TRIPOLI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Libya's army has given militias
and armed groups 48 hours to evacuate military compounds, state
property and properties of members of the former regime in
Tripoli and surrounding areas, the official LANA news agency
said on Sunday.
The announcement came after the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia
militia was swept out of its bases in the eastern city of
Benghazi on Friday in a surge of anger against the armed groups
that still control large parts of Libya more than a year after
the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
The army ordered "all individuals and armed groups occupying
military compounds, public buildings or property belonging to
members of the former regime to evacuate these sites within 48
hours", threatening to use force if the groups did not comply,
LANA said.
The invasion of Ansar al-Sharia's compounds, which met
little resistance, appeared to be part of a sweep of militia
bases by police, troops and activists following a large
demonstration against militia units in Benghazi on Friday.
On Saturday, two Islamist militias in the eastern town of
Derna, long seen as an Islamist stronghold, announced they were
disbanding and evacuating their compounds, residents said.
Libya's new rulers have struggled to impose their authority
on the myriad of armed groups that have so far refused to lay
down their arms, and in fact rely on many of them to provide
security.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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