Libya Tries Outlawing Unsanctioned Militias - East Idaho News
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Libya Tries Outlawing Unsanctioned Militias

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Getty W 090411 LibyanRebels?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1348468475534Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images(TRIPOLI, Libya) — Militias not under government control in Libya will no longer be tolerated in the wake of an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi two weeks ago that left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.

Mohammed Magarief, the top member of the Libyan national congress, announced over the weekend that he will quickly move to disband militias to guarantee laws are administrated by police and not unsanctioned paramilitary units.

Magarief’s decision came shortly after Benghazi residents, upset at the death of Stevens, forced the Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia out of their city.

Many feel that Ansar-al-Sharia was involved in a coordinated strike against the consulate, while al Qaeda — its sympathizers — were also blamed.

With guns having proliferated in Libya since the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi a year ago, it’s been harder to discern who will use their weapons to help prop up the still fledgling democracy.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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