They want to be seen as the city's liberators."

Others openly accused some local Warfalla fighters of betrayal following days of fierce fighting.

"We believe there are traitors among them," said Muhamed el Gahdi, a fighter from the coastal city of Khoms.

...Others suggested tensions existed even among committed Warfalla fighters because of their close tribal links to the people inside the city.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7KC0QV20110912?sp=true

[Prometheus Bound]

17. Interim Libyan leader pleads for unity as tensions rise between factions

Interim Libyan leader pleads for unity as tensions rise between factions
Mustafa Abdul Jalil battles to quell row between Islamists and secularists amid fears internal split could derail rebuilding effort
Tuesday 13 September 2011

Libya's interim leader is facing a battle between conservative Islamic groups and secular figures as he struggles to unite multiple competing factions.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC), sought to quell anxiety over festering internal divisions in his first speech in Tripoli on Monday night.

He told a crowd of about 10,000 people that sharia law should be the main source of legislation in Libya, but added: "We will not accept any extremist ideology We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and will stay on this road."

.....Prominent Islamist figures include Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a militant organisation that long opposed Gaddafi. He is now the commander of the Tripoli military council, which has called for the resignation of Mahmoud Jibril, the US-educated acting prime minister.

Regional differences have also come to the fore, with rivalry between Tripoli and Benghazi and complaints from cities such as Misrata that their sacrifice is not being fully acknowledged.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/13/interim-libyan-leader-calls-unity