The attack in the eastern city that was the cradle of last year's uprising against Libyan freedom came as up to 2,000 protesters demonstrated outside the NTC office.
Witnesses said criminals aka protesters, armed with stones and iron bars, stormed and ransacked the offices as they occupied them. "The demonstrators attacked the building and turned NTC offices upside down," an NTC member said.
Witnesses say a brigade of criminals aka former rebels now secured a passage to allow the NTC head, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, and other council members to leave the building.
But protesters threw plastic bottles at Abdel Jalil when he tried to calm them down, the witnesses added.
"They set fire to the front [of the office], broke windows and damaged one of the armoured cars that was there," said Fathi Baja, NTC member and the council's political affairs chief.
He said he and Abdel Jalil got out of the offices separately, adding that he was unaware of who was behind the attack on the office.
Home-made bombs were used regularly by the bandits during last year's conflict, especially to attack checkpoints of Libyan Army.
Saturday atfternoon in Benghazi , LibyaThanks to Diana_82_ for link
Update 01h/
To Benghazi arrived Council of Islamic extremists / al Qaeda from Derna to stop repression of demonstrators NTC Brigade, the armed clashes
BENGHAZI, Libya — Hundreds of angry Libyans on Saturday stormed the transitional government's headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi, carting off computers, chairs, and desks while the country's interim leader was still holed up in the building.
Al-Jazeera correspondent | Naim Ashaba in front of the council's headquarters in Benghazi
"Go away, Go away," the protesters chanted as Abdul Jalil spoke. He then went back into the building but he is believed to have been pulled to safety from a back door when the crowd charged into the building.
The melee at the National Transitional Council's headquarters began after protesters broke through the gates using hand grenades and streamed into the grounds of the headquarters. They banged on the building's doors and demanded officials meet with them.
Protesters threw stones and metal bars at the building, breaking its windows, before storming the headquarters. One protester left the building carrying a set of loudspeakers and screaming: "Spoils of war!"
Angry protesters also damaged a Toyota Land Cruiser used by Abdul Jalil.
BENGHAZI - Protesters burn confirmed news of NATO clients building and smuggling through the back door of the building amid angry protesters on board the flight and the moment of some members of the Council of NATO clients
* Some of the protesters pitched tents weeks ago outside the NTC's headquarters to protest a set of election laws they say were drafted by the interim leaders without consulting the public.
"The election laws have not been approved by thousands of Libyans and do not honour those who died for our freedom," said Tamer al-Jahani, a lawyer taking part in the protest. "We don't want to replace one tyrant with another."
* The NTC is grappling with problems, including the disbanding of dozens of powerful militias that effectively control the country. The ministries of interior and defense want to integrate them into a military and police force, but militia chiefs have shown little interest in surrendering their arms.
Thursday, Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, vice president of the NTC, was roughed up by university students in Benghazi.
Vice President beaten again, after pointing gun at students [19.01.2012.]
http://libyasos.blogspot.com/2012/01/vice-president-beaten-again-after.html
Libyan rebels threaten a new government [18.01.2012.]
http://libyasos.blogspot.com/2012/01/libyan-rebels-threaten-new-government.html
A SEARCH OF BIOGRAPHIES OF LIBYAN NTC OFFICIALS -> http://libyasos.blogspot.com/2012/01/search-of-biographies-of-libyan.html
