The Libyan Civil War has calmed down considerably since the death of Moammar Gadhafi and the conquest of Sirte. But new fighting erupted today in a hospital in Tripoli, where hundreds of fighters from different rebel factions engaged in a massive gunbattle which locals say was related to long-standing rivalries.
“Its all about personal acts of revenge. If there is no stability and security, people will turn against the council,” warned one former Libyan soldier. The fighters in this clash were said to have included a militia from Zintan which arrived at the hospital in hopes of executing one of the patients. They fought Tripoli forces after getting into a fight with doctors.
Revenge violence has become a part of the everyday reality of Libya since the National Transitional Council’s (NTC’s) capture of Tripoli, and while the NTC insists it doesn’t approve of such attacks they also appear unable to prevent them.
Questions about the US-backed NTC only appear to be growing, with an al-Qaeda flag reportedly flying in the center of Benghazi, the NTC’s de facto capital. The White House insisted that nothing that was happening in Libya was a “surprise” to US forces.
Blowback! Oh baby, this is blowback wrought large.
Whatdya know…ghadaffi was right
Al qaeda and America, together again.
Al Qaeda has a flag? Did I miss a meeting? Google Images shows not just a flag but a T shirt too.
ARRRHHH!! PIRATES!!!
I have never read anything which tells me about who the rebels are/were. What is clear is a lot of overly armed guys are in Libya and they will be looking for what every their arms will get them. I am sure NATO hopes that they will take their guns and attack someplace else but most likely there will be a council that gets hung by christmas. The USA citizen who worked for the USA oil patch has zero chance of getting a government going. It does not look like a good Christmas for the nation of LIyba.