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Tripoli, 7 April 2014:
Omar Mukhtar University in Derna has closed until further notice, after three medical laboratories were vandalised last week.
“Unknown . . .[restrict]men entered the campus last week and vandalised the medical laboratories,” a source at the university told the Libya Herald. “We have been forced to close the campus until further notice, due to a complete lack of security both at the university and in whole town as well,” he said.
“We have managed to survive the last six months with no running water and no electricity at the university,” he said. “But these acts of vandalism were the last straw.”
It was another example, he said, of how dire the security situation in the town really was. “It is impossible to keep the university open under such dangerous circumstances,” he said.
The town has long-standing security issues and has had no functioning security presence for several years. It was unable to hold elections for the Constitutional Drafting Committee in February due to threats and bombings at voting stations.
Two days ago a new armed Islamist organisation appeared on the streets of Derna. Calling itself the ‘Islamic Youth Shurah Council in Derna’ it said it would take control of the town. [/restrict]
