By Ayman Amzein.
Benghazi, 6 April 2014:
The first day of a general strike in Benghazi over the deteriorating security situation in the . . .[restrict]city has left the airport closed, shops shut and streets deserted.
Today is the first day of a planned general strike, which has been planned for over a week. The strike is in protest against the lack of action taken by the government and the General National Congress (GNC) to improve the dire security situation in Benghazi. Military and security personnel in the city have been systematically targeted for over a year and several hundred have been assassinated in individual attacks.
“It is a total shutdown. Everything is closed,” one local resident told the Libya Herald. “The banks, schools and shops are all closed and there are hardly any cars on the road.” He added that Sunday lunchtime was normally one of the worst times for traffic in Benghazi.
Benghazi’s Benina Airport is also closed with no flights able to operate in or out of the airport. The Airport Road was, this morning, blocked with tyres to prevent people driving up to the airport. Several other roads in the city were blocked, including Jamal Street.
The city’s schools and the university are closed and say they will remain so until Thursday. [/restrict]
