LIBYA: Dozens of wounded fighters gather for a third day of protest against Libya's interim leaders, demanding treatment abroad

Record ID: 375464

  • Title: LIBYA: Dozens of wounded fighters gather for a third day of protest against Libya's interim leaders, demanding treatment abroad
  • Date: 20th October 2011
  • Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (OCTOBER 19, 2011) (REUTERS) CROWD OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE AL-JALAA HOSPITAL LIBYA'S FLAG OF THE INDEPENDENCE ERA VARIOUS OF WOUNDED FIGHTER TALKING WITH THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL, ABDEL HAFIZ GHOGA CLOSE OF GHOGA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) WOUNDED FIGHTER, HAMSA SAAD MOHAMED, SAYING: "They are trading with our blood, they have luxurious cars
  • Embargoed: 4th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya, Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2W8TAEQ6V461ADIUUA34BDRW9
  • Story Text: Libya's interim leaders came under increasing scrutiny on Wednesday (October 19) from fighters who accuse them of not doing enough for combat-wounded troops dying of treatable injuries in the field and languishing in crowded hospitals.
    The case of the war wounded -- estimated to number in the tens of thousands -- adds to a growing list of challenges for Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) as they try to restore order following the revolt that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
    Outside al-Jalaa Hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi, dozens of men gathered at the third day of a protest against the NTC's handling of veterans led by 28-year old Hamsa Saad Mohammed, a fighter shot in the thigh who says he needs complicated medical treatment abroad.
    "They are trading with our blood -- they have luxurious cars and houses while we suffer," he said from his wheelchair, draped in Libya's new flag and flanked by a half dozen wounded men and children protesting on hospital beds.
    "We spent six hours without antibiotics upon arriving here. Volunteer students from the medical schools are helping and they're doing an amazing job... but what about the NTC?"
    Other fighters say that while charities have been aiding the wounded and families of those killed, the NTC is seen as not moving fast enough to help its many wounded.
    One wounded veteran who declined to be named said that if frontline troops knew how the wounded were being treated, they would think twice before joining the assault against Gaddafi's last remaining bastion in the city of Sirte.
    Complicating the matter is a growing desire by many for treatment in Europe, which has led to bitterness amid perceptions that the NTC is awash in cash from unfrozen assets in foreign countries, which Libya's leaders deny.
    On Tuesday, NTC Vice Chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga attempted to calm passions at a heated meeting with representatives from field units, saying he was doing his best in a complicated situation while the numbers of wounded swell by the dozens each day.
    "We had entered into agreements with important clinics and hospitals in some developed countries to help the critical cases to avoid worsening. There are some cases in Tunisia which are in need of developed surgeries; therefore, we will send these cases to the European countries such as Italy, France and Germany. Of course, most of the injured people are complaining, but we are doing our best, we receive injuries everyday, for example there are fifty injured fighters are in the way coming from Sirte now, we are receiving dozens of injuries everyday. We are not lagging behind them, the problem is that each injured fighter wants to be treated abroad, but there are priorities," he said after being heckled by wounded veterans and failing to convince Mohammed to call off his protest.
    In a sign of the matter's urgency, the NTC dispatched international medics to Sirte from Benghazi on Wednesday to setup a field hospital - the lack of which has been a complaint among fighters -- while interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil heard grievances at a veterans' association meeting.
    The handling of Libya's war wounded is being seen as a serious test for the NTC.
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