By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TRIPOLI, Libya – A car bomb exploded outside the French embassy in Tripoli on Tuesday morning, injuring two French guards and multiple local residents.
The bomb exploded directly in front of the embassy in al-Andalus, a small, residential neighborhood in Tripoli. The blast demolished nearly half of the building, including the embassy’s front wall and first-floor reception area. The explosion also damaged many local business shops and homes as well. No casualties have been reported, but one 13-year-old local girl sustained a spinal injury was transported to a hospital in Tunisia for treatment.
The French Foreign Ministry immediately condemned the attack. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius stated that the French and Libyan governments are working in conjunction “to ensure that all light be shed on the circumstances of this heinous act and its perpetrators quickly identified.” The authorities initiated a criminal investigation to determine the source and motivation for the attack.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet. However, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz characterized the attack as a “terrorist act.” The Libyan government suspected that it was planned by a militant Islamic group in retaliation for French intervention in northern Mali.
French troops entered Mali in January to help prevent a hardline Islamist government takeover. Some Islamist militant groups believe France initiated the intervention in an attempt to reestablish control over its former colony.
French President Francois Hollande issued a separate statement, claiming that the bombing constitutes an attack against “all the countries of the international community engaged in the struggle against terrorism.”
Though the attack came as a surprise to most, some believe that the embassy was a likely target for such an attack. One local resident remarked, “It was a big mistake to cite the French embassy in our neighborhood.” Others locals claimed there was inadequate policing around the facility, as well.
This was the first major attack in the Libyan capital since 2011 during the revolution that overthrew Muammar al-Gaddafi. However, the bombing revived memories of the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi last September, in which four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens perished.
For further information, please see:
BBC – Tripoli: French embassy in Libya hit by car bomb – 23 April 2013
CNN – Car bomb explodes outside French embassy in Tripoli; 2 guards, girl injured – 23 April 2013
New York Times – Car Explodes Outside French Embassy in Libya – 23 April 2013
The Guardian – Libya bomb attack hits French embassy in Tripoli – 23 April 2013
