By Mustafa Khalifa.
Ghat, 19 June 2015:
Ramadan started in Sebha with fresh violence in the central districts of Mahdia and Manshiya, with . . .[restrict]at least three local residents killed. Others are reported wounded. In Manshiya, two TV reporters also had a lucky escape when gunman targeted their car.
According to local police, gunmen started firing heavy weapons after sunset in the centre of town with the clashes continuing throughout the night. At about 4am this morning, one mortar hit the Manshiya home of 60-year old Ghazaleh Mahjoub Mohamed, killing her instantly.
In another incident, 20-year-old Ali Mohamed Ali Al-Haruj and his 16-year-old brother Abubakr were attacked by gunmen about an hour later when walking past shops in Mahdia. According to the police, gunman stopped them, asked them where they were going. When told they were going home, they reportedly let them pass but then started shooting at them. Abubakr is said to have been hit but when his brother went to his aid, the gunmen came up and started savagely beating him with their weapons. Taken to hospital, both are said to have since died.
In neighbouring Manshiya, two reporters working for the local Fezzan Satellite Channel, managed to escape a similar fate when gunmen started shooting at their car as they were driving near the district’s Qadisiyah School. Presenter Othman Habib and cameraman Ibrahim Wafi fled on foot although, according to another colleague, Othman was shot in his left hand and suffered barbed wire wounds to his leg during his escape.
The gunmen torched the car.
With additional input from Ajnadin Mustafa in Tripoli
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