Benghazi is a polarized place riddled with violence. The eastern city has been in a state of war for nearly three months, caught between the crossfire of the Thunderbolt Brigade, which supports ‘Operation Dignity’ (under the leadership of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar) on the one hand and Ansar al-Sharia, which is affiliated with the Shoura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, on the other.
Benghazi is a polarized place riddled with violence. The eastern city has been in a state of war for nearly three months, caught between the crossfire of the Thunderbolt Brigade, which supports ‘Operation Dignity’ (under the leadership of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar) on the one hand and Ansar al-Sharia, which is affiliated with the Shoura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, on the other.
A demonstration organized by supporters of Operation Dignity, entitled ‘Benghazi Will Not Kneel to Terrorism’ drew thousands to the streets of Benghazi on Friday, August 1. On the same day, supporters of Ansar al-Sharia organized a protest called ‘Benghazi Will Only Kneel to God’, but there were very few participants at that demonstration.
Who is fighting who?
The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, which was recently formed, is made up of brigades considered close to the Islamic movement, such as Ansar al-Sharia, Libya Shield 1 and Rafallah al-Sahati Battalion- led by a number of field commanders of revolutionaries who fought against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, such as Muhammad al-Zahawi, Jalal Makhzoom and Wissam bin Humaid.
Many areas in Benghazi, such as Bu Atni, al-Laythi, Bu Hadima, al-Qawarshah, al-Salmani, Ras Ubayda and al—Majouri, as well as other areas, are witnessing ongoing clashes between the two parties, resulting in daily deaths and injuries.
Operation Dignity was formed by retired Major General Khalifa Haftar this past June, in response to hundreds of indiscriminate killings in Benghazi this year. “We have moved to restore the usurped national sovereignty, fight against extremism and terrorist groups and those allied with them, especially Ansar al-Sharia,” according to Operation Dignity’s spokeperson Muhammad Hijazi, in an interview with Correspondents.
Unidentified corpses
The increased intensity of clashes in the last 10 days of Ramadan forced a number of doctors at the Benghazi Medical Center to ask for permission to bury nearly 30 unidentified corpses, which were about to decay.
Muhammad al-Masalati, a volunteer doctor told Correspondents that he and a number of his fellow colleagues volunteered to bury the corpses brought to the center on August 10, after clashes in the Bu Atni area in Benghazi between Thunderbolt Brigade and the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries.
“We believe in honoring the dead by burying them. All of these dead people were not carrying any papers to help identify them,” al-Masalati said. “The center receives tens of dead and injured people every day, but nobody inquires about the corpses.”
A bloody week
The clashes, which continued for more than one week in the Bu Atni area surrounding the Thunderbolt Brigade’s camps, started after the attack launched by Ansar al-Sharia forces, backed by the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries on Monday, July 21, on the camp of the Thunderbolt Brigade 319.
This attack allowed Ansar al-Sharia to control the camp along with the Thunderbolt Brigade 36 camp in the Bu Atni area, leaving dozens dead and wounded.
Clashes took place during the last days of Ramadan-various light and medium size weapons were used. Warplanes of the Army Air Force were shelling the area, making it difficult for the Red Crescent rescue teams to intervene and recover corpses. Many residents of Bu Atni and al-Masaken areas fled their homes.
After Eid (July 28), the Ministry of Health said there were 112 people killed and 529 injured—all of the victims were sent to the Benghazi Medical Center and al-Marj Hospital.
Ansar al-Sharia’s siege
On July 29, 2014, which coincided with the second day of Eid, the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and Ansar al-Sharia announced that they had captured all the camps in the city that had previously been under the control of the Thunderbolt Brigades, with the exception of the Salafists camp of Brigade 319.
Upon their capture and after clearing them of the Thunderbolt Brigades, Ansar al-Sharia members demolished the camps, levelling them one by one. Members of the organization stormed the al-Jalaa Accidents Hospital and used it as the headquarters for its military operations.
Despite what appeared as a defeat for the army, Khalifa Haftar’s Operation Dignity, in a televised interview, denied news of Ansar al-Sharia’s control of Benghazi, and insisted that his brigade’s withdrawal from their positions was made for tactical reasons.
In his interview, Haftar said “Operation Dignity will never stop until all of these groups leave Benghazi, Tripoli, Misrata and all other parts of Libya.” He also stressed that “he does not need any international intervention.”
The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries called on every person engaged in Operation Dignity and those who followed the footsteps of Major General Khalifa Haftar to repudiate their acts, repent to the Almighty God and join the returnees.
The statement of the Shura Council accused Haftar of betraying those who joined him and said that he had left them to face their fate while he was watching from a distance. The Council vowed: “Every person who repents and returns to the righteous path will be secure and he will be among his brothers and his family and will have their same rights and obligations.”
A popular response
A third party interfered in the on-going war between the two parties and its response to the actions of the Shura Council was more violence. This party was led by angry citizens who demonstrated on Wednesday, July 30, in a number of the city’s neighborhoods to denounce the events taking place and the terror and intimidation suffered by civilians. Demonstrators attacked the gathering sites of the Shura Council and managed to enter the hospital and expel Ansar al-Sharia militants from it.
Alaa al-Firjani, a resident of the eastern part of the al-Salamani area and one of the participants in the demonstration, said: “We closed the road and chanted slogans calling for the expulsion of Ansar al-Sharia from the hospital premises and demanded the return of the police and army,” said al-Firjani.
“We then headed towards the Thunderbolt Brigade camp on the airport road and we expelled Ansar al-Sharia. We stayed there until the early morning hours, but Ansar al-Sharia returned, demolished the camp and levelled it,” he said.
Alaa explained that the most important demand of the demonstrators was to stop any armed formation from controlling vital facilities in Benghazi or closing any government department.
Truce violation
In an attempt to stop the bloodbath, the Council of Benghazi Sheikhs and Notables reached a ceasefire agreement between the two conflicting parties. It demanded a one week ceasefire, which failed despite the initial agreement of the two parties.
Saad al-Obeidi, a member of the Council of Greater Benghazi Notables and Sheikh, said the forces of Operation Dignity did not respect the ceasefire agreement and they shelled targets in the Qanfoutha area in Benghazi on the evening of August 1.
According to al-Obeidi, the Council is still communicating with the conflicting parties in order to reach an agreement; its efforts haven’t yet been successful.
