Libyan general’s forces make major push to oust Islamist militants from Benghazi

By Erin Cunningham/ The Washington Post

16 October 2014

CAIRO — A rogue Libyan general waging a months-long campaign against Libya’s Islamists launched a full-blown assault on Benghazi this week, touching off clashes with the militants dominating the city. More than a dozen people have been killed in the violence, which started Wednesday, raising fears that the battles will evolve into an all-out civil war.

Khalifa Hifter announced in a televised address Tuesday that he intends to “liberate” Benghazi — the epicenter of the 2011 uprising against strongman Moammar Gaddafi — from the Islamist militias that stalk its streets.

A day later, the 71-year-old Hifter launched his effort. His forces — a mixture of former Gaddafi officers, pro-Hifter militias and army troops — stormed Benghazi to oust the militants. “The fighting was very bad. It was the worst it had been in weeks,” Mohamed al-Okbi, a Benghazi shopkeeper, said in a phone interview on Thursday morning.

Both sides deployed heavy weaponry in the fighting, witnesses said. Some residents took up arms to fight the Islamists, while Hifter’s forces dispatched ground air forces, according to witnesses.

The Associated Press, quoting Egyptian officials, reported Wednesday that Egyptian warplanes had carried out airstrikes against Islamist positions in Benghazi. But both Egypt’s presidential and military spokesmen denied the claim. Benghazi residents and militia fighters reached by phone on Thursday also said they saw only Libyan fighter jets in the skies Wednesday. According to residents, the last airstrikes were carried out in the early hours of Thursday.

Also Thursday, residents said forces loyal to Hifter were in control of the city center, after Islamist fighters initially repelled his troops.

“Hifter’s forces are controlling the city,” Ramez Ramzi, a Benghazi militia member linked to the Islamist-leaning February 17 Brigade, said in a phone interview Thursday. “There was heavy fighting between the two sides, and the streets were closed. Then it stopped. The last airstrikes were at 7 this morning.”

Nine soldiers and four civilians were killed Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting medics. Libya’s Red Crescent Society called for a cease-fire Thursday so that medics could evacuate civilians, Reuters reported.

The fighting in Benghazi comes amid Libya’s general slide into lawlessness in recent months. The collapse of state institutions after the 2011 rebellion left a mosaic of gun-toting militias vying for influence and reluctant to give up their arms. In Benghazi, a particularly chaotic situation took hold. A campaign of mysterious assassinations started, targeting not only former regime figures but also activists working for a more democratic Libya.

Ansar al-Sharia, an al-Qaeda-style militant group, emerged. Sometimes its members provided security in the city. But residents suspected that the group was behind the targeted killings.

Hifter, who was a general in Gaddafi’s army but who fought with the rebels against the strongman, seized on the anti-Islamist sentiment. In May, he announced a military campaign to take on the Islamist militias. He also blamed the Islamist-dominated parliament for allowing the groups to flourish — or, in some cases, funding their activities.

His operation polarized the country and eventually stalled. But when Libyans elected a new parliament in June — in which the majority of the representatives were non-Islamist — militias opposed to the new assembly stormed Tripoli. They fought and eventually seized the airport from pro-Hifter militias.

That violence has fed into the nationwide turmoil, including in Benghazi. In a surprise visit to Tripoli on Oct. 11, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the country “cannot afford to be politically divided for such a long time.”

In his anti-Islamist campaign, Hifter has drawn regional support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Both have cracked down harshly on the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movements in their countries. Egypt shares a 600-mile-long border with Libya. Both governments have pledged to back Libyan security forces in their fight against “terrorism.” And Egypt has publicly offered to train Libyan forces.

“All signs indicate there will be some form of military intervention, but whether it’s direct or indirect is not yet clear,” said Safwat al-Zayyat, a retired brigadier general in the Egyptian army.

“Using a conventional army in such terrain should be considered carefully,” Zayyat said. “The militants and the Libyans could see the Egyptian army as an occupying force — and they would retaliate.”

Heba Habib contributed to this report.

Featured image: arabnews.com

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