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By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 22 January 2014:
The Italian section of the cemetery complex in Mansoura, near Suq El Thlat, was attacked again . . .[restrict]last night causing damage to headstones, with some headstones being removed.
The complex at Mansoura has different sections and is a cemetery for Catholics and Jews, including Libyan Jews, as well as for other religions.
The cemetery was first attacked last Saturday night by a group wielding the all-green Qaddafi era flags. These were successfully repelled by locals and local militias, without any damage to the site. The Libyan authorities also responded by sending police to guard the site.
On Monday, a group again attacked the cemetery again, this time entering undetected at night, burning the guard’s car and causing his death. Graves were also damaged on this occasion.
The exact circumstances that led to the guard’s death are still unconfirmed. There are questions as to whether it was a premeditated murder or an accidental death as a result of the burning of the car. There was no confirmation of whether any police were present at the entrance of the cemetery when the attackers carried out their attack on Monday.
The incidents have been widely reported by Italian media and are believed to be causing concern amongst the Italian public. It is not clear why the Libyan authorities are not providing adequate security to the site, despite repeated requests by the Italian authorities.
It will be recalled that Italy provided support as a member of NATO to the 2011 February 17 Revolution and is considered a close ally of the new Libya. It is, for example, currently training thousands of Libyan army personnel in Italy.
It will be recalled that this attack on Italian graves comes after two Italian workers in a construction company went missing last Friday between Martuba and Derna in eastern Libya. There is no further news on the two missing Italians. [/restrict]
