Kinyungu
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 6, 2008
- 17,370
- 33,017
Benghazi:
Armed troops who helped bring down the Qaddafi regime were on the streets of Benghazi on Thursday demanding they be paid. They said that they had not received any money since the revolution started in February. They also claimed that at least 10 injured colleagues at the city's main Jalaa hospital were not receiving proper treatment.
At one point in the afternoon, a group of about 150 in angry mood blocked access to the city's Uzu hotel, home to a number of foreign journalists. It was the second time during the day that protestors targeted the hotel.
"The Qaddafi regime at least paid its soldiers", one of the protestors, a member of the city's Tahrir brigade, said. "Because we're volunteers, we don't get anything." He said that he had not received anything since Feb. 17, the day the revolution started.
"The majlis (the Transitional National Council - TNC) simply changed the flag and the anthem. That's all," spat out an even angrier brigade member. "We want our rights," he shouted. Another added that colleagues had remonstrated with their commander about pay but that he had "run away."
Hotel security, themselves members of the forces that brought about the revolution, remonstrated with the protestors. "I'm with you," the head of security said, "but just end this." His pleadings seemed to work. The protestors removed the road block and headed off elsewhere.
The protests have been growing in frequency and in the number with the approach of Eid. The previous day, groups of soldiers armed with both weapons and placards held up traffic in a succession of strikes across the city. By mid-evening, around 100 stopped traffic outside the city's top hotel, the Tibesti, where a number of foreign diplomats stay and have their offices.
There too, the main complaint was about pay. "No-one is paying attention to us," complained 25-year-old Abdullah Binhariz, a member of the Benghazi brigade. "Eid is very near and we don't have any money to celebrate."
Waasi wasitegemee tena mambo mteremko ndio kwanza tabu zimeeanza! Sasa hivi watalitafuta kaburi la GADAFI
Soma zaidi hapa: Libyan troops demand pay in time for Eid - Arab News
Armed troops who helped bring down the Qaddafi regime were on the streets of Benghazi on Thursday demanding they be paid. They said that they had not received any money since the revolution started in February. They also claimed that at least 10 injured colleagues at the city's main Jalaa hospital were not receiving proper treatment.
At one point in the afternoon, a group of about 150 in angry mood blocked access to the city's Uzu hotel, home to a number of foreign journalists. It was the second time during the day that protestors targeted the hotel.
"The Qaddafi regime at least paid its soldiers", one of the protestors, a member of the city's Tahrir brigade, said. "Because we're volunteers, we don't get anything." He said that he had not received anything since Feb. 17, the day the revolution started.
"The majlis (the Transitional National Council - TNC) simply changed the flag and the anthem. That's all," spat out an even angrier brigade member. "We want our rights," he shouted. Another added that colleagues had remonstrated with their commander about pay but that he had "run away."
Hotel security, themselves members of the forces that brought about the revolution, remonstrated with the protestors. "I'm with you," the head of security said, "but just end this." His pleadings seemed to work. The protestors removed the road block and headed off elsewhere.
The protests have been growing in frequency and in the number with the approach of Eid. The previous day, groups of soldiers armed with both weapons and placards held up traffic in a succession of strikes across the city. By mid-evening, around 100 stopped traffic outside the city's top hotel, the Tibesti, where a number of foreign diplomats stay and have their offices.
There too, the main complaint was about pay. "No-one is paying attention to us," complained 25-year-old Abdullah Binhariz, a member of the Benghazi brigade. "Eid is very near and we don't have any money to celebrate."
Waasi wasitegemee tena mambo mteremko ndio kwanza tabu zimeeanza! Sasa hivi watalitafuta kaburi la GADAFI
Soma zaidi hapa: Libyan troops demand pay in time for Eid - Arab News
