Libya is on “the brink of civil war,” Col. Mukhtar Farnana, a prominent commander from Zintan, said in a televised statement, which he said was from the command of the self-declared Libyan National Army.  (link)

In March of 2011 Hillary Clinton, Samantha Power and Susan Rice, together with President Obama, made a specific decision to arm a group of unknown “rebels” in Benghazi Libya.    Those “rebels” were al-Qaeda faction Islamists.

Both the CIA and the Pentagon were against the decision.  Obama and Clinton ignored their advice and chose to send small arms, weapons and portable missiles to the region.

Today the Libyan National Army tried yet again to engage the radical Islamists and crack down on the lawless Eastern Tribal area.   However, the al-Qaeda militants are using those very same U.S. provided weapons (from Hillary and Co.) to fight.   Yes, there’s an Irony there. 

After the initial attack in Benghazi, the fighting quickly spread West to Tripoli where various elements of the Eastern Libyan islamists movement have embedded ready to start a civil war. 

These developments should be watched very closely.  If things escalate, the White House will be *tweeking* because of the political risk….   

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Fierce fighting swept across the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday, a short time after armed men stormed the country’s interim parliament. The violence appeared to be some of the worst since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

At least two people were killed and 66 were injured, according to the Health Ministry.

Residents of Tripoli rushed home Sunday evening. One Libyan who spoke to CNN reported seeing shop owners quickly closing up.

State media LANA reported that lawmakers had already left for the General National Congress when that attack happened as the session was over for the day. Armed men blocked the road that led to the parliament, LANA said, blocking members’ access to their offices.

Some lawmakers went on Libyan TV stations to talk about the attack, saying that fighting erupted in the area around the GNC.

The attack involved members of powerful militias from the western mountain city of Zintan.

But the al-Qaaqaa brigade, a Zintan militia based in Tripoli, issued a statement that it had “heeded the call of the homeland to save it from the abusing politicians …”

Two other militias from Zintan reportedly took part: al-Madani and al-Sawaeq.  (read more)

AlJazeera has good coverage HERE 

LIBYA –  Civilians were told to leave Benghazi by the renegade leader of the self-declared Libyan National Army before it launched a fresh attack on Islamist militants.

The warning came a day after dozens of people were killed in the worst clashes in the city for several months.

Families could be seen packing up and driving away from western districts of the port city where Islamist militants and LNA forces led by retired General Khalifa Haftar fought for hours on Friday.

Dressed in military uniform, Haftar – whom the speaker of parliament accused of plotting a coup – said his troops had temporarily withdrawn from Benghazi for tactical reasons.

“We’ll come back with force,” he said at a sports club in Abyar, a small town to the east of Benghazi.

“We’ve started this battle and will continue it until we have reached our goals,” he said.

He said government and parliament had no legitimacy as they had failed to achieve security. “The street and the Libyan people are with us,” he said, adding that his troops were spread out in several parts of eastern Libya.

In Tripoli, parliamentary speaker and military commander-in-chief Nuri Abu Sahmain said Hafter was trying to stage a coup.

“(LNA) members who have carried out the clashes in Benghazi are out of the control of the state of Libya and they are trying to attempt a coup for their own interests,” Abu Sahmain said in a televised news conference.

A Health Ministry official said the death toll had risen to 43, with more than 100 wounded. Haftar said 60 militants and six of his soldiers were killed, and 250 militants and 37 of his men wounded.

Libyan news website Ajwa Belad said l 75 people had been killed and 141 wounded.  (read more)