(Reuters) - Libya is plunging into a cycle of tribal violence and retribution which, if left unchecked, could undermine the authority of its new leaders, spur new forms of insurgency and throw the country back into chaos.
More than a week after the death of Muammar Gaddafi, anger is on the boil again with what many Libyans see as the inability of the interim government to rein in its brigades and stop a wave of revenge attacks.
Retribution is a byproduct of wars the world over, but Libya is awash with guns and still roamed by gangs of Gaddafi loyalists, meaning that an orgy of revenge could easily shatter its fragile peace and derail attempts to rebuild.
As post-Gaddafi euphoria fades, trouble already appears to be brewing in parts of Libya where disgruntled and armed civilians are growing increasingly suspicious of the National Transitional Council and its ability to bring law and order.
"I've seen a lot of revolutions. This is not a revolution, this is chaos," said Ali Mohamed, a 57-year-old former soldier in Gaddafi's army.
"It's all about personal acts of revenge. If there is no stability and security, people will turn against the council."
Observers say that, for now, Gaddafi loyalists have no hope of reinstalling the dictator's regime, with his armed forces crushed and most of his family either in exile or dead.
Yet in many cities in Libya's central and western parts -- which, unlike the more rebellious east, have been in Gaddafi's fold until recently -- the atmosphere is bitter.
In one town 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Tripoli, locals said several people had been killed in the past week in raids by former rebel brigades from other tribes seeking revenge against men they believed had fought on Gaddafi's side.
Southeast of Tripoli, in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, tribesmen from the powerful Warfalla tribe said their men were already trying to organise themselves into an insurgent movement.
In Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has urged the NTC to investigate dozens of decaying bodies discovered shortly after he was killed.
On Sunday, the rights group accused militias from the coastal city of Misrata of "terrorising" displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, in retribution for the townspeople's alleged collaboration in atrocities committed by Gaddafi forces.
"Revenge against the people from Tawarga, whatever the accusations against them, undermines the goal of the Libyan revolution," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East and North Africa director.
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RETRIBUTION
The cycle of retribution appears already to have started. The town of al Jemel, a scattering of sandy homes in the palm-studded desert southwest of Tripoli, is one example.
Residents said brigades from faraway Misrata had appeared at their doorstep a week ago, breaking into people's homes and looking for Gaddafi loyalists.
Dozens of young men have disappeared and four have been killed in detention, said Al Koni Salem Mohammed, the uncle of one of those killed.
Speaking at a mourning ceremony on the edge of town, he shook with grief as he showed the death certificate listing "electric shocks" as a cause of death. He said the body had been dumped outside the detention centre with its tongue and genitals cut off.
"After all this, our children and the children of our children will never be with this revolution," he said, bursting into tears and shaking his fist, as other men in traditional dress sat in the shade of a tent set up for the mourning period.
"If this does not stop there will be a reaction. Any build-up of pressure leads to an explosion ... There is a lot of anger. Doesn't the government have an army to handle this?"
Another man, Hussein Silian, said his son had also been detained and killed by brigades because he had served in Gaddafi's army, adding there should have been a trial.
"There is nowhere we can go," he said. "I wish someone could disarm these gangs, they are turning into criminals."
Worryingly, the fault lines are tribal.
In this town, locals blamed men from Misrata, whereas in Bani Walid, tribesmen singled out brigades from Zawiya as the ones behind revenge attacks.
In places like Bani Walid, where undefeated Gaddafi forces still launch attacks on NTC positions, commanders are worried about the rise of a new insurgency.
"Gaddafi forces are not fighting, they are escaping," said Omar al Mukhtar, commander of anti-Gaddafi forces in northern Bani Walid. "But we are concerned they are regrouping again in the north of Mali and could strike again."
In a sign that Gaddafi loyalists are reorganising, about 100 people from Libya's southern desert demonstrated in Tripoli on Saturday, saying their villages were under constant attack from pro-Gaddafi mercenaries.
"They are the men of Gaddafi and they are attacking villages, killing people, stealing cars," said Mohammed Hassan, from the town of Mausq where Gaddafi's fugitive son Saif al-Islam was last believed to be hiding. "They don't recognise the new flag."
Anmerkung dazu: Natürlich - die überfallen die NTC-Posten und nehmen die Waffen und die Fahrzeuge mit ... sollt wohl klar sein ... und das die auf die Monarchisten-Deppen-Unterdrückungsfahne der Massenmörder spucken ist jedem normalen Menschen klar und verständlich ...
GADDAFI'S GHOST
Although Gaddafi is dead, for many people he is still a rallying point, his importance in their eyes now reinforced by his status as a "martyr".
Examples abound. In al Jemel, men mourning their dead quietly recited the motto of Gaddafi's rule: "Allah, Muammar, Libya, nothing else."
A pro-Gaddafi website declared this week: "We promise you, martyred leader, that we will follow your path."
In Bani Walid, entire neighbourhoods were covered with graffiti praising the deposed leader.
With NATO planning to end its Libya operations this week, global powers are concerned that these early bouts of violence could develop into a full-blown insurgency, and will be watching the NTC's actions closely over coming weeks.
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"The NTC - army is right now empty of soldiers. ... Now we are building a new army with the principles of the revolution."
AW: Gaddafis Tod - Libyen danach!
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Zitat von Steiner
solltest dein Verhältnis zu Fakten nicht zum Maßstab machen ... (oder magst du dich weiter selbst karikieren ? )
