BENGHAZI: Libyan’s army moved into Benghazi in eastern Libya yesterday, a show of force aimed at restoring order in the country’s second largest city, rocked by almost daily bombings and assassinations.
Security in the port city, an important part of Libya’s oil infrastructure, has deteriorated in the past few months with armed militants and radical Islamists roaming unchallenged, highlighting the anarchy in the Opec producer two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Most countries have closed their consulates in Benghazi after a series of attacks and some foreign airlines have stopped flying there.
The US ambassador was killed in September 2012 during an Islamist assault on the consulate.
Stability in the region is key for oil supplies as around 60 percent of oil production comes from the country’s eastern half.
Hundreds of armoured troop carriers and army trucks mounted with guns drove through the old city near the Corniche after Friday prayers, cheered by residents tired of violence, witnesses said.
“We stand by the people,” Wanis Bukhmada, commander of special forces in Benghazi, told a crowd. “We won’t allow anyone to mess around with security anymore.”
Reuters
