Footage Shows Militia at US Compound in Libya
An Islamist-allied militia group says it has "secured" a U.S. Embassy compound in Libya #39;s capital, more than a month after American personnel evacuated from the country over ongoing fighting....
By: Associated Press
Armed militiamen have seized control of most Libyan government ministries in the capital, Tripoli, the transitional government acknowledged early Monday, in the latest sign of a dramatic deterioration of Libyas trappings of statehood.
Energy-rich Libya has slipped ever deeper into chaos since the toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Kadafi in 2011. The armed groups that were allies in the fight to depose him have turned on one another, fighting for oil wealth and political control.
The government and the elected parliament last month decamped to the eastern city of Tobruk, near the Egyptian border, and Islamist-linked militias from the western city of Misrata hold sway in the capital, having driven out rival armed groups. Libya now has two competing parliaments, with each declaring the other illegitimate.
In the latest chaotic development in Tripoli, gunmen surrounded government offices, threatened ministers with assassination and prevented employees from entering their workplaces, the transitional administration said in its statement, adding that most of the ministries and institutions and commissions in Tripoli were now outside its control.
It called on the armed groups to leave voluntarily -- something that appears highly unlikely to happen. May Allah preserve Libya, the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, the Tobruk-based House of Representatives on Monday reappointed Abdullah Thinni as prime minister and asked him to form a new government. Thinni was originally named prime minister in March, but that was challenged by the Islamist-dominated General National Congress, the rival parliament that has refused to disband.
The American Embassy in Tripoli was evacuated more than a month ago due to heavy fighting in the capital, and on Sunday, online images surfaced of militiamen frolicking in a swimming pool in a residential annex of the embassy. The State Department said the embassy compound itself did not appear to have been breached, and an Islamist-affiliated militia declared that it was guarding the embassy premises.
Special correspondent Nabih Bulos contributed to this report from Irbil, Iraq.
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Gunmen seize government ministries as Libya spirals further into chaos
Damage is seen in the front yard of a building at the U.S. Embassy compound in Tripoli, Libya, after weeks of violence between rival militias. (The Associated Press)
TRIPOLI, Libya An Islamist-allied militia group in control of Libya's capital now guards the U.S. Embassy and its residential compound, a commander said Sunday, as onlookers toured the abandoned homes of diplomats who fled the country more than a month ago.
An Associated Press journalist saw holes left by small-arms and rocket fire dotting the residential compound, reminders of weeks of violence between rival militias over the control of Tripoli that sparked the evacuation.
The breach of a deserted U.S. diplomatic post including video of men earlier swimming in the compound's algae-filled pools likely will reinvigorate debate in the U.S. over its role in Libya, more than three years after supporting rebels who toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It also comes just before the two-year anniversary of the slaying of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya.
A commander for the Dawn of Libya group, Moussa Abu-Zaqia, said his forces had been guarding the residential compound since last week, a day after it had seized control of the capital and its international airport after weeks of fighting with a rival militia. Abu-Zaqia said the rival militia from Zintan was in the compound before his troops took it over.
Some windows at the compound had been broken, but it appeared most of the equipment there remained untouched. The AP journalist saw treadmills, weight benches and protein bars in the compound's abandoned gym. Forks, knives and napkins set for a banquet sat on one table, while a cantina still had cornflakes, vinegar, salt and pepper sitting out.
Some papers lay strewn on the floor, but it didn't appear that the villas in the compound had been ransacked.
Abu-Zaqia said his militia had asked cleaners to come to spruce up the grounds.
He added that the U.S. Embassy staff "are most welcome in God's blessing, and any area that is controlled by Dawn of Libya is totally secure and there are no troubles at all."
The Dawn of Libya militia is not associated with the extremist militia Ansar al-Shariah, which Washington blames for the deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, that killed Stevens and the three other Americans.
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Islamist militia now guards U.S. Embassy in Libya
In this photo taken during a tour offered to onlookers and journalists by the Dawn of Libya militia on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, damage is seen in the front yard of a building at the U.S. Embassy compound in Tripoli, Libya. AP
TRIPOLI, Libya - An Islamist-allied militia group in control of Libya's capital now guards the U.S. Embassy and its residential compound, a commander said Sunday, as onlookers toured the abandoned homes of diplomats who fled the country more than a month ago.
An Associated Press journalist saw holes left by small-arms and rocket fire dotting the residential compound, reminders of weeks of violence between rival militias over control of Tripoli that sparked the evacuation.
The breach of a deserted U.S. diplomatic post - including images of men earlier swimming in the compound's algae-filled pools - likely will reinvigorate debate in the U.S. over its role in Libya, more than three years after supporting rebels who toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It also comes just before the two-year anniversary of the slaying of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya.
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Secretary of State John Kerry, meeting with foreign ministers in Paris, discusses the deteriorating security situation in Libya and why it led to...
A commander for the Dawn of Libya group, Moussa Abu-Zaqia, told the AP that his forces had been guarding the residential compound since last week, a day after it seized control of the capital and its international airport after weeks of fighting with a rival militia. Abu-Zaqia said the rival militia from Zintan was in the compound before his troops took it over.
A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said the department is seeking additional information but believed the embassy compound "remains secure."
The official said the U.S. had moved embassy staff from Tripoli to Valletta, Malta, because of "ongoing fighting between militias occurring very close to our compound." Those personnel "remain engaged," the official said, while the State Department continues to work with the Libyan government.
Some windows at the compound had been broken, but it appeared most of the equipment there remained untouched. The AP journalist saw treadmills, weight benches and protein bars in the compound's abandoned gym. Forks, knives and napkins set for a banquet sat on one table, while a cantina still had cornflakes, vinegar, salt and pepper sitting out.
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Islamist-linked militia guarding evacuated U.S. Embassy in Libya
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The U.S. embassy's residential annex in Libya that was taken over by an Islamist-allied militia this weekend features an in-ground pool, a tennis court and a weight room in the palatial compound.
U.S. personnel were evacuated from the site more than a month before the Dawn of Libya militia took control of the building this weekend. The offices of the embassy are located in another building.
Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: U.S. Embassy in Tripoli
The Associated Press, which had a reporter tour the compound, reported that the pantry was still stocked with corn flakes, vinegar, salt and pepper, while the weight room had protein bars.
Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: U.S. Embassy in Tripoli
Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: U.S. Embassy in Tripoli
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Inside the US Embassy's Annex in Libya Overrun by Militia