AFRICA/LIBYA - Precarious security in Benghazi among attacks, kidnappings and assaults in prisons

Tripoli (Agenzia Fides)-Bombs, kidnappings and assaults in prisons: security in Benghazi, the capital of Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) still seems precarious after about 9 months since the end of the civil war and the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime.
On the morning of August 1, an explosive device damaged the local headquarters of the military intelligence. The attack (which caused no casualties but serious material damage, also extended to adjacent buildings), has not yet been claimed, but according to a senior security official, since July 20, when Ramadan began, there have been several attacks against security force buildings and symbols of the deposed regime. On the night of July 31, unknown assailants attacked the prison where Salem al-Obeidi was detained, releasing him. He is accused of killing Abdel-Fattah Younis, Gaddafi’s former Interior Minister who had become one of the leaders of the insurgents. Younis was killed in July 2011 in circumstances that have not yet been clarified.
Finally, seven representatives of the Iranian Red Crescent were kidnapped in the night between 30 and 31 July while returning to the hotel. The delegation members were intercepted by an armed group that got them into several cars and transferred them to an unknown location. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 01/08/2012)