Clashes Spread Panic in Benghazi

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/world/middleeast/clashes-spread-panic-in-benghazi.html

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Helicopters attacked camps and strongholds of Islamist militias on Monday in eastern Libya as part of a nearly three-week offensive by a renegade general, leaving at least 18 people dead and sending civilians fleeing in panic, Libyan authorities said. Militiamen responded by firing rocket-propelled grenades and antiaircraft guns at the attacking troops allied with Gen. Khalifa Hifter. A former army chief, General Hifter has rallied support from the country’s weakened military, its anti-Islamist politicians, tribes and diplomats, vowing to crush the Islamist militias he blames for Libya’s instability. The clashes in and around Benghazi killed at least 18 people and wounded at least 81, said Abdullah al-Fitori, a Health Ministry official. Military officials said helicopter gunships flown by pilots loyal to General Hifter had been attacking the base of the February 17 militia and camps belonging to the militant group Ansar al-Shariah.