Pro-Gaddafi forces capture Bani Walid, 5 NTC troops killed - report

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Pro-Gaddafi forces capture Bani Walid, 5 NTC troops killed - report


Published: 23 January, 2012, 20:23




Fighters loyal to late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have clashed with revolutionary forces in the former-regime stronghold of Bani Walid, taking control of the city in the process.

The head of Libya’s National Transitional Council Mustafa Abdel Jalil today warned of the threat of another civil war.

The clashes came after mass protests in the city of Benghazi over the weekend and the subsequent resignation of NTC deputy chief Abdel Hafiz Ghoga.

At least five NTC troops were killed and 30 others injured in the violence.

Witnesses say the new clashes erupted on Monday after Gaddafi loyalists, angry over the arrest of one of their men, attacked pro-revolution fighters.

The town of Bani Walid was one of the last bastions of pro-Gaddafi force in Libya's eight-month civil war.

Sabah al-Mukhtar, president of the Arab Lawyers Association, believes a new civil war is a real threat.

“Reason number one is that the arms are still in the hands of the various militias in various areas," in addition to competing tribes in those areas, he explained.

“At the same time, the political views of the people are in conflict. You have a situation when people want Islam to be a part of the constitution, while you have others that are liberals who do not.”

“So you have the conflict on policies as well as the availability of arms,” he concluded.

Sabah al-Mukhtar also says there are dramatic divergences in what the NTC says and what it actually does.

“Many of them are actually from the old regime – including the leader who was a Minister of Justice under Gaddafi – and there are many other people like his deputy, like many others, who were men of Gaddafi and at the same time now they say, 'we will not allow those who benefited from Gaddafi`s regime to stand for elections.'"

The lawyer pointed out that the head of NTC himself served as a Minister of Justice under Gaddafi and turned blind eye to many injustices in the country.

Pro-Gaddafi forces capture Bani Walid, 5 NTC troops killed - report — RT

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