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March 2012

Benghazi’s militia In Tripoli: "We need urgently the unity of all militias to put it at the service of the people because those who today are in power, officers, Ministers, officials, etc. are associates of Muammar"

In one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Tripoli, where faithful adherents to the Qadafyist regime agglomerate, you can find the headquarters of one of the brigades of Benghazi militia, reluctant today to undergo the CNT.
After several battles and a number of skirmishes, these militiamen managed to settle within a complex of trailers of the latest generation, furnished and decorated in Western style, formerly lodging the engineers of one of the many oil companies of foreign capital, with which "anti-imperialist" Muammar al - Qadafy had agreements.
These battles were fought against a part of the Qadafyist Brigade of Muhammad al - Maghriaf, to which the place had been ceded as a base of operations to suppress the insurrections in the capital.
After settling, the militiamen suffered a series of attacks by those who remained faithful to the dictatorship, which led to that several of them had to withdraw, leaving the place in the hands of about 30 or 40 people. These are who today keep on their guard, using it as a base to perform tasks such as guarding nearby neighborhoods, protect their neighbors, fight against those who still insist in demoralizing the insurrection, etc.

This brigade within it is not organized as an army, but everyone acts in community and solidarity. Everyone takes money out of his pocket to buy food; all is cleaned, cooked, in common, also thus they repair their vehicles, etc. Funds for this are sent by their families who support them unconditionally, thus establishing a true and faithful rear from Benghazi. On their relationship with the CNT, this Brigade clarifies that it is neither subjected nor linked to the interim Government. They even claim to be against its policies. They express their support for any struggle against the same, positioning themselves on the side of the masses. They say there are militias which are most linked to the Government, as for example those of Zentan (which control the airport and have heavy weapons such as tanks, missiles, etc.) which, according to rumors, have received substantial funds from the CNT. With regard to Misratah militias, this Brigade of Benghazi’s, established today in Tripoli believes that they are the opposite of those of Zentan’s, i.e., that they are totally against the CNT

In the same way they see that there are militias that the only thing they have clear is never to lay down their arms. The orientation of this Brigade can be summed up in the words of one of its most respected fighters: "We need urgently the unity of all militias to put it at the service of the people because those who today are in power, officers, Ministers, officials, etc. are the likes of Muammar." “With the revolution we were looking for cleaning Libya of Muammar and its people. However, there were some ones close to the dictator who, knowing what would happen, raised the flag of the revolution only as pose, because they have always been and continue to be Qadafyists”. "I hope the people will remain prepared to deal with any Government that wants to settle and does not comply with what it promises."