Libya (and Beyond) Live: Car Bomb at French Embassy in Tripoli

This morning's car bomb outside the French Embassy in Tripoli (Sabri Elmhedwi/EPA)

---

1936 GMT: Iraq.

At least 36 people have been killed and more than 70 have been injured in clashes in Iraq. Sunni protesters clashed with police this morning in Hawijah this morning, sparking the violence. That, in turn, has sparked protests across the country. The Independent reports:

As news of the clashes spread through Sunni Iraq, street protests erupted in solidarity with Hawijah, a Sunni bastion 30 miles west of Kirkuk. Some 1,000 people took to the streets in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, after calls for protests broadcast from the minarets of mosques. “War! War!” was the chant of some. In Ramadi, capital of Sunni Anbar province, crowds threw stones at a military convoy, overturning and setting fire to a Humvee.

The violence in Hawijah started at 5am when security forces, backed by helicopters, entered the protesters encampment. The Defence Ministry claims the demonstration had been infiltrated by militants, of whom it says 20 were killed along with an army officer and two soldiers. The army reported finding weapons including 34 Kalashnikovs and four PKM machine guns, and made 75 arrests. In response to the raid there were attacks on two army checkpoints near Hawijah in which 13 people died.

Protesters say security forces provoked the violence. “They invaded our sit-in, burned the tents and opened fire indiscriminately and killed and wounded dozens,” Abdulmalik al-Juburi, a leader of the Hawijah sit-in told AFP. “This pushed Arab tribesmen to go to the streets and attack several checkpoints to avenge protesters. We only have four rifles to protect the sit-in, and there are no wanted people among us.”

Video showing Sunnis attacking Iraqi army vehicles in Anbar youtube.com/watch?v=UoN3ug… #iraq

— Wladimir(@vvanwilgenburg) April 23, 2013

The situation has rarely been so complicated in Iraq. The police say that they were targeting the insurgent group Naqsh-bandiya Army. Now, there is concern that this group will respond. Furthermore, there is concern that the group's response may be popular among Sunnis when it does respond.

0830 GMT: Iraq

At least 26 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and Sunni Muslim demonstratorrs in the north in Hawija, near Kirkuk.

Violence erupted when security forces raided an anti-government protest camp.

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that troops responded after being attacked by gunmen in the camp. Protesters said they were unarmed when the army opened fire.

0640 GMT: Libya

A car bomb has exploded at the French embassy in Tripoi, injuring two guards.

"There was an attack on the embassy. We think it was a booby trapped car," a French official said. "There was a lot of damage and there are two guards wounded."

Diplomatic missions have been targeted elsewhere in Libya, as in September's attack on the US mission in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, but this is the first attack on a diplomatic post in the capital.