BENGHAZI, Libya, Dec 21, 2012 (AFP)
The Libyan army is deploying units to help bolster security in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military spokesman said on Friday, a day after clashes there killed four people.
“Army units will secure the entrances and exits of the city as well as strategic sites until security is restored,” army spokesman Ali al-Sheikhi told AFP, adding that the decision was in coordination with the interior ministry.
It comes in response to a series of attacks targeting police stations in Libya’s second city, with many blaming the violence on Islamist extremists.
Gunmen attacked Benghazi’s security headquarters on Thursday, killing four people and wounding more than a dozen, officials said.
Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi. It has increasingly become a focus for jihadist groups, including militants who killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on September 11.
