Explosion kills 6 in Libya’s Benghazi

A car has exploded in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least six people, including an individual who outspokenly supported a renegade general in the country.

The explosion occurred in the al-Kesh district of Benghazi late Saturday, killing TV host Mohammed Bougages, who was close to controversial General Khalifa Haftar.

Local officials said at least 10 people were also injured in the incident.

Some reports say the explosion was caused by a bomb that had been planted in the car. Even if confirmed, it would be hard to know whether it was targeted specifically against Bougages. He hosted a daily talk show aired on state TV, during which he voiced views supportive of Haftar; but it is not clear how much weight he carried and whether he could constitute enough of a threat to Haftar’s opponents for them to plan his assassination.

Haftar and a faction of loyalist army personnel have taken it upon themselves to fight extremist militants in Benghazi. In so doing, they have been defying the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya.

The renegade general used to be an ally of Libya’s long-time dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. He, however, joined the Libyan revolution against Gaddafi in 2011.

He has refused to profess allegiance to the internationally-recognized GNA in Tripoli.

Haftar and his forces have been fighting in Benghazi since 2014. They describe the operations as a “correction to the path of the revolution” and a “war on terrorism.”

The rebel general claimed to have “liberated” Benghazi from militants earlier this year but violence still continues in the city.

The opponents of Haftar say he is essentially involved in a struggle for power and is undermining the country.

Comments

Iran, Turkey, Qatar mull land route amid Saudi crisis

Turkey seeks to establish a land route via Iran for trade with Qatar which has relied on both countries for sourcing food since a diplomatic crisis broke out with Saudi Arabia. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci on Saturday was in Tehran where he was expected to discuss using Iran’s land route to facilitate trade with Qatar, Anadolu quoted him as saying. "We're thinking about alternatives for land trade routes with Qatar but the easiest way is passing through Iran," Zeybekci said, according to the news agency. He traveled to Tehran to attend the swearing-in of President Hassan Rouhani along with delegates from around the world. It was not immediately clear who was representing Qatar in the ceremony. Turkey has used a land, air and sea blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to flood the tiny peninsula in the Persian Gulf with its goods but Zeybekci said using cargo planes to carry products was no...

China punishes thousands over misuse of govt. funds

China has punished 8,123 people for committing fiscal violations after an audit of how the government's 2016 central budget was spent revealed multiple problems, the Xinhua state news agency reported. Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office, announced the infringements while briefing lawmakers on Saturday, Xinhua said. A broad anti-graft campaign in China, aimed at rooting out deep-seated corruption in the ruling Communist Party, including the misuse or embezzlement of government funds, has ensnared more than 1.3 million officials. Hu said that of the offenders, 970 were punished for misusing funds earmarked for a poverty relief campaign intended to lift everyone in rural areas out of poverty by 2020. Another 1,363 were punished for irregularities in the use of funds meant to provide affordable housing, she said. She said 800 people in state-owned enterprises and 73 people in eight major banks were found to have committed violations, along with 505 people who...

38 dead, 92,000 left homeless by Niger floods

Recent heavy floods in Niger have killed more than three dozen people and left tens of thousands of others homeless, a United Nations (UN) report says. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on Wednesday that, since June, at least 38 people had lost their lives and more than 92,000 had been made homeless as a result of torrential rains and heavy downpours in the West African country. The Nigerien government had put the number of fatalities at 14 before new flooding in August. The OCHA, citing government figures, also noted that more than 9,000 homes had been destroyed and more than 26,000 heads of livestock lost. Over 50,000 people had received aid from NGOs and many of the homeless had been sheltering in schools and public buildings, it added. The Nigerien National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a warning last month, advising residents along the Niger River to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of...

True News

Search This Blog