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Tripoli, . . .[restrict]6 August 2013:
The country’s new Minister of Defence, Abdullah Al-Thinni, was sworn in during yesterday’s General National Congress (GNC) morning session.
Thinni graduated from military college in 1976 and then fought in the Libyan-Egyptian war while stationed in Tobruk.
Thinni was also a professor at the military college for seven years. However, after his brother – an Air Force pilot – absconded to Egypt in a military plane in opposition to the Qaddafi regime, things became more difficult for Thinni, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
He served time in prison because of his brother’s escape and faced other difficulties, until 1997 when he took early retirement.
The position had been vacant since previous Defence Minister Mohammed Barghathi was sacked towards the end of June, following widespread dissatisfaction with his responses to increased violence and killings in the country. [/restrict]
