LIBYA: At least two people are killed in Benghazi after missiles fired at a Libyan special forces army base miss their target

Record ID: 354953

  • Title: LIBYA: At least two people are killed in Benghazi after missiles fired at a Libyan special forces army base miss their target
  • Date: 24th May 2014
  • Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (MAY 24, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FAMILY HOME DAMAGED BY ATTACK PEOPLE LOOKING THROUGH HOLE IN WALL AT DAMAGED HOUSE MAN BEING HELPED TO CLIMB THROUGH HOLE IN WALL OF DAMAGED HOUSE MAN HOLDING BLIND OPEN TO SEE INSIDE HOUSE MAN SEARCHING UNDER MATTRESSES HOLE IN CEILING MAN HOLDING DEBRIS MAN LOOKING THROUGH DEBRIS MEN GATHERED OUTSIDE BLOCK OF DAMAGED
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAC3EB7D09O6D0W1K1GAOVTOHP1
  • Story Text: At least two people were killed when missiles fired at a Libyan special forces army base missed their target and struck family homes in the eastern city of Benghazi, residents and officials said on Saturday (May 24).
    Residents and army officials said two family members were killed and their children injured when one rocket struck a house and another family was injured in a second strike aimed at a special forces base.
    The attacks on Friday night (May 23) followed a week of on-and-off clashes in Benghazi and Tripoli between irregular forces loyal to a renegade former Libyan general Khalifa Haftar demanding the parliament step down, and rival militias opposing his campaign.
    General Khalifa Haftar said in a briefing to the media that there was no turning back.
    "The good people of Libya, you have commanded and so it was. There is no turning back after the authorisation and we will not shy away from facing the challenges. The soldiers of you national army and the honest revolutionary people will not return to their barracks and homes until terrorism is defeated completely," said Haftar.
    Libya's government has been unable to control brigades of ex-fighters who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed 2011 uprising and have since emerged as heavily armed rivals who often challenge the legitimacy of the state.
    It was not clear who fired the rockets at the special forces base in Benghazi. But the city is home to the Islamist militants who have been targeted by forces loyal to retired General Khalifa Haftar.
    Western governments worry Haftar's call for army units to join his campaign will split the nascent military and trigger wider turmoil in the oil-producing country where brigades of former rebels are the real powerbrokers.
    Many Libyans are frustrated with the government and parliament's failure to contain Islamist fighters and militias and ease the country into democratic transition three years after the war ousted Gad
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register