Libyan Electricity and Gas Minister Mohamed Mherig has called for the protection of workers of the state-run Libyan electricity firm, following a sit-in organised by the workers to protest incessant attacks against them.
”I call upon all security units and also the thowars (revolutionnaries) to protect the electricity agents from the dangers they face while doing their job,” Mr. Mherig said, warning that the workers might embark on a strike if the attacks against them continue.
The sit-in followed the killing of a driver in the company a day earlier by gunmen while he was transporting materials to a work site.
According to the Minister, an engineer was also wounded in another attack by gunmen who stole his company car.
He said over 100 attacks have been carried out against the electricity staffers, killing 20 of them and wounding many more since 2011.
This year alone, about 25 attacks have been recorded against the workers.
The Minister blamed the electricity police, a para-military unit, for not doing its job.
PANA reports that the proliferation of arms in the wake of the Libyan revolution in 2011 that brought down the regime of Mouammar Khadafi and the absence of state security organisations have been responsible for the widespread insecurity in the country.
