One solider was killed in northern Mali in a clash with Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)—who authorities said were backed up by former pro-Qaddafi Libyan soldiers.
Hundreds of Libyan soldiers protested in the eastern city of Benghazi, demanding payment of overdue wages and complaining that militia groups have taken over their bases and resist joining a new national army.
The Germany-based Society for Threatened Peoples warns that Libya could face an imminent Berber revolt, if the ruling National Transitional Council does not end Qaddafi’s policies of “Arabization” and recognize cultural rights.
Reports in the North African press indicate that the US and France have jointly established a secret drone base in the Libyan desert, to seek out Saharan arms trafficking networks of al-Qeada in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Some 2,000 protesters filled Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square to demand withdrawal of the militia forces that have been in the capital since the fall of Qaddafi. Jurists and police were among the march leaders, accusing the militias of terrorizing residents.
A Tunisian military court convicted former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in absentia on torture charges. Ben Ali and eight others were found guilty of the torture of 17 military generals in connection with a 1991 coup attempt.
A team of investigators from the International Criminal Court arrived in Libya to begin an inquiry into new evidence of sex crimes committed by loyalists of former leader Moammar Qaddafi as part of an “official rape policy.”
An estimated 7,000 detainees are still being held without due process by Libyan revolutionaries, according to a UN report. Most are held by independent brigades not under the government control, and that there have been allegations of abuse.
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that Libya may conduct the trial of Saif al-Islam Qaddafii—despite concern from human rights groups about whether he can receive impartial justice in the country.
Saif al-Islam Qaddafi was captured by fighters from Zintan, who say they will hold him until a new government is formed. The Zintan and rival Jadu militias are refusing NTC pressure to disarm, each fearing reprisals from the other.
NTC forces based in the western city of Zawiya have for the past days been clashing with Wershifanna tribal fighters in the nearby Hashan area. Rumors maintain that Saif al-Islam Qaddafi is being harbored by the tribal fighters.
Niger’s military clashed with a heavily armed convoy travelling though the desert from Libya. Authorities say the convoy is made up of fleeing Qaddafi loyalists escorted by local Tuareg fighters, with arms bound for the AQIM network.
