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Amid Protests, Inmates Escape From Libyan Prison Amid Protests, Inmates Escape From Libyan Prison
(about 2 hours later)
TRIPOLI, Libya — More than a thousand inmates escaped from a prison in Libya on Saturday as protesters stormed political party offices across the country, signs of the simmering unrest gripping a nation overrun by militias and awash in weapons. BENGHAZI, Libya — More than 1,000 prisoners escaped from a prison near here on Saturday, security officials said, after a wave of political assassinations and attacks on political offices across Libya.
It was not immediately clear whether the jailbreak, at Al Kweifiya prison, had been part of the demonstrations. The protesters were angry over the assassination on Friday of an activist critical of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood. The mass escape from the Queyfiya prison took place early Saturday after a series of marches in a number of Libyan cities protested the assassinations and the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been blamed for recent political killings. It was not clear whether the inmates had received inside help.
Inmates started a riot and set fires after security forces shot at three detainees who tried to escape the jail, a prison security official said. Gunmen quickly arrived at the prison after news of the riot spread, opening fire with rifles outside in a bid to free their imprisoned relatives, a Benghazi-based security official said. Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, said in a televised news conference on Saturday that local residents had broken the inmates out of the prison.
Those who escaped were either awaiting trial or had been convicted of serious charges, the prison official said. The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to journalists. “The prison was attacked by the citizens who live nearby, because they don’t want a prison in their region,” he said. “Special forces were present and could have got the situation under control by using their arms, but they had received orders not to use their weapons on citizens, so the citizens opened the doors to the prisoners.” Mr. Zeidan said he had ordered the border with Egypt to be closed to prevent the inmates from fleeing there.
Special forces later arrested 18 of the escapees, while some returned on their own, said Mohammed Hejazi, a government security official in Benghazi. The three inmates who initially escaped were wounded and taken to a hospital, he said. But security officials here, speaking on the condition of anonymity, vehemently denied the assertion that residents had incited the prison break. The officials said it had started with a fracas and shooting among military police officers inside the prison, leading to a fire that allowed the inmates to escape. The inmates were mostly common criminals, not the militants who are blamed for much of the violence here, officials said.
There was confusion, however, about exactly how many prisoners broke out, with reports of the number of escapees ranging as high as 1,200. “It was a dispute with the military police that the prisoners mistook for an uprising, so they started smashing things and setting things on fire to be released,” said a member of a top joint security operation in Benghazi. “What do you expect? Prisoners saw an opportunity to escape, and they took it.”
At a news conference, Prime Minister Ali Zidan blamed the jailbreak on those living around the prison. The security official said several escapees had returned on their own, reasoning that they were safer behind bars than in the street, where they feared reprisals from relatives of their victims.
“The prison was attacked by the citizens who live nearby, because they don’t want a prison in their region,” he said. “Special forces were present and could have got the situation under control by using their arms, but they had received orders not to use their weapons on citizens, so the citizens opened the doors to the prisoners.” The prison break followed a day of extraordinary violence, even by the standards of Libya, which is overrun by heavily armed militias unwilling to come under government control. Assassins shot five people dead on Friday in Benghazi and Tripoli, the capital. Among the dead were security officers and a prominent lawyer, Abdul-Salam al-Musmari, a harsh critic of the Brotherhood and the militias, He was also known for his role in helping instigate Libya’s 2011 revolution against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Benghazi’s security is among the most precarious in postrevolution Libya. Last year, the American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans were killed in an attack on a United States diplomatic mission in the city. Mr. Musmari, who was shot in the heart while leaving a mosque in Benghazi, was the first victim in a long string of recent assassinations who was neither a military official nor a figure from the Qaddafi government.  
Meanwhile on Saturday, hundreds gathered in the capital, Tripoli, after dawn prayers, denouncing the shooting death of the activist, Abdul-Salam al-Musmari. They set fire to tires in the street and demanded the dissolution of Islamist parties. Hundreds gathered in Tripoli after dawn prayers on Saturday and denounced the killing of Mr. Musmari, The Associated Press reported. They set fire to tires in the street and demanded the dissolution of Islamist parties.
The two episodes highlighted Libya’s deteriorating security situation and the challenges the North African country faces as it tries to restore calm nearly two years after the ouster and killing of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the longtime dictator. Protesters appeared to be inspired by events in Egypt, where millions took to the streets on Friday to answer an appeal from the top military commander, who said he wanted a mandate to fight “terrorism” by supporters of the country’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi. Mr. Morsi is allied with the Islamist-led Brotherhood. On Saturday, the Egyptian military killed at least 72 people in a ferocious attack on Islamist protesters, the deadliest attack by the security services since the 2011 revolution.
In Tripoli, protesters appeared to be inspired by events in neighboring Egypt, where millions took to the streets on Friday to answer a call from the army chief, who said he wanted a mandate to stop “potential terrorism” by supporters of the country’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, who is allied with the Brotherhood. “We don’t want the Brotherhood; we want the army and the police,” Libyan protesters chanted, The A.P. reported, repeating a slogan used in Egypt.
“We don’t want the Brotherhood; we want the army and the police,” Libyan protesters chanted, repeating a slogan used in Egypt. Libya’s new security forces are struggling to control the country’s militias, most of which have roots in the rebel groups that overthrew Colonel Qaddafi in 2011. Last week, rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Tripoli, and at a Tripoli hotel where government figures live, though no one was killed. A bomb detonated at a police station in Benghazi, the eastern city where Islamist militias remain powerful and where the United States ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans were killed last year in an assault on a diplomatic compound by heavily armed militants.
Mr. Musmari, who used to publicly criticize the Brotherhood, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Benghazi. Mr. Zeidan said that an investigation had begun into Mr. Musmari’s killing and that a foreign criminal investigation team would join Libyan investigators in Tripoli and Benghazi on Monday, but he did not offer further details.
Some protesters stormed the headquarters of a Brotherhood-affiliated political party and another Islamist-allied party in the capital, destroying furniture. Witnesses say demonstrators also stormed a Brotherhood party office in Benghazi. Human Rights Watch urged the Libyan government to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of Mr. Musmari’s death.
Protesters angry with Libya’s weak central government also targeted the liberal National Forces Alliance, ransacking its headquarters. The party came out on top in Libya’s first free parliamentary elections last year. “Libya’s fragile transition is at stake if political killings go unpunished,” said Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch. “This makes investigating al-Musmari’s murder all the more urgent.”
Security forces in Libya have been unable to impose their authority on the country since Colonel Qaddafi’s ouster. Militias, many made up of former rebels who fought in the civil war that toppled him, have grown in strength, and in many areas rival the security forces in their firepower and reach. The armed forces also rely on militias for help securing the country in some cases.

Robert F. Worth contributed reporting from Cairo.

On Saturday, gunmen killed a colonel in Benghazi. Three other security officers were killed a day earlier by gunmen. Security forces are frequently targets in the country.
Mr. Zidan, the prime minister, said an investigation had begun into the circumstances of Mr. Musmari’s killing. He said a foreign criminal investigation team would join Libyan investigators in Tripoli and Benghazi on Monday, but did not offer further details.
Human Rights Watch urged the Libyan government to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of Mr. Musmari’s death, believed to be the first targeted killing of a political activist.
“Libya’s fragile transition is at stake if political killings go unpunished,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This makes investigating al-Musmari’s murder all the more urgent.”