Libyan Militant groups unapologetic about Benghazi attack

Militant group Ansar Al-Sharia claim they had no part in killing U.S. embassy staff in Benghazi but do not understand why tears are shed about the death of a diplomat. The real crime to them is the insult to Muslims in the film "Innocence of Muslims".

Powerful militias of various stripes simply refuse to lay down their weapons and cede power to the central government even though the Gaddafi regime is long gone. These groups include Ansar al-Sharia. Some have accused the group of being responsible for the attack on the Bengghazi consulate that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. The group itself admits that members were present at the demonstration but deny any part in the killings. The government claims to have arrested 50 people as part of its investigation into the attack but has not said whether any are from Ansar al-Sharia.

The group's name Ansar al-Sharia means roughly "patrons of Sharia law". They want to impose Sharia law in areas they control and throughout Libya. There is a group with the same name in Yemen which controlled considerable territory a year ago but have now retreated into the mountains. The U.S. considered them an Al Qaeda linked group. However often such associations are a device to ensure that the U.S. will help the Yemen government suppress them. Once a few drone attacks are made on them they are very apt to link up with AQAM (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) anyway. The Ansar al-Sharia in Libya are said not to have any links with the Yemen group but they do have links to Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia.

Sometimes the group is called Ansar al-Sharia in Beghazi (ASB) since they are quite active in the city. The group is led by Muhammad Zahawi. As well as being linked to the Tunisian Ansar al-Sahri the group is also linked to other smaller Salifi-jihadist battalions including one led by a former Guantanamo prisoner. Some analysts blame the attack on another militia theOmar Abdul Rahman brigades

In an interview with the BBC, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia, Sheikh Mohammed Zahawi justified the group's decision not to give up their arms as follows:

"The battle is not yet over. There are many Gaddafi loyalists in the new administration."

He is no doubt referring not to people who stayed with the Gaddafi regime but who defected and joined the rebels and are now part of the government. Zahawi also said the group sympathized with other militant groups including Al Qaeda. This view is not uncommon.

Diaa Rahman from the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said that often Al Qaeda is identified simply as a brand to be adopted because of sympathy with their ideas. This makes it even easier for those in the west to label militant groups as Al-Qaeda or Al-Qaeda affiliated even though Al Qaeda as a central organization probably does not even exist.

Rahman says:“

Al Qaeda as an organization, as a command, it doesn’t exist..There are no orders from Ayman Zawahri coming to jihadists in Libya or Sinai to make something....Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has been in a sense reborn because some of its ideas and the model have inspired new militants.”

The Ansar al-Sharia does not want democracy in Libya but Sharia law:

"We don't believe in the democratic system because even those who live in such systems know it's a fake. We want to tell the world that the democratic project doesn't suit us and doesn't suit Islam."

In Benghazi there is a half-built town on the outskirts meant to house about 200,000 people. It was abandoned by the Chinese as the revolt against Gaddafi gathered steam. The Libyan government wants to entice western capital back into Libya and there are lucrative oil deals waiting to be signed. However, as long as security is weak and the government unstable capital will no doubt flow to more friendly climes.

Libyan Government seize 100 tanks from pro-Gaddafi militia

Libyan government officials claim that over 100 tanks and heavy weapons were seized from a militia group, the Katibat al-Awfiya, said to be loyal to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A spokesperson for the interior ministry's High Security Committee claimed that as well as the tanks, 26 missile launchers were seized from a barracks in a town 60 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Tripoli. Authorities said that the militia posed as revolutionaries. A hundred tanks being left to the control of a militia group of any stripe shows how precarious the security situation is in Libya. The central government still does not control many armed groups. One wonders if the group was really pro-Gaddafi or simply in conflict with the central government.

In the raid on the barracks one person was killed and eight wounded. The leader of the militia was arrested. Thirteen others were arrested but three escaped. The same militia had stormed the Tripoli airport early in June to protest what they called the kidnapping of one of their leaders. Air traffic was blocked for several hours until the group was driven out by central government forces. Just imagine that was in June. The same militia was allowed to continue operating and left to control more than 100 tanks.

Authorities admit that security forces have been infiltrated by supporters of the former regime. The National Assembly met yesterday to discuss security across the country. Recently three people died in conflict between rival tribes in the north of Libya. Car bombs killed two people and wounded four in Tripoli. There were also reports of people wounded in a clash in the town of Ziltan south-east of Tripoli.

There are still militia groups throughout the country who are well-armed and are not willing to give up their weapons. The central government seems to be hesitant to try and disarm these groups by force but until they do the government will be held hostage to their demands. The appended video gives some of the background to recent developments in a discussion of the elections about a month ago.

Libya claims that West not honoring promises...

Some of the promises were kept in that both the US and UK have renewed relations and sanctions have been dropped but no doubt Gaddafi is correct that there has not been help producing nuclear power. I imagine that foreign oil investment and expertise has entered the country more since Libya renounced nuclear weapons development.


'No reward' for non-nuclear Libya

Col Gaddafi says the West has failed to live up to its promises
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said his country has not been given adequate compensation for its decision to renounce nuclear weapons in 2003.
Speaking to the BBC, Colonel Gaddafi said the failure by the West to reward Libya meant Iran and North Korea were reluctant to follow Tripoli's lead.

He insisted there would be no return to the confrontation of the past, however.

Sanctions were lifted after Libya ended its nuclear weapons programme, and the US and UK have resumed diplomatic ties.

Libya was also removed from the US list of state sponsors of terror, a major step towards international rehabilitation.

Investment promise

However, Col Gaddafi says the West has not properly compensated his country because it has failed to transform its nuclear weapons programme into nuclear power.

Libya is disappointed because the promises given by America and Britain were not fulfilled



Gaddafi: Libya 'let down'
Speaking to BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, Col Gaddafi said this meant the West had lost bargaining power with countries like Iran and North Korea.

"This should be a model to be followed, but Libya is disappointed because the promises given by America and Britain were not fulfilled," he said.

"And therefore those countries said 'we are not going to follow Libya's example because Libya abolished its programme without any compensation'."

Mr Gaddafi said that the US and Britain had a duty to help Libya develop civilian nuclear power plants.

"They said if you abolish your war programme we will help you to develop your nuclear abilities into peaceful ones. This has not happened."

Our correspondent says the Libyan leader may have been bargaining for foreign investment, but a return to hostility does not seem to be on the cards.

'International dictatorship'

Col Gaddafi spoke to the BBC as celebrations were taking place to mark the 30th anniversary of his declaration of Libya's unique system of "popular rule".

He also held a rare public debate with Western scholars, in which he criticised the control that nations with military and economic power held over poorer countries.

It was a pragmatic desire to avoid being destroyed by the "international dictatorship" of such powers that had persuaded Libya to improve its relations with the world, he added.

Col Gaddafi's remarks come as six major powers - the US, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany - discuss possible further sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear programme.

US officials have said ambassadors to the UN could begin drafting a new resolution on Iran next week.

Meanwhile, North Korea last month agreed at six-party talks to take the first steps towards nuclear disarmament, in return for economic and fuel aid.

Pressure to find a solution to the nuclear issue increased after Pyongyang conducted its first atomic test in October.