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Violent clash in Benghazi reveals growing divisions in Libya

A demonstration devolved into an armed clash on Saturday, killing dozens and exposing political currents that are gathering force.
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On Sunday, June 9, hundreds of residents in Benghazi came to the cemetery after services at local mosques. In a parched and barren field, the dead were buried by hand in a long row. (William Wheeler/GlobalPost)

EDITOR'S NOTE: William Wheeler, recipient of the first annual GroundTruth reporting fellowship in the Middle East, is now on assignment in Libya. This is the third in a series of guest posts for this blog and he will soon be filing a GlobalPost Special Report on Libya's struggle to forge a democracy in the smoldering aftermath of the Arab Spring.

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Global community must act to protect human rights defenders from restrictions and attacks

Commentary: New report documents increasing harassment and reprisals of rights workers.
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A Bangladeshi woman uses her cell phone as she holds a portrait of her missing sister, believed trapped in the rubble 60 hours after an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 26, 2013. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
The global community must act to protect human rights defenders and civil society organizations from unprecedented restrictions and attacks. The work of human rights defenders – including journalists, lawyers and advocates – is crucial to upholding human rights and the rule of law. Despite this, around the world we bear witness to an increase in attacks and reprisals against human rights defenders, together with an expansion of laws that restrict and impair the work of non-government organizations.
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Nearly two years after liberation, Libya at a crossroads

William Wheeler returns to Tripoli — where he reported during the Arab Spring — to find a different city than he left.
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Thousands of Libyans celebrate the second anniversary of the Libyan uprising at Martyrs square on February 17, 2013 in Tripoli. The anniversary of the uprising that ended with Muammar Gaddafi's killing in October 2011 comes as Libya's new rulers battle critics calling for a "new revolution" and accusing them of failing to usher in much-needed reforms. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)

EDITOR'S NOTE: William Wheeler, recipient of the first annual GroundTruth reporting fellowship in the Middle East, is now on assignment in Libya. Today he begins a series of guest posts for this blog and will soon be filing a GlobalPost Special Report on Libya's struggle to forge a democracy in the smoldering aftermath of the Arab Spring. As a journalist with a good ear for the Arab street, Wheeler was chosen for the $10,000 reporting grant in large part because he embodies the spirit of 'ground truth' and the attributes of some of its greatest adherents, including the New York Times' Anthony Shadid, who died on assignment in Syria, and the American reporter for the Sunday Times of London, Marie Colvin, who was killed in a rocket attack in Syria. Like Shadid and Colvin, Wheeler is all about being there on the ground and taking the measure of a big and complex story in simple, human terms. The GroundTruth reporting fellowship is funded by the Correspondents Fund. 

TRIPOLI, Libya — A few days ago I returned to Tripoli to find what is, in many ways, a very different city than the one I last saw in the weeks after its liberation. On the surface, things look better. Some hotels and cafes have new facades, testament to a brief flush of renewed investment. The sidewalks are thick with vendors, and their tarps stretch overhead like a canopy on some streets, so tightly packed I had trouble at first recognizing familiar sights. You no longer see rebels firing into the air on every street corner. Or families celebrating in Martyr’s Square.

But neither has life returned to normal. Over the last month, in Benghazi, a series of car bomb attacks struck empty police stations, and what may have been an accidental explosion killed three people; in Tripoli, another car bomb hit the French Embassy, injuring two guards and prompting a withdrawal of some foreign embassies’ personnel amid fears the Libyan government is losing its grip on the capital, and militias besieged government ministries, pressuring lawmakers to approve legislation banning those who had worked for the regime from positions in the new government. All in all, it gives the impression, as a jewelry store clerk put it, that “things are getting dangerous again.”

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Women face challenges as Libya moves toward a new constitution

Commentary: Gender discrimination still permeates Libyan laws and institutions.
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A Libyan woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote to elect Libya's General National Congress in Benghazi on July 7, 2012. (Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)
“I have waited my whole life for tomorrow, which will be a new day for Libya,” an elated Haja Nowara told Human Rights Watch on the eve of Libya’s first democratic national elections in July 2012. “We sacrificed a lot to get here.” We met Nowara as she held a lonely vigil in the square outside the courthouse in Benghazi, where she had spent many evenings supporting the revolution since early 2011. She proudly displayed her voter registration card around her neck and waved Libya’s new national flag while people approached her to pay their respects. She had become an icon due to her steadfast participation in the protests that started the revolt that eventually led to the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi.
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Mohamed al-Megaryef bows out of Libyan politics

Mohamed al-Megaryef resigned Wednesday as leader of Libya's General National Congress.

Libya car bomb hits Benghazi hospital, killing many

Reports vary on the number of people killed in the blast, but at least three are dead.

Libyan defense minister Barghathi retracts resignation

"I will never be able to accept that politics (can) be practiced by the power of weapons ... This is an assault against the democracy I have sworn to protect," Defense Minister Mohammed al-Bargathi said.

Libya gunmen surround justice ministry in Tripoli

Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said there were 20 to 30 armed men in military fatigues who arrived in trucks with anti-aircraft guns mounted on them. The government official tried to talk to them before he had to flee.

Libya: gunmen block access to foreign ministry

The commander for the armed group told Reuters that they would keep the ministry closed until the government passes a law that prevents loyalists to overthrown Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi from serving in the government.

Libya: Benghazi police station bombed

The attack came a day after militants killed a pro-government militiaman in an area further east, and less than a week after a car bomb exploded outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, where three were wounded and the building was partially set on fire.
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