UN convoy targeted in Libya

PanARMENIAN.Net - A bomb was thrown at a convoy carrying the head of the United Nations mission to Libya on Tuesday, April 10 a UN spokeswoman said, but no one was hurt in the explosion, Reuters reported.

The attack in the eastern city of Benghazi is the first of its kind targeting a foreign mission since last year's revolt overthrew Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and is likely to raise concerns about instability in the country.

The attacker missed the convoy and the device exploded about four meters away from the convoy, a Libyan intelligence source told Reuters, leaving a small hole in the road. It was unclear who had thrown the bomb.

The source said the device was what is known in Libya as a "gelateena" - an improvised bomb made using TNT and household materials which is small enough to be thrown. Rebels sometimes used them against Gaddafi's forces during last year's rebellion.

Security analysts have warned that in the vacuum left by Gaddafi's fall, there is a risk that loyalists of the former leadership or Islamist militants could mount an insurgency along the lines of the one in Iraq after the United States invaded and toppled Saddam Hussein.

Any escalation in violence could have an impact on plans by international oil companies to re-start their operations in Libya, home to Africa's biggest proven reserves of crude.