Tripoli, Libya, Aug 23, 2011 / 09:42 am
As Libya's conflict rages on between rebel forces and troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, Catholics in the capital city of Tripoli are seeking protection.
“Currently there are three Franciscan friars barricaded in the convent in Tripoli,” a source told the Vatican-based Fides news on Aug. 23. “No one dares to walk in the street because people are shot on sight, even if it is not clear who shoots who.”
The fighting in Libya has continued for around six months and is being waged by the rebel Transitional Authority—which is being supported by NATO forces—and troops loyal to the country’s longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The rebels began their attack on the capital Aug. 19.
“Currently, the phone lines are cut and one cannot contact the monks,” the Fides source, who requested anonymity, added. “From the latest communications we were told that on the night between August 21 and 22 there were shootings outside the convent.”