Libyan army takes control of Tripoli district


18-11-2013 01:28 PM

Ammon News - Agencies - The Libyan army has regained control of a district of the capital Tripoli from militiamen, as Misrata calls its fighters to pull-out of the capital.

Meanwhile, protestors occupied the parliament and announced they will stage an open-ended sit-in until armed militias pull out.

The local council in the Libyan city of Misrata announced late Sunday that it would pull all its armed militias out of Libyan capital Tripoli within 72 hours.

The militiamen engaged in clashes with anti-militia protesters who staged a protest near their camp in the Libyan capital on Friday, resulting in the death of 48 people, including 32 civilians, in the Gharghour district. 391 people also were injured.

At least one person was killed and four others wounded on Saturday in renewed clashes between militias and the residents of the eastern Tripoli neighborhood of Tajoura.

The Misrata local council revealed in its statement that it had asked its members in the National Congress to freeze their membership. It said the National Congress (the interim parliament) would be responsible for protecting the residents of Tripoli, particularly those who come from Misrata.

"The people of Misrata will never abdicate the objectives of the Libyan revolution," the council wrote in its statement.

The brief ministry statement did not elaborate on the fate of the militias but eyewitnesses said that they had seen the militiamen leaving the area earlier in the day.
The Libyan Defense Ministry confirmed late on Sunday that the Libyan army has taken control of Tripoli's Gharghour neighborhood from militias that were based there.
Armed militias, most of them come from Misrata in eastern Libya, used to control the luxury Gharghour neighborhood since they had arrived in the area during the 2011 uprising, which ended the autocracy of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The upscale neighborhood used to be inhabited by the top officials of the Gaddafi regime.
STATE OF EMERGENCY

A state of cautious calm prevailed in the Libyan capital on Sunday as a state of emergency and general strike went into effect following deadly clashes between locals and militiamen.
All government offices, schools and universities were shut down on the first day of a three-day general strike declared by local authorities to mourn the victims of clashes that erupted over the weekend in the capital.

Only police stations, hospitals, gas stations and bakeries opened their doors.

LIBYANS OCCUPY PARLIAMENT HEADQUARTERS

Scores of Libyans stormed the parliament headquarters in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday in protest of the deadly clashes that hit the capital between militiamen and protesters over the weekend, eyewitnesses said.

The protestors announced they would stage an open-ended sit-in at the parliament headquarters until armed militias pulled out of the capital, according to the eyewitnesses.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has urged the locals to exercise self-restraint.
"I urge that no forces enter Tripoli," he said. "It would have catastrophic consequences."
Despite the National Congress deciding to expel post-Gaddafi militias from Tripoli last summer, but this decision has never been put into effect.




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