By Ayman Amzein and Moutaz Ahmed.
Tripoli, 28 July 2014:
Fighting has continued in Buatni and Leithi districts today, the first day of Eid, . . .[restrict]and although it has been noticeably quieter than yesterday and the day before, bombs and explosions could still be heard across the city.
A source at the Red Crescent said that the organisation had picked up eight bodies today near Saiqa’s headquarters in Buatni. They had not been identified and had been taken to Benghazi Medical Centre. “Both sides are cooperating with us,” the source added. “We heard the shooting so got on with our job quickly and left,” he said.
Electricity, internet and mobile phone services have largely been restored. However, a number of local residents are taking advantage of the Eid holiday to go and stay with relatives in safer parts of the city or places further afield, such as Marj. Some are even reported to be heading to Egypt to wait out the fighting.
On Saturday, a number of mortar missiles, said to have been directed at the Tibesti Hotel, hit nearby Istiklal Street. It is believed that the hotel was targeted because the newly elected House of Representative is scheduled to convene there next Monday.
According to locals, the Buatni and Leithi areas look like a war zone after missiles fell randomly. One man told the Libya Herald: “I saw one missile hit the grocery store near my house, blowing out the front of it.”
One Benghazi-based Libya Herald contributor reported that the building in which he lives was hit by a missile yesterday and that he and his family had fled for safety.
For its part, Ansar Al-Sharia is reported to have lost one of its senior members, Idris Majbre, in the clashes during the past two days between it and the Saiqa Special Forces. Ahmed Ali Mohammed Musbah Al-Zahawi, brother of Ansar’s leader in Derna, Mohammed Al-Zahawi, is also said to have been killed.
Three brothers who are member of the military police – Salah Al-Briki, Nuri Al-Nriki and Hasan Al-Briki – have meanwhile disappeared, according to the head of Saiqa Special Forces Investigations Unit, Fadel Al-Hassi. [/restrict]
