Benghazi is in a "state of shock" after at least nine well-known civil rights activists and army officers were assassinated in the eastern port city on Sept. 19, dubbed by local media "Black Friday." Four are said to have survived the assassinations, which targeted at least 13 people. The Unidentified gunmen killed a four current and former senior army officers, as well as two popular youth activists and bloggers, Tawfik Bensaud and Sami Elkawafi—aged 18 and 17. Days earlier, Bensaud had said in an interview with Huffington Post: "A military movement alone can’t solve the crisis; there must a civil movement that works parallel to it. If youth are given a chance, they can find a peaceful solution. My message to Libya's youth is, you are powerful and you can make change. You just need to take the opportunity and act." (Middle East Eye, IBT, Libyan Youth Voices, Sept. 20)
140,000 displaced by Libya conflict
More than 140,000 people have beeninternally displaced in Libya [press release] as a result of the country's rapidly deteriorating security situation, the UN said Sept. 22. A convoy sent by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency(UNHCR) have arrived in western Libya, delivering a supply of food and humanitarian supplies to families there. Assistance. (Jurist, Sept. 22)