For months Benghazi citizens feared that Gaddafi's revolutionary committees and a fifth column loyal to him were wreaking havoc in the city. But today their concerns focus on gangs wearing the army fatigues favored by the rebels, terrorizing citizens and robbing them at gunpoint. "It is not safe anymore to travel in some parts of the city," says Dawud Salimi, 41. "Criminals are taking advantage of the instability for their own profit." Recently, they have targeted foreigners. A group of men wearing military outfits broke into the hotel room of a Western journalist, assaulted her and ran off with her electronic equipment.
The security unrest has made many worry about what will happen if the rebels finally overthrow Gaddafi. "People speak of tribes settling old accounts and power struggles emerging," says political-science professor Salah Senoussi of Garyounis University. "Gaddafi's fall could turn out to be the opening salvo in a prolonged conflict between various factions. And with all these brigades having their own weapons and not answering to the NTC, we could see a lot more violence."
Such security fears have left some longing for Gaddafi.
Is my speculation about a big switch by the eastern rebels really so far fetched?
