TRIPOLI, Libya, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Sectarian Muslim violence in Libya is escalating as a shrine came under attack by bulldozers in Tripoli, online videos showed.
The mosque and shrine of al-Shaab al-Dahmani, sacred to Sufi Muslims, was badly damaged Saturday by several bulldozers, the BBC reported.
The Sufis accuse ultra-conservative Salafi Muslims for the attack, which came a day after a shooting attack on a 15th-century Sufi sacred tomb 100 miles southeast of Tripoli in Zlitan.
A university student in Tripoli told the BBC he saw the bulldozer attack on the shrine and noticed there was no police reaction.
"There's a large group of Salafists -- they are the one with the bulldozers, and some military police are also present," the student said. "They seem to be overseeing the process, rather than preventing it."
By Sunday, there was only one governmental response to the escalating sectarian violence, which was posted on Twitter by Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur.
"The destruction of shrines and mosques is a crime," he wrote. "Those who commit these crimes will be held responsible."
