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Libya Herald staff.
Benghazi and Tripoli, 25 November 2013:
Extensive fighting broke out in the centre of Benghazi overnight between between the army’s . . .[restrict]Special Forces Saiqa Brigade and Ansar Al-Sharia. The clashes continue this morning. It is not clear if any other military units or militias are involved.
The position on the ground is unclear. Some phone calls this morning from the Libya Herald to people in central Benghazi have been punctuated by the sound of heavy gunfire.
Eleven wounded members the Saiqa Brigade have been taken to the city’s Jalaa Hospital, along with three bodies. Other wounded have been taken to Benghazi Medical Centre. Staff are said to have been reporting for duty to both at around 3 am in response to the violence.
All shops and schools are closed with teachers ringing round telling parents to keep their children away. The streets are entirely empty, apart from the combatants.
A message from Colonel Abdullah Saiti, the head of Benghazi Joint Security Room, has been broadcast, telling people to stay at home.
The fighting was at its most intense at 6 am this morning according to a military commander.
“It is impossible to ascertain if the fighting is now subsiding” he said at a quarter to nine this morning.
It is unclear if the clashes were spontaneous or a planned operation. The Libya Herald has been informed that on Friday evening, six members of the Saiqa Brigade were seized by Ansar Al-Sharia. They were said to have been beaten, forced to crawl on their hands and knees and generally humiliated. They were then sent back to their unit. The message would appear to have been that Ansar Al-Sharia could act with impunity and that Saiqa should not mess with them.
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