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Tripoli, 10 October:
A protest . . .[restrict]has been staged by the municipal guards of the city of Beida, as a result of what they claim is a lack of equipment and support.
The municipal guards department of Aljabal Al-Akhdar demanded uniforms and vehicles, and sis that they were worried that they were being marginalised. The protestors carried placards denouncing centralisation.
The guards said they had lodged their requests and concerns with the relevant authorities in Tripoli but no action had been taken and the situation remained the same. The protestors issued a statement setting out what they said were their legal rights and requesting that their demands be dealt with promptly, to enable them to perform their duties properly.
Other members of the security forces have also complained of a lack of equipment and central support. At the end of September heavily-armed members of the Supreme Security Committee (SSC) who had been involved in deadly clashes in Brak, stormed into Tripoli and threatened to blow up the Rixos hotel. Their complaint was that military support promised by the Ministry of Defence had never arrived in Brak. In clashes between the SSC and townspeople, following the death of a local girl, at least 16 SSC members had been killed and fifty injured, forcing them to pull out of the town. [/restrict]
