Tripoli, 16 November 2013:
The number of people killed in Tripoli during last night’s clashes has reached 43, with a . . .[restrict]further 460 injured, according to the Ministry of Interior.
This figure may include three Misratans who were also killed, according to Libyan news agency LANA. It is understood that dead and injured Misratans were taken back to their home city last night, and no numbers for their injured have yet been reported.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said it had monitored yesterday’s protests and had not seen evidence of weapons amongst protestors. The demonstration was peaceful until the first shots were fired, from an “unknown place,” according to the head of the Supreme Security Committee Hashim Bishr. Members of the Misrata brigade stationed in Gharghour then immediately opened fire on protestors, Bishr said. Protestors say that the shots came from the brigade which, they said, first fired into the air and then directly at the demonstrators.
The office of the Attorney General was now in charge of investigating last night’s events, the Ministry of Interior added.
Three days national mourning for the dead was declared yesterday. Today, Tripoli University announced that it would close for three days after eight students were killed in the clashes. Flags outside government buildings and leading hotels in the capital have been flying at half-mast today. [/restrict]
