At least six Libyans were gunned down in Benghazi on Friday (September 26th), just one week after a bloody string of assassinations, Libya Herald reported.
Sixteen citizens were slain on September 18th alone. Fifteen more were killed in the next two days.
The many recent victims of targeted slayings included 20-year-old youth activist and blogger Tawfiq bin Saud. He was killed, along with “his colleague Sami El-Kawafi, in the area of Kish in Benghazi, by criminals, murderers, Kharijites, oppressors”, Dr Saleh Mashri told Magharebia.
“Tawfiq was killed while heralding the right word, the word he was raised with,” Mashri added.
The bloodshed came as Ansar al-Sharia stepped up clashes with Libyan troops in control of Benina airport. In turn, Libyan warplanes bombed positions of the Islamist militia on the outskirts of Benghazi.
The district of Msaken suffered indiscriminate shelling. One rocket landed on a car and killed the female driver.
As for Tripoli, it has been dominated by militias from Misrata. After seizing control of large swaths of the capital, they then turned to Warshefana, which they bombarded with Grad rockets and howitzers.
Ahmed Amin, a 36-year-old lawyer, noted: “In the past few days, the air force increased its strikes on the nests of extremists where they have ammunition and weapons stored.”
“Even their convoys from across the desert have been destroyed, and ships loaded with weapons and extremist mercenaries were bombed in the sea,” he added. “This raised the wrath of the extremists, who hence resorted to assassinations and killings.”
For his part, Colonel Hussein al-Akori said: “Ansar al-Sharia earlier announced allegiance to al-Qaeda, and the so-called Shura Council of the Rebels of Benghazi is but a coalition between Ansar al-Sharia and the militias of Wisam bin Humaid, led by the pseudo Muslim Brotherhood. The latter is behind the destruction of Libya.”
“These two groups are the ones labelled by the House of Representatives of Libya, along with the forces of Libya Dawn, as terrorist groups,” the colonel explained.
He added, “The pace of assassinations in Benghazi increased, after a pause as a result of fighting between the Libyan National Army and the Shura Council of the Rebels of Benghazi.”
Libyan civilians, meanwhile, are left to pick up the pieces as the country prepares for Eid al-Adha.
“We are tired of fear and waiting for rockets to fall on us,” commented Fatima Boezkih, a 36-year-old elementary school teacher and mother of four.
“My biggest fear and concern is for my young kids,” she said. “There is no school and no safety or any of the basic ingredients for life.”
Article by Aya Elbraqwi, Maghrebia.
This article was originally published here.
