Tarhouna Milita and NTC fight after Militia leader gets kidnapped - Airport shutdown as a result. Another Milita shells the ICRC - everything moving along wonderfully I see ! Libya election date slipping - now slated for perhaps July mid - month

http://www.libyaherald.com/tarhouna-militia-take-control-of-tripoli-airport-fighting-with-government-forces-ongoing-for-control/

Tarhouna militia occupy Tripoli airport, clashes as government forces retake control

By George Grant and Rida Akil.

Tripoli, 4 June:

Government forces arriving at the airport shortly before the onset of hostilities

Tripoli’s international airport was occupied by militia from the western town of Tarhouna on Monday, in retaliation for the kidnapping of their commander, Abu-Alija Habshi, by unknown assailants on Sunday afternoon.

The arrival of government-controlled security forces late this afternoon has resulted in a gun-battle that saw the government retake control of the airport, with a number of militia reportedly captured.

The militia, known as the Al-Awfia brigade, used armoured vehicles, heavy machine guns and a tank to close down the airport for several hours, grounding a number of flights and forcing others to be diverted to Tripoli’s Metiga air base.

Mifta Ali Abu Zaid, a traveller present at the airport when the militia arrived, said he saw one member of the airport staff being carried away with an apparent shrapnel injury, although this has not been confirmed.

Airport maintenance workers on an Alitalia flight reported how they were forced into the airport terminal at gunpoint. “About 50 men came onto the tarmac with guns”, said one, who did not wish to give his name. “We tried to reason with them, and tell them that this is an airport for all Libyans, but they told us to get inside or they would kill us”.

The Alitalia crew as well as that on the incoming Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna were both caught up in the conflict and at first were not allowed to leave the airport.  They were later allowed out.

When the Libya Herald arrived at the airport, tempers were flaring between stranded travelers and airport staff, who seemed powerless to control the situation. Such was the confusion that the Libya Herald was able to get onto the tarmac to investigate first-hand.

A few militia pick-up trucks with mounted machine guns were still in position, and the grass adjacent to the runway had been set ablaze.

Within a few minutes we were spotted and confronted by armed militiamen, who initially resolved to remove us from the airport before deciding instead to let us stay and be given their side of the story.

“We are here because we want the release of our commander”, said Abdel El-Ati Alssani, one of the militiamen. “Yesterday, we went to the NTC offices in Tripoli to discuss the kidnapping, but they refused to meet us. Today, we occupied the airport to put pressure on them to take this issue seriously”.

“We want answers”, said another, Khalifa Al-Tarhouni, “that is why we are here. Our intention is not to hurt anybody”. Both the whearabouts of Habshi, and the identity of his captors, remains unknown.

No more than ten minutes after the conclusion of this exchange, government-controlled security forces arrived at the airport in a large convoy of military vehicles, prompting the Libya Herald  to leave the area owing to security concerns.

Shortly after our departure, fighting between the militia and government-controlled security forces did indeed break out, with automatic weapons and anti-aircraft guns mounted on the back of 4x4s reportedly being used.

Air Malta, whose flight left before the trouble started, has cancelled tomorrow’s flight and will assess the situation later during the day.  Lufthansa has also cancelled tomorrow’s flight. An Austrian Airlines spokesman said that the airline would decide tomorrow if the flight would leave. “If passengers can come to the airport and it’s safe, we’ll take them.”

The Royal Jordanian flight from Amman was in the air when the airport was taken over. It landed at Metiga and later took off with passengers who transferred over from Tripoli International Airport.  Metiga then closed to international flights both on the grounds that it could not cope and as a security measure.

This evening, armed checkpoints had re-emerged across Tripoli, having almost completely disappeared in recent months.

In spite of repeated attempts to contact the spokesmen from the government and the NTC, both have been unavailable for comment.

and....

http://www.libyaherald.com/islamist-militants-claim-responsibility-for-icrc-shelling/

Islamist militants claim responsibility for ICRC shelling

By George Grant.

Benghazi, 3 June:

A group of Islamist militants has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on the Benghazi headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that took place on 22 May.

The ICRC's Benghazi headquarters after the attack on 22 May

The so-called Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman Brigade issued a statement yesterday, in which it accused the ICRC of “evangelistic” operations in Libya, including the distribution of Bibles and the dissemination of Christian doctrine. The group also objected to the use of a cross as the ICRC’s logo.

