Protest: Thousands rally against militias in Libya

BENGHAZI: An estimated 30,000 Libyans rallied against militias in the tense city of Benghazi on Friday, drowning out a protest by radical Salafists angry over a film and cartoons deemed offensive to Islam.

“No to armed formations” and “Yes to the Libya army” read banners raised by protesters at the Tibesti Hotel before marching to Al-Kish Square, near barracks housing several brigades.

“Our law is God’s law, not the law of the jungle,” women chanted. Banners paid tribute to US ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed along with three Americans on September 11 in what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said was a “terrorist attack” on the US consulate in Benghazi.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2012.