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Rival Militias Battle In Benghazi In Latest Sign Of Chaos In Libya

Rival Militias Battle In Benghazi In Latest Sign Of Chaos In Libya

By Mohamed Juma and Laura King, Los Angeles Times

BENGHAZI, Libya — Rival armed groups battled Friday with warplanes and anti-aircraft guns in the eastern city of Benghazi in the latest outbreak of militia-linked chaos in energy-rich Libya.

Fighters from a faction led by a retired general used aircraft bearing military insignia to bomb a barracks on the outskirts of the city occupied by an Islamist group, witnesses said. The defenders responded with antiaircraft fire.

Prime Minister Abdullah Thani went on nationwide television and declared that security forces would restore order. But the North African nation’s military is outgunned by rogue armed groups.

More than 2 1/2 years after the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Libya is awash with weaponry, much of which has fallen into the hands of independent militias. Many of the groups are associated with particular tribes or parts of the country.

The weak central government has been unable to rein them in, although it has partly co-opted some armed factions by putting them on the government payroll. Libya’s once-lucrative oil and gas industry has been ravaged by the slide into lawlessness, with militias seizing control of oil fields, ports and other installations.

Friday’s fighting raged in several parts of Benghazi and nearby areas, according to residents. Benghazi, the country’s second-largest city, was the cradle of the anti-Gadhafi uprising. It was the site of an attack on U.S. facilities in September 2012 that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

The barracks bombardment was carried out by a group led by Khalifa Haftar, a former general who was a rebel commander in the uprising against Gadhafi. Local news reports said his group — which calls itself the National Army and whose ranks include a number of deserters from the regular armed forces — claimed through a spokesman that it was moving against “terrorists” operating in Benghazi.

The city has been racked in recent months by violence, including assassinations, abductions and unrelenting attacks against security forces. Two soldiers were killed Thursday.

The United States and other Western governments are moving to help the Libyan government train a professional military but there has been little headway, and the armed forces have been ineffectual in dealing with crises.

In March, Libya’s navy was unable to prevent an illicit oil tanker from embarking from an eastern port with a cargo of crude oil that rebels had seized to sell on the black market. U.S. Navy SEALS intercepted the vessel and returned it to the Libyan government.

AFP Photo/Abdullah Doma

Algerians Vote; Ailing President Likely To Be Re-Elected

Algerians Vote; Ailing President Likely To Be Re-Elected

By Laura King, Los Angeles Times

CAIRO — With a notable lack of enthusiasm, Algerians went to the polls Thursday in a presidential vote that the 77-year-old incumbent, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was considered likely to win despite his obviously failing health.

The tumult of the Arab Spring uprising three years ago largely bypassed this oil-rich North African nation, still exhausted by its sapping civil war in the 1990s, which Bouteflika helped bring to an end.

Discontent over high unemployment, a housing crunch and political stagnation is expressing itself mainly in the form of voter boycotts. Young voters dominate the electorate, but they were little seen at the polls as the balloting began amid tight security.

With Bouteflika’s near-incapacitation, a fourth-term victory for him would maintain a status quo under which proxies and proteges already manage the business of governance. But pre-election demonstrations against his continued rule could be a sign of turmoil to come, particularly if Algeria’s foreign reserves begin to dwindle, oil prices take a predicted drop and badly needed economic reforms are not enacted.

The president, who suffered a stroke last year, did virtually no campaigning, has made almost no public appearances for a year, and appeared dazed and unresponsive during a visit earlier this month by Secretary of State John F. Kerry. In the run-up to the election, he spent months away from the capital having medical treatment abroad.

Five rivals are challenging Bouteflika, and have pledged to raise an outcry if the vote appears fraudulent — a serious concern in every election since Bouteflika came to power in 1999. A low turnout could also make it hard for the Bouteflika camp to claim a popular mandate, even if he is the victor.

Photo: zinou ZEBAR via Flickr