Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash
Tripoli, 04 Jan – (ANA) - Libya has named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from the anti-Gaddafi bastion of Misrata, as head of the armed forces in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military.
The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gun battle between rival militias in Tripoli, underlining the interim government's difficulties in controlling the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
More than two months after he was captured and killed, real power remains in the hands of the militias, who have carved up Libya and its capital into competing fiefdoms, each holding out for the share of power they say they are owed.
To help reinstate law and order, the interim government plans to integrate thousands of former rebels in the military, the police and other civilian jobs. Some militia chiefs say they will only cede command of their fighters once an organised military and security apparatus is in place.
Manqoush's appointment by National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil could pave the way toward forming a structured military. But it is not clear yet whether militia commanders will accept him.
His prospects could be boosted by the fact that he hails from Misrata, besieged for months by Gaddafi's forces and home to a number of the militias that helped to topple him and now seek what they see as a fair share of power. Rebels from Misrata in particular hold a vast arsenal of tanks, rockets and guns.
The new interim defence minister, Osama Al-Juwali, comes from Zintan, base of a another major militia.
Manqoush is a retired army general who joined the insurgency against Gaddafi and now serves as the deputy defence minister, said an NTC official who asked not to be named.
"He's a military officer who chose to retire. He joined the front lines early in the revolution, was arrested by Gaddafi forces and then was freed by the revolutionaries." (ANA)
FA/ANA/04 January 2012----------