Gunmen attack TV studios in Libya’s Benghazi

Gunmen have attacked studios of two privately-run television channels in Benghazi as violence rages in the cradle of Libya’s 2011 revolution against late Muammar Gaddafi.

The television channels targeted overnight Wednesday were the Doha-based Libya al-Ahrar and the Cairo-based Libya al-Oula.

“Armed men threw a Molotov cocktail at the channel’s offices, torched an outside broadcast vehicle and fired a hail of bullets at the studio,” said al-Ahrar journalist Khadija al-Ammami.

Gunmen also broke into the studios of Libya al-Oula and vandalized them, a security official said.

The attacks were the latest by suspected former anti-Gaddafi rebels against the independent media which have proliferated since the dictator’s ouster in 2011.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an NGO that defends the freedom of information, has repeatedly warned of the threat posed to journalists across Libya, especially in Benghazi.

Banghazi has been the scene of numerous attacks and political assassinations amidst an increasing power struggle among several militia groups who fought against Gaddafi during the 2011 uprising.

The country’s former rebels have refused to lay down their arms, despite efforts by the central government to impose law and order.

Over the past few months, Tripoli and its suburbs have been also hit by violent clashes between rival militias.