Four Killed Overnight as Rebels Clash in Benghazi

Rebel Council's Troops Attacked Militia for Failing to Disarm

At least four rebel troops were killed today and roughly 20 others wounded when rebel leadership attacked a militia’s camp in the city of Benghazi. The rebels accuse the militia of being a “pro-Gadhafi group.”

The attack is related to an order earlier this month by the National Transitional Council, which demanded all rebel groups not directly under their control to immediately disarm. The effort seems to be to centralize the rebel movement.

The claims that the group was pro-Gadhafi don’t appear to be based on anything except their refusal to submit to NTC rule. The group was operating out of an old license plate factory and refused to surrender.

With the attack coming hot on the heels of the death of Abdel-Fattah Younis, the general commanding the East Libyan military, the concerns will only grow that the NTC, having failed in conquering the pro-Gadhafi West, is leading the east on a path toward another civil war.

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.