Members of the Libyan army, many of whom are former revolutionaries who fought against the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, protest in front of the entrance of the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Benghazi yesterday.
TRIPOLI: Gunmen pressed their siege of two Libyan ministries yesterday, leaving the authorities in a dilemma of whether to risk a bloody confrontation or reinforce the image of a helpless state by negotiating patiently.
They have encircled the foreign ministry since Sunday and the justice ministry since Tuesday, demanding the sacking of former officials from the ousted regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
The same groups, most of them former rebels who fought to oust Gaddafi in 2011, briefly occupied the finance ministry on Monday.
On Sunday, former rebels who had once been responsible for security at the headquarters of Libyan national television, blockaded it although broadcasts were not interrupted.
And angry policemen invaded the interior ministry twice, on Monday and Tuesday, to demand higher pay and promotions.
Yesterday, vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers blockaded the foreign and justice ministries as traffic flowed smoothly on the May Day holiday.
“The siege of the foreign and justice ministries is continuing and will go on until our demands are completely satisfied,” Aymen Mohammed Abudeina, a member of a group committed to ensuring the exclusion of former Gaddafi officials from public life, said.
The justice ministry has dismissed the idea of using force to break the siege, saying the government preferred to “let wisdom prevail.”
AFP
