BENGHAZI
Shops
and schools closed across Benghazi on Tuesday as residents of Libya's
second city responded to calls for civil disobedience to protest deadly
clashes between radical Islamists and the army.
The
call by the city council came as a source said defence ministry
officials were in talks with jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia on an offer
of safe passage out of the city on condition its fighters leave their
weapons behind.
The army clashed with jihadists on
Monday after one of its patrols was attacked near the headquarters of
Ansar al-Sharia, a group blamed for the killing of the US ambassador in
2012.
The health ministry said seven people were killed in the fighting and around 50 wounded.
On Tuesday, the army deployed across the eastern city, taking control of key roads, an AFP correspondent reported.
Troops
were also in control of the Ansar al-Sharia headquarters in the city of
Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, which residents had attacked late Monday,
forcing jihadists to flee, before handing it over to the army.
Benghazi
was the cradle of the 2011 uprising during which NATO-backed rebels
toppled and then killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Since
the end of the uprising, Libya has been hit by waves of deadly violence
much of it blamed on heavily armed former rebels who have banded into
militias each with its own ideology and allegiance.
The
government has been struggling to integrate the former rebels into a
regular army and police, or make them surrender their weapons.
Fed
up by the government's inability to rein in the gunmen, the city
council called on residents to show their frustration through three days
of "civil disobedience", including strikes.
The move
brought Benghazi to a near standstill with schools, universities, shops,
banks and public offices all closed, as residents mourned the dead.
Earlier
this month, residents of the capital Tripoli observed a similar
campaign of protests against militias in response to deadly violence,
prompting some of them to pull out of the city.
Jihadists seek 'safe' exit
Defence
Minister Abdallah al-Teni said his ministry was in touch with Ansar
al-Sharia to find a solution that would avoid further bloodshed.
Ansar
al-Sharia is requesting a "safe corridor" for its fighters to leave
Benghazi but army chiefs are demanding they leave behind their heavy
weapons, the minister said, according the spokesman of Libya's top
political body, the General National Congress.
A GNC delegation also arrived in Benghazi on Tuesday at the request of the city council.
Late
on Monday Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, fresh from talks with US and
British officials in London on the violence wracking his country, flew
into Benghazi briefly for meetings with security officials.
TRAINING OF 5,000 TO 8,000 TROOPS
Last
week, the US military said it hopes to train 5,000 to 8,000 troops for
the fledgling new army, following a request from Zeidan.
Zeidan
met both US Secretary of State John Kerry and Britain's William Hague
in London on Sunday and after the talks the US top diplomat vowed to
help stabilise Libya.
The Benghazi violence comes as
the authorities take steps to evacuate militias from Tripoli, on the
back of popular discontent in the capital against armed groups.
Less
than two weeks ago, 46 people were killed and more than 500 wounded
after militiamen opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in Tripoli
prompting armed clashes.
Ansar Al-Sharia advocates the
implementation of sharia Islamic law and has systematically refused to
recognise the authority of the central government or its security
services.
The group controls areas of Benghazi as well
as Sirte and Derna, also in eastern Libya, and has been blamed for
bloody attacks against foreign missions, judges and security personnel.
The
most daring attack, in September 2012, targeted the US consulate in
Benghazi, killing ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Ansar al-Sharia denies any involvement.
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