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Bodies are showing up around Benghazi. "Three weeks ago, a traveler spotted (one) in farmland on the city's outskirts, shot twice in the head with his hands and feet bound." He disappeared the previous day after visiting a market. Days later, another one was also found, murdered the same way. "Masked, armed men had taken him from his home the night before, without giving a reason, his wife said."
Like many others, both killings are unsolved, and in rebel-held territory, investigations aren't conducted in a climate of death squad justice. As a result, Benghazi residents are "paranoid," wondering who's next, and when lawless killings will stop.
In fact, the entire city is unsettled, intimidated by rebel gangs rounding up suspected Gaddafi sympathizers. Unless stopped, "it will pose a (stiff) challenge to (insurgent leaders) trying to present a vision of a new country committed to the rule of law, while potentially undermining hopes for" peace and justice.
For weeks without letup, episodes like the following have raged:
In early May, "about a dozen men wearing balaclavas (ski masks) and carrying guns arrived at the house of Youssef al Tobouli in three pickup trucks." A former prison guard, he defected and was at his store. "His terrified relatives called friends, and in the gunfight that followed, the room (he) shared with his wife and three children was destroyed by fire."
Numerous other attacks are reported. According to Benghazi Jalaa Hospital's Dr. Omar Khalid, bodies of executed men show up regularly though no one knows if they were regime sympathizers. Some were shot. Others had their throats cut. They all came dead on arrival.
Deadly episodes leave everyone gripped with fear. "Last week, rebel fighters in pickup trucks rushed to the city's radio station," suspecting Gaddafi loyalists inside. "Guns were fired, and a bystander was....killed....This is a war of rumors," said the station's security guard. "People are very edgy" with good reason.
Even defectors like Hussein Gaith turn up dead, his wife saying:
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