re: #42 FemNaziBitch

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Meanwhile, in my series this week on stories using the name ‘Benghazi’ that are actually about Benghazi:
Support grows for renegade Libyan general

The renegade former army officer Khalifa Haftar is gathering support from various military units and militias after he launched an offensive against the Islamist militias in Benghazi.

The offensive began with attacks on the militias’ bases in the southwest of Benghazi on 16 May. Haftar then held a press conference to announce that his Libyan National Army had launched Operation ‘Al-Kharamah’ (dignity) to “purge the city of terrorists”.

The weak central government said it did not order the offensive and accused Haftar, who holds no official position in the military, of launching a coup, but conceded that he was supported by military units, including the nearby Binina Airbase, which flew sorties in support of the initial offensive.

The airbase’s Facebook page suggests its serviceable aircraft include two MiG-23s, as many as five MiG-21s, and some Mi-24/35 attack helicopters.

SNIP

The commander of Libya’s air defences, Colonel Juma al-Abani, announced on 20 May that he supported Haftar. His force’s Facebook page suggests it is equipped with at least three vehicle-mounted Igla-S short-range surface-to-air missile systems, at least two M53/59 Praga self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and various light anti-aircraft guns mounted on Toyota Land Cruisers.

While Haftar is known for his confident pronouncements, he alluded to the difficulties facing his forces after they failed to decisively defeat the Benghazi Islamists in the initial assaults on their bases. “Now they have gone into residential areas so we have to be very careful and the movement is slow because we have to be … very careful not to hit civilians. It’s going to take some time,” he told The Washington Post .

I hope Gen. Haftar is given the support he needs to succeed. The Islamist militias in Benghazi need to be suppressed as armed forces and those aligned with Al Qaeda must be destroyed.