2012-05-10
Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdurrahim El Keib, cabinet ministers, NTC members, sheikhs, khatibs and private citizens gathered Wednesday (May 9th) at Tripoli's al-Shuhada Square to eulogise the security officer killed a day earlier in the attack on the government headquarters.
On Tuesday morning, some 200 armed men attacked the government seat to demand cash stipends for former rebels. Ali al-Mabrouk al-Qaoud, a member of the interior ministry's Tripoli High Security Committee, was the only fatality from the violent assault.
His funeral turned into a demonstration against all armed rallies. As they headed from the public square to the cemetery, mourners carried independence flags and banners calling for Tripoli to be free of weapons and for revolutionary brigades to leave the capital.
Following the funeral prayers, the Tripoli High Security Committee condemned the attack on the Cabinet headquarters as "a violation of the Libyan state and principles of the 17 February Revolution".
Al-Qaoud's father also addressed the crowd. He said that his son took part in liberation battles from Benghazi, to the Western Mountains and then on to Tripoli before dying while protecting his country. He stressed the need to bring the killers to justice, disband the military councils and brigades, and cleanse the revolutionary ranks of criminals.
On Tuesday morning, some 200 armed men, backed by about 50 trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers, attacked the government seat to demand cash stipends for former rebels.
© Magharebia.com 2012
