Ghadames clashes with Zintanis: report

Tripoli, 20 January 2013:

The siege of Ghadames reported by its local council yesterday, Saturday, is being carried out by border guards from Zintan according to a senior member of Ghadames Shura Council.

Speaking by phone today from the border town, the official said there had been clashes between the guards and Ghadames revolutionaries but there had been no serious injuries. The Zintanis, he claimed, were refusing to allow anyone in or out of the town and had yesterday managed to close the airport.  However, a flight to Tripoli had finally left this morning, Sunday, he said.  There were no problems in the town itself, he stressed.

Town leaders had complained to the government, the official told the Libya Herald. “We have informed the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister’s Office,” he explained.  However, he was unsure whether that would have any effect.  “Probably this will be solved socially with Zintan,” he added.  A team of Zintani officials were due to arrive in Ghadames today, he said.

He said he did not know why the militiamen had taken action.  There had been a number in Ghadames for the past year and a half, controlling the nearby border.  But numbers had “signignificantly” increased in the recent weeks, he added.

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