Tanks useless after civil war in Libya

MISURATA (A.A) - March 1, 2012 - Thousands of tanks are useless after the civil war in Libya. Tanks, which are parked at the entrance to the Libyan city of Misurata, some 200 kilometers away from the capital, Tripoli, indicate how harsh clashes happened during the civil war. "I was a retired colonel during ousted leader Muammar Gadhafi's rule, and I acted together with rebels during the civil war," Muhammad Ali Amr, who is responsible for the tank parking lot, told AA correspondent on Thursday. Amr said there were almost 1,700 tank drivers during the civil war, and there were almost 1,000 tanks in the parking lot right now. "We are trying to collect all the tanks together," he said. Amr said Gadhafi forces had deployed tanks around Misurata to destroy the city during the civil war, and Gadhafi ordered his troops, most of whom were not Libyan citizens, to kill Libyan people. "People of Misurata resisted to Gadhafi forces despite poverty. Thousands of people lost their lives, thousands of others were wounded and thousands of Misurata residents were reported missing," Amr said. Amr said they did not want any other war in the region. "We will sell damaged tanks as scrap metal, and we aim to give tanks that can still be used to the Libyan army," Amr said. Amr said Libyan army would be stronger in coming days.