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Libya gunmen reject govt demand to end sieges

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 21:15

Libyan gunmen besieging two ministries have rejected government demands to disband saying they are determined to stay put until authorities agree to their demand and sack former regime officials, one of them said on Thursday. "A delegation representing the government of (Prime Minister) Ali Zeidan came to meet us on Wednesday and asked us to lift the sieges but we refused," the militiaman told AFP outside the encircled foreign ministry. "We will continue blocking (access to) the ministries of foreign affairs and justice until our demands are completely satisfied," he added.

Libya gunmen reject govt demand to end sieges

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 11:30

Seif al-Islam in court in Libya's Zintan

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 06:00

Seif al-Islam, son of Libya's late dictator Moamer Kadhafi, appeared in court on Thursday charged with illegally trying to communicate with the outside world in June last year, an AFP journalist reported. The man once assumed to be his father's heir appeared in good health, wearing blue clothes, at the hearing in the western town of Zintan. Seated behind a grille and with two masked policemen at his sides, the defendant was relaxed and smiling. Two lawyers, including one named by the court, represented him.

Bomb destroys police station in Libya's Benghazi

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 04:30

A bomb destroyed a police station in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi early on Thursday but caused no casualties, a security source told AFP, in a second attack targeting the building. "An explosive device was thrown at Al-Baraka police station in Benghazi, destroying what remained of the building after the bomb attack that targeted it last weekend," the source said. "The explosion caused no casualties," he added. An AFP journalist at the scene confirmed that the blast destroyed the building at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT).

Libya gunmen press siege of ministries

Agence France-PresseMay 1, 2013 12:45

Gunmen pressed their siege of two Libyan ministries on Wednesday, leaving the authorities in a dilemma of whether to risk a bloody confrontation or reinforce the image of a helpless state by negotiating patiently. They have encircled the foreign ministry since Sunday and the justice ministry since Tuesday, demanding the sacking of former officials from the ousted regime of Moamer Kadhafi. The same groups, most of them former rebels who fought to oust Kadhafi in 2011, briefly occupied the finance ministry on Monday.

Gunmen keep Libyan foreign ministry under siege

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 10:30

Dozens of gunmen kept Libya's foreign ministry under siege for a second day Monday, as violence spread when police officers firing their guns in the air stormed the interior ministry demanding higher wages. An AFP correspondent and witnesses said that around 30 vehicles, some mounted with anti-aircraft guns, and unidentified armed men have encircled the foreign ministry in Tripoli since Sunday, demanding it sack officials from the previous regime of Moamer Kadhafi.

Blast hits police station in Libya's Benghazi

Agence France-PresseApril 27, 2013 05:00

An explosion hit a police station in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday, causing extensive damage but no casualties, a security source said. "The explosion damaged a large part of the building. An explosive device was probably thrown," the source said on condition of anonymity. "Fortunately, the officers and police were in another part of the building. That is why there are no injuries." A policeman at the scene said he was among officers who fled the building after the blast, and that there were no apparent casualties.

Embassy attack spreads Libyan instability to capital

Thomson ReutersApril 24, 2013 12:45

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's central government has long had only a tenuous grip on the eastern city of Benghazi, but the bombing of the French embassy in Tripoli shows its control of the capital may now also be under threat. The early morning car bomb devastated France's embassy, wounding two French guards, in the most significant attack against foreign interests in Libya since September's deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

France vows Libya embassy attackers will pay

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 21:16

France promised that those behind Tuesday's devastating car bomb attack on its embassy in Libya -- which wounded a girl living nearby and two guards -- would pay for the attack. "The terrorists who wanted to attack France and Libya and undermine the friendship between them will pay" for the attack, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned. He was speaking shortly after having visited the wrecked embassy in Tripoli in the hours following the bombing.

Blast hits French embassy in Libya, two guards hurt

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 16:01

A car bomb attack on France's embassy in Libya on Tuesday wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage, prompting the French foreign minister to visit and warn "terrorists" will pay. Laurent Fabius made the remarks in Tripoli after touring the devastated embassy hit only hours earlier in the first attack on a diplomatic mission since militants stormed the US consulate in Benghazi in September.