Sunday, June 23, 2013

The South Of Libya Has Become The 'Wild West'


Chaos, Islamist Threat Plague Libya's Lawless Desert South -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Sitting on cement blocks, surrounded by shisha pipes and machine guns, a dozen or so tribesmen guard a makeshift checkpoint outside the main city in Libya's desert south.

They are there to guard against smugglers and criminals, who have multiplied since Muammar Gaddafi's downfall in the 2011 war. They also say they are ready to battle Islamist militants that Libya's neighbors and Western nations fear are crossing the North African country's porous borders.

"If I hear al Qaeda is here, I will kill them. We know what happened in Mali and we won't allow it here, even if we only have rifles," Mohammed Wardi, 25, said as a war movie blasted from an old television nearby. "We are here to protect Libya."

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My Comment: The region is massive .... and with no resources to maintain order .... it will probably be lawless for the forseeable future.

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