By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 2 March 2014:
A group of protestors who earlier stormed the premises of the General National Congress (GNC) . . .[restrict]injuring a number of Congressmen continued to wreak havoc this evening, setting cars ablaze.
Cars left behind by Congress members beating a hasty retreat were set ablaze by angry protestors, who also damaged trees and a temporary structure which houses GNC security. It was impossible to tell whether any damage had been done inside the headquarters because protesters had closed the doors of the building.
The number of protestors swelled to nearly 500 late this evening, all condemning the wave of assassinations in Benghazi, Derna and Sirte and denouncing the GNC and government’s inaction over the country’s ongoing security crisis.
They demanded the immediate resignation of all Congress members who, they said, did not represent the Libyan people.
Protestors insisted that they would not leave the premises until all Congress members had resigned and a legitimate body, for example the Supreme Court, replaced the institution.
“We are here to prove to the traitor Congress that we are able to overthrow them at any time,” one of the protesters, university student Murad Al-Awadi, told the Libya Herald. He added that people were very angry because they felt neglected by the GNC.
Awadi said that the Congress members and government ministers followed personal interests, ignoring the needs of Libya and its people. He added that when he saw armoured cars outside Congress, it reminded him of the security outside Qaddafi’s headquarters at Bab Al-Aziziya.
Another young protester said he was there in solidarity with Benghazi which has seen waves of protests this week against the deteriorating security in the city.
He said that Congress was completely controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood and was heavily influenced by foreign agendas. [/restrict]