Libya

34 Dead, 300 Wounded in Tripoli attack by militia on peaceful Protesters

Posted on 11/16/2013 by Juan Cole

Tripoli, the capital of Libya, turned bloody on Friday when peaceful civilians came out to protest the hold of the country by militias, and militias viciously attacked them.

Things went well enough at Liberation Square (formerly Green Square), but then the protesters marched on other districts of the capital. At Gharghur in Northern Tripoli, they were attacked by militiamen, some of whom used heavy weaponry against the peaceful, unarmed protesters. Thirty-four were killed and hundreds wounded.

Prime Minister Aii Zeidan first came out and announced there had been clashes between two armed groups. Then he retracted and recognized the reality, that innocent civilians had been slaughtered.

Zeidan and the Libyan government in general have been too slow to build up a new army for the country and to move away from militia rule. The degree to which the West has for the most part abandoned Zeidan is also evident.