Libya: 3 dead following Sufi shrine clashes by Salafists at Rajma
Three people have been killed following the latest attempt by militant Salafists to destroy a sufi shrine, the interior minister has said.The incident took place yesterday in the eastern town of Rajma, when local residents sought to defend the Sidi Al-Lafi mausoleum from the extremists
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Libya-3-dead-fo...
Sources have told the Libya Herald that all three of the dead men were amongst the Salafists and that a further seven were injured. Three of those are said to be in a critical condition and are receiving treatment in hospital in Benghazi.
Whereas the security forces did nothing to stop the desecration of three Sufi shrines in Tripoli, Zliten and Misrata, a battalion of the army’s Libya Shield brigade is said to have intervened to stop the fighting, albeit belatedly.
Islamists have been targetting Sufi shrines in recent weeks and follows the attacks against shrines in Timbuktu. This is thought to bea sign of growing Al Qaeda influence as such actions are totally at odds with the moderate Malekit rite. Islamists regard Sufi's as heretics. Other incidents of shrine destruction have inluded Al Shebab in Somalia and the destruction of ancient buhddist shrines in Afghanistan. An article in Magharebia suggests that Al Qaeda is moving its centre of operations from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Sahel and the Maghreb. There is also said to be a move of terrorist elements from the Mashreq to the Maghreb.
In Libya attacks took place on 23 August against the Abdul-Salam Al-Asmar Al-Fituri shrine in Zliten, on 25 August another mausoleum, of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Zarruq, was targeted in nearby Misrata, the same day that the Al-Sha’ab shrine in Tripoli was also destroyed by Salafists who used a mechanical digger over a 48 hour period.
The libyan Minister of Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelal resigned on 26 August over the security forces failure to act but then reinstated himself two days later saying that the security forces did not have sufficient fire power to deal with the islamists and that the destruction of graves was not worth the life of one person. Fortunately for Ramja the local population and the Army's Libya Shield brigade took a more proactive role which is perhaps a hopeful sign for the future.
Whereas the security forces did nothing to stop the desecration of three Sufi shrines in Tripoli, Zliten and Misrata, a battalion of the army’s Libya Shield brigade is said to have intervened to stop the fighting, albeit belatedly.
Islamists have been targetting Sufi shrines in recent weeks and follows the attacks against shrines in Timbuktu. This is thought to bea sign of growing Al Qaeda influence as such actions are totally at odds with the moderate Malekit rite. Islamists regard Sufi's as heretics. Other incidents of shrine destruction have inluded Al Shebab in Somalia and the destruction of ancient buhddist shrines in Afghanistan. An article in Magharebia suggests that Al Qaeda is moving its centre of operations from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Sahel and the Maghreb. There is also said to be a move of terrorist elements from the Mashreq to the Maghreb.
In Libya attacks took place on 23 August against the Abdul-Salam Al-Asmar Al-Fituri shrine in Zliten, on 25 August another mausoleum, of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Zarruq, was targeted in nearby Misrata, the same day that the Al-Sha’ab shrine in Tripoli was also destroyed by Salafists who used a mechanical digger over a 48 hour period.
The libyan Minister of Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelal resigned on 26 August over the security forces failure to act but then reinstated himself two days later saying that the security forces did not have sufficient fire power to deal with the islamists and that the destruction of graves was not worth the life of one person. Fortunately for Ramja the local population and the Army's Libya Shield brigade took a more proactive role which is perhaps a hopeful sign for the future.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Libya-3-dead-fo...