By Taher Zaroog
Misrata, 21 November 2013:
As Misrata local council announced that it plans to question the city’s militiamen involved in the . . .[restrict]Gharghour massacre last Friday, it was also alleged that local Gharghour leaders had agreed five days beforehand with the Misrata militiamen that there would be no provocative demonstration at the base.
The 90 militiamen involved in the killing did not receive the same rapturous welcome as the main body of Misratan fighters when they returned to the city on Monday night.
Indeed dozens of city residents held a vigil in which they expressed their regrets for the events in Tripoli and invoked mercy on the souls of those who had lost their lives. The sense of sadness was palpable and one man at the vigil called the Gharghour slayings “a terrible crime”.
They shared however the general pride in the performance on their city’s fighters who, they said, had defended Tripoli and then withdrawn as required under the GNC Law No. 27. They praised their dedication to national unity.
This evening allegations surfaced that as plans for the peaceful mass protest at Gharghour were getting under way, the fighters occupying the ten-villa base reached a deal on either Monday or Tuesday that the protest would not in fact go ahead. The agreement made with Gharghour locals was allegedly that the demonstration would be switched to Martyrs Square.
Today also saw the visit of a 12-man delegation of elders from the Jebel Nafusa and nearby towns, including Sabratha. Talks with Misratan officials looked at ways of solving the differences between Misrata and Tajoura and Suq Al-Juma through arbitration involving Congress.
One sign of lessening tension was the exchange of prisoners last night in Tajoura. The Misratans handed over 17 people taken from Tajoura as they pulled out through the town, while in their turn the Tajourans released 22 Misratans. [/restrict]
