BENGHAZI, Libya, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The Libyan military said Monday the renewed fighting in Benghazi with the militant Ansar al-Sharia may bring about the end of the rebel movement.
The BBC reported nine people were killed during clashes between the Libyan military and Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi. Last week, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan put new pressure on Libyan militias because of post-civil war turmoil.
Protests against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi erupted in Benghazi in 2011, pushing the country into civil war. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens died in a rebel attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Sept. 11, 2012."This is the end of Ansar al-Sharia," a military source told the British broadcaster.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Sunday with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Zeidan to discuss the crisis in Libya.
"The Libyan people have had a long struggle, and lately they have done a lot to get rid of the militias," the Libyan prime minister said in a statement issued through an interpreter.
Kerry and Hague said pressure on Libyan militias, which grew out of the post-civil war vacuum, will help Libya build a democratic nation.
"The prime minister informed us of a transformation that he believes is beginning to take place and could take place because the people of Libya have spoken out and pushed back against the militias," he said in a statement.
