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By Libya Herald reporter.
Benghazi, 4 June 2017:
A policeman is reported to have been injured in Fuwayhat police station in Benghazi when it was raided yesterday in an attempt to free a prisoner.
There have been claims that rogue elements within Saiqa Special Forces were responsible for the incident, reportedly aimed at freeing an arrested friend.
Officials have privately confirmed the raid, disclosing that the attackers wore military uniforms and had a vehicle with a Saiqa logo. However, they have denied reports that anyone was killed or that prisoners were freed. On the contrary, they said, the police station had called the emergency response unit, the najdah, which had come and, amid shooting, forced the attackers to flee.
Last month, it was claimed that rogue Saiqa members were also responsible when the police station in the city’s Birkah district was attacked and a policeman Captain Musa Yunis Al-Majbri, killed.
However, the claim was denied by the brigade which said that what had happened was part a private grudge; Saiqa had had no official involvement.
Talk of a growing feud between the army and the police in Benghazi was also dismissed.
In this latest instance, Colonel Salah Huwaidi, head of the Criminal Investigation Department in the Benghazi Security Directorate, has similarly said that those who attacked the Fuwayhat station had nothing to do with the armed forces. He said he had contacted senior army officials who had denounced the attacks and praised the efforts of the security and police forces.
At a meeting last night in Benghazi, Huwaidi announced that the security directorate was planning a force to protect security institutions and police stations from any similar future attacks. The Libyan armed forces, he added, has said they would support the police to maintain law and order.
He stressed that any differences that might have been between the armed forces and the police had now been resolved.
So far, there has been no news from the investigation launched into the Birkah attack.
