Tripoli, 9 October:
Prominent independent Congressmen Saleh Jouda was threatened last night, Monday, by 11 men from Zintan in front of the . . .[restrict]Rixos Hotel. It followed a speech he has made criticising former prime minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur’s first choice of ministers which included Omar Aswad as interior minister. Aswad is from Zintan.
Jouda reportedly said that Aswad had had connections with the Qaddafi regime.
Contacted by Libya Herald, Jouda said he would not comment. “I can neither confirm nor deny it”, he added.
The reports have angered people in Benghazi where Jouda topped the poll in July. He won more votes than any other independent candidate in the country.
A three-member Benghazi team has reportedly gone to Zintan to resolve the matter.
On Satruday, the leader of the Taghyeer Party, Juma El-Gamaty, was kidnapped and threatened by a different group from Zintan, the Kaakaa brigade, after he had called for militias to be disbanded. [/restrict]
