Misrata, Libya (dpa) – Libyan militiamen carry automatic weapons, patrol roads and dress like heroes in action moves. But they are less violent than they look, and hardly serve as an warning for Syria. When diplomats talk about military involvement to halt the bloodshed in Syria, they often make comparisons with Libya, whether they back military intervention or are against it. Opponents point to militias armed to the teeth, who apparently still control Libyan cities, more than three months after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was deposed. Another point often made is that there remains a danger of a tribally based civil war breaking out in Libya. Many fear a conflict of this kind could also erupt in Syria, with its complex demographics. Following the fall of President Bashir al-Assad under this scenario, Sunnis, Alawis, Kurds and Christians would battle it out to the death in the absence of a strong central government. Whether Libya is in fact an example for such horror scenarios is moot. No one really knows how many former revolutionaries are still armed and active in Libya, although the figure is certainly above 50,000 men. Many of them have made use of their weapons to settle personal scores or to take revenge on former Gaddafi supporters. Yet given the number of weapons still circulating in Libya, the country is actually relatively peaceful. The reasons lie partly in the stable structure of Libyan society, where age and status are more highly regarded than political office. Recently, for instance, a fight broke out in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, after one brigade refused to hand over suspected prisoners of war. The 170 members of the revolutionary brigades in nearby Misrata set off with their machine guns mounted on off-road vehicles. The military council of Misrata – where almost 2,000 people died during the conflict – stopped them, insisting that negotiation be tried first. The young men – dressed in fantasy uniforms and draped in ammunition belts like out of some action movie – obeyed. Mohammed Ibrahim, a 47-year-old factory owner who was spokesman for the Misrata rebels during the war, is against any escalation to violence. “There are old sore points between Bani Walid and Misrata, and our brigades therefore stayed out of the battles in Bani Walid,” he said. “We left the matter to fighters from Sintan and Tripoli, back then in October, because we want to live in peace with our neighbors,” he added. Ibrahim's brother was taken prisoner during the conflict and hauled off to Tripoli, where Gaddafi loyalists killed him shortly before the rebels took the city. His 19-year-old son lost a leg in the fighting. Nevertheless, Ibrahim is against taking revenge on those who were loyal to the late dictator. “As long as someone did not shoot prisoners or rape women, there is no reason to punish the ones who fought on the other side,” he said. Ibrahim believes war criminals should be mercilessly pursued by the new justice system that is currently being created. The Misrata brigades who were encircled by Gaddafi forces for months were formed from clans and residents in different districts in the coastal city. Some are as small as a couple of dozen members, while the largest, the Mohammed al-Halbus Brigade, had 1,800 men at one stage. Most of these armed revolutionaries are now concerned about their own future as students, office workers or business people. Only 15 men from Misrata's Convoy Brigade, which numbers 70 members, have applied to join the police or armed forces. The brigade's two commanding officers were shot and killed in Sirte on the day Gaddafi himself was killed. Neither had undergone formal military training. Nor had most of the men they commanded. Ahmed al-Saddik al-Huta, 32, joined the brigade in the early days of the conflict. He has now returned to his job as a truck driver, but once a week, he turns up with his weapon to guard the building housing Misrata's local radio broadcaster. “Things are improving from day to day. But as long as we do not have a proper government and there are no police, we will hang on to our weapons,” he says. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/XDi7o Tags: featured, Fighters, Misrata, Soldiers, Violence Section: Features, Latest News, Libya, Syria
