Gunmen pressed their siege of two Libyan ministries today, leaving the authorities in a dilemma of whether to risk a bloody confrontation or reinforce the image of a helpless state by negotiating patiently.
They have encircled the foreign ministry since Sunday and the justice ministry since yesterday, demanding the sacking of former officials from the ousted regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
The same groups, most of them former rebels who fought to oust Gaddafi in 2011, briefly occupied the finance ministry on Monday.
On Sunday, former rebels who had once been responsible for security at the headquarters of Libyan national television, blockaded it although broadcasts were not interrupted.
And angry policemen invaded the interior ministry twice, on Monday and yesterday, to demand higher pay and promotions.
Today, vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers blockaded the foreign and justice ministries as traffic flowed smoothly on the May Day holiday.
"The siege of the foreign and justice ministries is continuing and will go on until our demands are completely satisfied," Aymen Mohammed Abudeina, a member of a group committed to ensuring the exclusion of former Gaddafi officials from public life, told AFP.
The justice ministry has dismissed the idea of using force to break the siege, saying the government preferred to "let wisdom prevail."
The government regularly promises firmness against these militias, and a campaign was recently launched to dislodge them from several public and private properties.
But the authorities avoid any use of force despite repeated attacks against state institutions by former rebels.
"In a tribal society such as Libya, any victim could trigger a deadly conflict," warned an official on condition of anonymity.
"The situation could escalate by just a spark."
Yesterday, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani explained the inaction of the government, saying "we want to save lives."
But Fathi Tarbel, a former minister in the transitional government and human rights activist, said that "weakens the authorities and gives an image of an incompetent and weak state."
He called the sieges sheer "banditry".
The General National Congress (GNC), Libya's highest political authority, has been studying proposals for a law that would see top figures from the Gaddafi regime sacked from their posts.
That has caused a stir among Libya's political elite, as several current senior officials could be affected.
