Tripolitania and Tripoli
The Libya Herald reported on 17 January the murder of Sheikh Fakhri Hussain Jahani in Misratah on 15 January. The sheikh was reported to have been killed in a hand grenade attack as he was leaving the Omar Ibn Khatab mosque after prayers. Although the sheikh was considered a ‘Salafist’ he had condemned Islamist groups for their practice of declaring other Muslims as unbelievers to justify attacks against them. Misratah has seen relatively little recent violence compared to other areas of the country; earlier this month two Egyptian Christians were killed when a Coptic church in Dafniya outside Misratah was bombed.
A UK based security consultancy has claimed that there has been a rise in incidents of theft and carjacking in the capital. The report also cited two case of abduction in mid January in Bin Ghashir and Ghut Al Shaal. According to Press Solidarity, a number of homes were also reported to have been burned by unknown assailants in Gharyan’s Al Jaafara neighbourhood on 17 January. The incident reportedly came at a time of heightened tensions over land ownership in the area.
On 19 January, the Ghadames local council reported that it was under siege by a group of militiamen positioned around the town; the council condemned the use of force and called for help to end the siege. During the past year, there have been several clashes in Ghadames and surrounding areas between Arabs and Tuareg who were accused of supporting Qadhafi during the revolution.