The brigade is named after the blind Egyptian terrorist Omar Abdul Rahman, also known as “The Blind Sheikh”, who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States in connection with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York.

“After we made sure that the [ICRC] had distributed Bibles to the displaced people of Tawergha, and had also held preaching lectures, we decided to warn them that we are aware of what they are doing, and that we will defend our religion… We decided to use an anti-tank shell this time because we only wanted to warn the preachers, and also to ensure the safety of the Muslims who might have been around the area.”

The group also listed a number of demands to the ICRC, which included removing the sign of the cross from all of their offices in Libya, the removal of all Bibles and the cessation of other supposedly evangelistic activity.

The ICRC is known to be a purely humanitarian organisation, which does not engage in proslytisation of any kind.

Also in its statement, the brigade denied that it had anything to do with the attack on the Sahara Bank’s Fuwaihat branch in Benghazi, which took place on the same day.

http://www.libyaherald.com/elections-to-be-delayed/

Elections to be delayed.

By Michel Cousins.

Tripoli, 3 June:

It is now certain beyond any reasonable doubt that the elections for the National Conference on 19 June will be delayed, Libya Herald can reveal.

A number of diplomats in Tripoli have said that in the past few days they had been informed that the election date would be rescheduled.   “I can guarantee that they will not take place on 19 June”, said one ambassador.  “They will be delayed”, said another.

Several reasons were given for the postponement. There was the decision by the High National Election Commission (HNEC) to extend by one week the period for registering candidates and parties. As a result, the final list of vetted candidates is not due to be released until Tuesday which would give them just two weeks to campaign. This is seen not enough time for voters to find out about them and make informed choices.

There is also a very practical reason for the delay.  “The ballot papers will not be ready for 19 June,” another diplomat disclosed.

The reason given for not yet announcing the delay is that the HNEC has not made up its mind when the poll should be.  “They cannot announce a delay without at the same time announcing when the new date will be”, one of the diplomats said.

There have been persistent rumours in recent days that the elections would be delayed but until now officials have likewise persistently denied them.   However, when asked today, Sunday, if a new date would be announced, an official at the HNEC who did not want to be named said “not yet”. The situation was “not really clear”, he explained.  The commission would meet during the week to make a decision, he said

The diplomats indicated that the new date is likely to be in July rather than June.  The 10^th of July was mentioned — three weeks later than the original date. The UN which is advising the High National Election Commission and which has been pressing strongly for a delay to give more time to campaigning, is said to favour a date in July.

A number of observers have earlier spoken of 30 June as a possible date but this is thought unlikely because it is a Saturday and part of the normal weekend.  The concern is that on a weekend, a number of voters may go away and not vote.  The HNEC wants the election to be to be in the middle of the week. That will then be made a public holiday for the event, thus (it is hoped) ensuring that the maximum amount of people go out and vote.

It is widely perceived that the Libyan public will accept a delay providing the reasons are clearly explained and a date is given that is not too far away.  Two or three weeks is thought acceptable.  But it has to be before Ramadan, which begins on 20 July (depending on the first sighting of the new moon).  After that it would be seen as too late.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/06/20126454143274307.html

Libya's first post-Gaddafi vote 'delayed'

Official tells Al Jazeera that country's assembly elections, scheduled for this month, will not take place before July. Last Modified: 04 Jun 2012 06:33 inShare12 Email Print Share Feedback

Over 2.7 million Libyans have registered nationwide to vote in upcoming assembly elections [Al Jazeera]

A Libyan official has told Al Jazeera that the country's assembly elections will be delayed until the first week of July at the earliest. The first elections since the fall of the country's longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi were due to be held on June 19. Two hundred representatives are to be elected and tasked with drafting the country's constitution, but authorities say they need more time to vet candidates. The ratification process for the roughly 4,000 potential candidates was scheduled to be completed by June 6. Libya's former deputy election commissioner quit his post in May because he said he did not believe that the country would be ready for next month's elections. Sghair Majeri told Al Jazeera at the time that "holding elections by June 19 is a mission impossible" as vetting the candidates and printing and distributing the ballots across the country would take weeks. "That would need at least four weeks, which means voting cannot take place before the second week of July," said Majeri in May.