Sep 16, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from CNN: Three days before the deadly assault on the United States consulate in Libya, a local security official says he met with American diplomats in the city and warned them about deteriorating security.
Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade, told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and security.
He said they told the diplomats that the security situation wasn’t good for international business.
“The situation is frightening, it scares us,” Mabrouk said they told the U.S. officials. He did not say how they responded.
The February 17th Brigade — a militia connected to the government but not part of Libya’s armed forces — was closely involved in the rescue of the American staff trapped after the attack Tuesday night.
After the consulate was attacked and set on fire, a number of Americans escaped to a safe-house in another part of the city. But that came under attack too.
Mabrouk said he received a call from an official in Tripoli, who said he had been called by a “terrified” American in Benghazi.
The official was at the safe-house. Mabrouk says the Brigade asked the Americans if they needed help — but were told that while the situation was dangerous, it was under control.
A few hours later, Mabrouk said he received another call from Tripoli about the arrival of a U.S. team at Benghazi airport that needed transport into the city.
He met the seven Americans, who were heavily armed but not in military uniform, on the runway and provided them with an armed escort, he said.
As soon as the two vehicles carrying the seven Americans arrived at the safe house, they came under intense attack — including a volley of grenades and machine-gun fire. The assailants then fled.
The Libyan government has vowed to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. But on a visit to the heavily-damaged consulate, the country’s president said Libya expected help form its friends in the international community.
Asked whether the government was not capable of controlling extremist groups, he responded “You are not far from the truth.”
