Updated on
Summary Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali warned Tuesday that Islamists amount to a major force in Libya.
He has evaluated the real situation both in terms of numbers and arms, following a surge in violence including attacks on shrines.These people are a major force in terms of numbers and the equipment they have in Libya, he told a press conference in Tripoli.These people have arms and big groups. We must not close our eyes to this, the minister said, while ruling out an armed confrontation with the authorities.As for me, I am not going to go into a losing battle and will not kill people because of a tomb, he said, referring to the destruction of shrines by hardline Islamists as a very complicated business.Abdelali announced earlier that he was withdrawing his resignation, two days after having offered to stand down.When I submitted my resignation, I thought I would be relieving many people. But it seems that my resignation will further complicate security and I have decided to withdraw it, he said.Abdelali had resigned on Sunday after coming under fire for the performance of security forces during the violence which has rocked Libya.An aide told AFP on Sunday that Abdelali quit to protest against congressmen criticising the government and to defend the revolutionaries, referring to former rebels who now form part of Libyas security services.That same day the newly elected General National Congress, or national assembly, accused the interior ministrys High Security Committee of being lax or even implicated in the destruction of shrines, including those of Sufis.Dozens of people took to the streets of Tripoli on Sunday and Monday to protest the violence, which also included double car bombings in Tripoli that killed two people as Muslims celebrated the feast of Eid al-Fitr a week ago.Islamist hardliners last Saturday bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital.The demolition came a day after hardliners blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar in Zliten, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital.According to witnesses, another mausoleum, that of Sheikh Ahmed al-Zarruq, has been destroyed in the port of Misrata, 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Tripoli.
