Shortly after military police and protesters routed militias from the Libyan city of Benghazi, a powerful militia in the country’s east voiced its plans to disband, the BBC reported on Sunday.
Abu Slim Brigade’s leaders said the group will quit its bases in Derna, east of Benghazi. Another militia, Ansar al-Sharia, which is suspected of a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, was also reportedly leaving Derna, a port city that is regarded as an Islamist stronghold.
Ansar al-Sharia's headquarters was stormed on Friday night by protesters and police. The group’s Benghazi compound was set on fire, according to the BBC.
Hostility has been growing towards Libya's Islamist armed groups following the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate that left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others Americans dead.
The attack on the U.S. consulate was triggered by a short U.S.-made video that Muslims say insults Islam. The movie has sparked widespread protests across the Muslim world.
