The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was attacked by protestors and gunmen, killing the US Ambassador to Libya and three others from the US. The protests were in response to a film that criticizes Prophet Muhammad. The new president of Libya issued an apology on Wednesday for the attack. The ambassador, Chris Stevens, was killed as he and other embassy employees went to the consulate to evacuate the staff as attackers headed towards the building.
Stevens was the first ambassador from the U.S. to die in the line of duty since 1979. At the end of the attack, the building was trashed and burned. Stevens, according to a doctor from Libya, died from severe asphyxiation from the smoke. The Libyans took Stevens to the Benghazi Medical Center with no one else and according to reports, no one at the center knew who Stevens was. The doctor who worked on Stevens was Ziad Abu Zeid.
Abu Zeid said that Stevens was almost dead upon arrival at the center around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. He also said “we tried to revive him for an hour and a half but with no success.” The doctor said that Stevens was suffering from bleeding in his stomach from the asphyxiation but did not have any other injuries.
“I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi,” President Barack Obama said. Obama said that the four Americans killed “exemplified America’s commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe.”
The interim president of Libya, Mohammed el-Megarif, issued an apology to the United States, calling it ‘cowardly.’ The three other Americans killed in the attack were security guards. “We extend our apology to America, the American people and the whole world,” el-Megarif said.
The video was produced by a filmmaker from California, who called Islam a ‘cancer’ in the video. Excerpts of the video were posted on YouTube and they describe Muhammad as a womanizer, a fraud and a madman.
