Libyan protesters storm government headquarters in Benghazi

Hundreds of angry Libyan protesters stormed into the NTC (National Transitional Council) headquarters in the city of Benghazi this Saturday (Jan 21) The interim leader Mustafa Abdu-Jalil was trapped inside the building.

The crowd broke through the gates throwing hand grenades and rushing through the grounds to the main building where they hammered on doors. The crowd wanted to address government officials.'

However, when Abdu-Jalil did address the crowd in an attempt to calm them down some in the crowd pelted him with bottles. Some in the group also burned his Land Cruiser. Some as well took the opportunity to cart off furniture and computers.

Protests in Benghazi the city where the rebellion began have been on the rise as new election laws are being announced by the NTC but apparently without any substantial input from citizens. A lawyer among the protesters said:"The election laws have not been approved by thousands of Libyans and do not honor those who died for our freedom,""We don't want to replace one tyrant with another."

The country is not yet unified and there are a number of independent militia throughout the country who control their own groups and are often in conflict with the central government. The groups are jockeying for control in their areas and for power in the central government. One protester complained that the NTC officials are ignoring those who were most active in overthrowing Gadaffi. For more see this article and also this Yahoo article.