By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 23 June 2016:
Thousands of angry mourners turned up today for the a mass funeral for 12 young Garabulli men killed as a result of the clash with Misratan forces on Tuesday.
More funerals are expected tomorrow. Altogether, 40 Garabulli that locals are reported to have been killed, mainly as the result of an explosion at what had been variously claimed by Misrati officials to have been an ammunitions or a fireworks store.
The spokesman for Misrata local council has claimed it was the latter. Other officials in Misrata say that an ammunition warehouse was detonated to stop arms falling into the wrong hands.
In Garabulli it is said that the Misratan militia at the centre of the incident fired shells into the warehouse.
In general, Misratan officials and media have said little about the incident, not surprising given that it has stoked anti-Misrata sentiments across the country. Former deputy leader of the General National Congress Juma Ateega, is one of the few from Misrata to have condemned the militia involved, widely said to have been heavily involved in the November 2013 Ghargour massacre. Forty-three people were killed in that incident which lead to Misratan militias quitting Tripoli, although in the case of Tthe brigade involved in Tuesday’s incident, it simply relocated to Garabulli.
Privately, however, Misartan officials have said they are disgusted at what happened, that those involved are criminals and that they do not want them back in Misrata.
The man heading the inquiry into the Garabulli killings, Brigadier Juma A-Mashri, has called on the media and others to await the outcome of his investigations before jumping to conclusions.
