Former rebels attack Libyan government HQ

Former Libyan rebels attacked the interim government’s headquarters in Tripoli yesterday, killing at least two people and wounding several others, an official of the interior ministry said.

“Between two and four guards were killed and many others are wounded,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Former rebels angry over unpaid stipends opened fire on the headquarters after surrounding the building, officials went on.

“Many men encircled the building and opened fire against it with weapons including anti-aircraft cannon,” a government employee said.

“Some men entered the premises and fired from inside,” he said, adding that chaotic scenes unfolded as people scrambled for cover.

Several trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns surrounded the building in central Tripoli, blocking traffic.

Residents in the area reported hearing heavy exchanges of gunfire. Others reported military vehicles travelling down the airport road towards the city centre where the headquarters are.

Government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa said Defence Minister Osama Juili was negotiating with the fighters, who “came in protest over (unpaid) stipends”.

Last month, citing widespread fraud, Libyan authorities suspended the payment of cash bonuses to rebels who had fought against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.

Former fighters reacted negatively to the decision. On April 10 they opened fire against the government complex in a smaller attack that authorities brushed off as a “scare tactic”.

Security in the building has since been beefed up with armed guards stationed all around the complex, which holds the offices of Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib.

Analysts and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the interim government must disarm militias, who pose one of the biggest challenges to the North African nation’s transition to democracy.

Mr Kib’s Cabinet has come under attack in recent weeks for its failure to take tough decisions such as stripping former rebels of their prized weapons.

Libya’s nascent armed forces and the interior ministry have sought to incorporate anti-Gaddafi fighters into their ranks, but rogue elements continue to defy the new authorities.

Seventy thousand former fighters are now under interior ministry command, a Libyan official said on April 24.

Yesterday’s violence came as Libyans across the country registered to vote in the first national poll in more than four decades. Libyans are expected to vote for a constituent assembly in June.