car bombs come to Libya

[anatta]

....................The first bomb blew up near the interior ministry's administrative offices in Tripoli but caused no casualties, security sources told Reuters. On arriving at the site of the explosion, police found another car bomb that had not blown up.

Minutes later, two car bombs exploded near the former headquarters of a women's police academy, which the defense ministry has been using for interrogations and detentions, the sources said, k il ling two people, both civilians, and wounding two.

The buildings targeted by the bombers are in residential areas at the heart of the capital, Tripoli.

Sporadic violence has remained a problem in Libya despite the peaceful transfer of power to the new government after elections in July, the first in decades following the overthrow last year of Moammar Gadhafi after 42 years in power.

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced that it was suspending its activities in Benghazi, Libya's second biggest city, and Misrata after one of its compounds in Misrata was attacked with grenades and rockets.

The fate of seven Iranian relief workers, official guests of the Libyan Red Crescent Association, remains unknown almost three weeks after they were kidnapped by gunmen in the heart of Benghazi
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...r-bombs-rock-tripoli-on-first-day-of-eid?lite

 

[anatta]

Instability reigns in Libya

http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19483

By Bernhard Schell

A new report paints a rather gloomy picture of post-Gaddafi Libya: fighting between tribes, ethnic groups and rival militia has accounted for instability at a local level; and flare-ups continue to occur in the country's hubs of Benghazi and Tripoli. This has made travel more dangerous and the risk of assets being damaged or looted greater.

Reports gathered by the UK-based risk analyst Maplecroft, point to "a noted increase in violent incidents" in recent weeks in both Tripoli and Benghazi. Also, serious clashes have in the meantime broken out in recent months in the west of the country around the Nafusa mountain areas and in the south-eastern Kufra basin.

The proliferation of heavy and light weapons continues to undermine stability and the prevalence of unexploded ordinance (UXO) poses a risk to business operations when travelling in the country.

A report published in August 2012 by Harvard University’s International Human Rights Clinic, described the country as being "awash in weapons, ranging from bullets and mortars to torpedoes and surface-to-air missiles". It also describes how much of the ordinance left over from the uprising is "often unsecured and unstable."

Given that there remains insufficient capacity to tackle the problem and government coordination still remains weak, the risk to the security of Libyans is described as "significant". Moreover, oil and gas companies in particular are said to be facing the potential security risk of UXO in and around their operations and may have to embark on costly de-mining programmes,

Moreover, many militias and individual Libyans are unwilling to part with their arms. As such, disputes can rapidly turn violent with the use of heavy weaponry. Such escalation poses a particularly high human security risk in more densely populated urban areas.

For instance, on August 4 a gun battle took place between market vendors in Tripoli who were vying for selling space. A car bomb was also widely reported to have exploded in the same area, although local reports claim that the car exploded after being hit by TNT (of a type frequently used in fishing) which was hurled by individuals involved in the dispute and was therefore not a separate incident. One Tunisian national is reported to have been severely wounded.

According to the report, concern persists that Libya's still embryonic security forces are ill equipped to tackle the variety of challenges they now face, making the security outlook for the country uncertain in the short to mid-term.
Libya's police do not have the capacity to patrol the streets, and the incidence of petty crime is on the rise. Many also lack professionalism and awareness and the case in early July 2012 of 140 Libyan police trainees rioting in Jordan and setting fire to an aircraft hangar over their flight being delayed may be indicative of this. Efforts, such as the recent agreement with Turkey to provide training to security forces to address these shortcomings are notable steps forward though.

 

[blackascoal]

Libya is in total and complete chaos .. thanks to the United States and NATO.

It was a country that threatened nobody .. but is now a country in the hands of Al Queda and the same element that killed American soldiers in Iraq .. thanks to the US and NATO.

 

[anatta]

Libya is in total and complete chaos .. thanks to the United States and NATO.

It was a country that threatened nobody .. but is now a country in the hands of Al Queda and the same element that killed American soldiers in Iraq .. thanks to the US and NATO.

what everyone seems to forget is Gaddafi was invited to the G-8 shook Obama's hand there ( never shake hands with the devil), made reperations for Lockerbie / let us use CIA to spy on the Horn ( AQ stronghold), was "in good standing" with the world" and the NTC had NO popular support.

Gaddafi used heavy weapons on pick up trucks -that was his "crime" - i suppose he should have had a truck monster match instead

His gov''t was theatned by the Thugs from Bengazi -the very same wolves whome literally tore him apart after the US hit his convoy.

What is "the tell" is the NTC never picked up any popular support,even as they gained grown -it was an "astroturf revolt" -completely unable to to advance, or garner popular support where ground gains were already made, thanks to the bombings/Tomahawks/ etc from "Nato" -
(in reality it was just GB/France/ and the US that deployed for the months, the other countries quickly dropped out.)

So you take a country where women had roles such as judges /the oil revenues we're in the name of the "people of Libya", and turn it into another American foreign cival war FUBAR.

Classic. not a freaking word from the Dem's -muchlike the stunning silence inAfpak. "we got Gaddafi" is the zombie mantra.

 

[Billy the Great Khan]

Libya is in total and complete chaos .. thanks to the United States and NATO.

It was a country that threatened nobody .. but is now a country in the hands of Al Queda and the same element that killed American soldiers in Iraq .. thanks to the US and NATO.

It has NOTHING to do with either entity. The rebellion was assured victory from the start. NATO simply hastened it.

 

[anatta]

It has NOTHING to do with either entity. The rebellion was assured victory from the start. NATO simply hastened it.

I call BS. The NTC had no popular support, they couldn't even pick it up WITH NATO bombinging their "advances" every meter of the way.

They were limited to East Afr., and Bengazi, they would still be there without NATO. Show me how they would have defeated Gaddafi's forces without US/Nato.

 

[Billy the Great Khan]

I call BS. The NTC had no popular support, they couldn't even pick it up WITH NATO bombinging their "advances" every meter of the way.

They were limited to East Afr., and Bengazi, they would still be there without NATO. Show me how they would have defeated Gaddafi's forces without US/Nato.

I disagree completely. I'll have to to go back and find supporting sources, it was some time ago.