Security fears haunt Libyans on revolt anniversary

By Ramadan Al-Fatash Feb 16, 2012, 13:23 GMT

Cairo - On the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that eventually ended the 42-year autocracy of Moamer Gaddafi, Libyan authorities Thursday have tightened security across the North African country.

Checkpoints have been set up in the Libyan capital Tripoli while security personnel have been deployed outside key state institutions, said witnesses.

The national flag and colourful banners praising the anti-Gaddafi revolt have been hoisted atop buildings and outside stores in main streets of Tripoli.

Leaders of the interim ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), meanwhile, called on Libyans to celebrate the occasion in a 'simple, refined manner.'

'I urge my compatriots to hold simple celebrations without any armed displays,' said NTC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil. 'Because Libya's wounds have not healed yet,' he explained.

This was in apparent reference to the unspecified number of Libyans killed and injured in the armed revolt that began against Gaddafi on February 17, 2011, and that ultimately led to the dictator's capture and death in October.

The tightened security in Libya is prompted by fears that Gaddafi loyalists will launch terror attacks to mar the occasion.

'I would like to reassure the Libyan people that there is nothing to be worried about from the Gaddafi followers,' Abdel Jalil added in remarks, quoted by the official Libyan News Agency on Thursday.

According to him, Libyan authorities have arrested several 'large' suspected groups who had allegedly planned bombings in the country. Abdel Jalil did not say when those groups were detained.

His remarks were made days after Al-Saadi Gaddafi, son of the late leader, said that an imminent uprising would be launched in Libya against the new rulers.

'I have contacts almost on a daily basis with many Libyan groups. Many of them are still working with us,' the younger Gaddafi told the broadcaster Al Arabiya in a telephone interview from Niger on Friday.

'I'll be returning to Libya at any minute,' he added. Al-Saadi fled to Niger in September after rebels overran the Libyan capital Tripoli and removed his father from power.

Authorities in Niger have reportedly detained Al-Saadi and kept him in an unknown location following a protest from the NTC over his remarks.

However, two days after Al-Saadi's threat, clashes erupted between gunmen loyal to Gaddafi and Libyan government forces in the south-eastern town of Kufra.

At least 17 people were killed in the fighting, according to local media figures.

Libya has seen several battles between former rebel forces who back the NTC and Gaddafi backers.

The Libyan Interior Ministry this week threatened 'firm measures' against what it called inciters of sedition in the country.

'I warn the remnants of the former regime that they have to come to their senses. We will strike hard at anyone thinking of tampering with Libya's security,' Omar al-Khadrawi, an undersecretary for the Interior Ministry, told reporters in Tripoli, on Wednesday.

Adding to Libyans' concerns are the violent clashes that occasionally flare up among rival insurgents who were once united in toppling Gaddafi.

In a report on Thursday, the rights group Amnesty International said armed militias operating across Libya were 'largely out of control' and had committed widespread human rights abuses with impunity, fuelling insecurity.

A bid by Libya's new rulers to integrate the former rebels into the state's police and army seems to have made little impact so far.