Rival Libyan militias clash near military base

Libya should be celebrating and rebuilding, instead they are fighting among themselves for power and control.

How typical can this be of an Islamic country, every Libyan with a gun is now a threat to restoring Libya to a normal country.



USA today
Rival militias clashed on the outskirts of the Libyan capital for a fourth day Sunday in the most sustained violence since the capture and killing of Moammar Gadhafi last month.

The fighting, which has killed at least six people since late last week, raised new concerns about the ability of Libya's transitional government to disarm thousands of fighters and restore order after an eight-month civil war.

Libya's interim leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said his National Transitional Council brought together elders from the feuding areas — the coastal city of Zawiya and the nearby tribal lands of Warshefana — over the weekend and that the dispute has been resolved. "I want to assure the Libyan people that everything is under control," he said Sunday.

However, as he spoke, fighting continued.
Heavy gunfire and explosions of rocket-propelled grenades were heard over hours Sunday in the area between the Warshefana lands, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) west of Tripoli, and Zawiya, another 10 miles (15 kilometers) to the west. White smoke rose into the air.

At one point, the two sides were battling for control of a major military camp of the ousted regime, said a fighter from Tripoli. The camp, once a base of elite forces commanded by one of Gadhafi's sons, Khamis, is located on a highway midway between Tripoli and Zawiya.