Militia Attacks Libya Protesters, 43 Killed

Libyan PM Says Protesters Also to Blame

Major public protests on the streets of the Libyan capital of Tripoli today ended in disaster when the demonstrators, who were demanding militias leave the city, were attacked by one of the militias, with at least 43 killed.

The militia was one of several set up in the wake of NATO’s war with Libya, and their fighters clashes with locals and police, who attempted to get them away from the protest.

Despite the deaths and the roadblocks set up by the police, the surviving protesters were still in the streets, and marching toward the militia’s headquarters, determined to force its closure.

Libyan PM Ali Zidan insisted that the protesters were as much to blame as the militia was for the violence, and that they should have stayed in the designated protest area instead of marching in the streets. He accused the protesters of being armed as well, though local witnesses have disputed that, saying they were unarmed.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.