Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Libyan Protesters Set Fire to Government Headquarters in Benghazi


Sun 20 Sep 2020 | 03:58 PM
H-Tayea

On Sunday, hundreds of Libyan protesters set fire to government headquarters in the city of Benghazi, eastern Libya, as demonstrations against the deteriorating living conditions and corruption continued for the third day in a row.

The protesters took to the streets in eastern cities to protest against the political elite and the poor living conditions, including prolonged power cuts and a severe banking crisis.

Witnesses said that the protests also broke out late Saturday evening in Al-Bayda, the former seat of the government, and Sabha in the south, and for the first time in Al-Marj, which is a stronghold of eastern Libyan forces (the Libyan National Army) led by Khalifa Haftar.

Libya has been split into rival camps with parallel institutions in the east and west since 2014. Eastern Libya and much of the south is controlled by Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is aligned with a government and a rump parliament also based in the east.

Several hundred protesters turned out in the eastern towns to demonstrate against the political elite and over deteriorating living conditions that include lengthy power cuts and a severe banking crisis.

Similar protests broke out in late August in western Libya, where a new demonstration was planned for Sunday. Several dozen protesters had gathered outside the GNA building by midday.

In Benghazi the protesters, some armed with guns, set fire to the government building, leaving its white facade charred black, according to witnesses and pictures posted on social media.