Libyan Dawn rebels in control of Tripoli

Libyan government forces and helicopters belonging to renegade general Khalifa Haftar bombed ammunition sites of suspected Islamist militants in Benghazi on Sept. 4. Fighting in the two main cities Tripoli and Benghazi has now displaced 100,000 people. (Reuters, Sept. 4) The Islamist-led Libyan Dawn rebels have effective control of Tripoli, and on Sept. 1 raided the evacuated US embassy compound. (Al Jazeera, Sept. 1) A delegation from Libya's House of Representatives has failed in repeated bids to broker a cease-fire with the Libyan Dawn coalition. Libya's parliament has taken refuge in the eastern city of Tobruk, having been displaced from both Tripoli and Benghazi. (Libya Herald, Sept. 9) Libya's Grand Mufit Sadiq al-Ghariani is accused by the parliament of backing "terrorists." The country’s recently appointed prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni urged lawmakers to remove Ghariani after he broadcast several sermons online in support of the Dawn coalition and other Islamist-aligned militias. (The Economist, Sept. 3)