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https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=65571

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American's Tripoli Home Invaded, Damaged by Local Youths
Safety and Security
Middle East / N. Africa - Libya
26 Mar 2007

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The Regional Security Office at U.S. Embassy Tripoli reported the following:

On Monday, March 26, at approximately 5:15 p.m., an American was inside her Tripoli home on a long distance telephone call when she heard fireworks outside her residence. She did not think much of the fireworks initially, as teenage kids have been setting off fireworks consistently throughout all the neighborhoods of Tripoli for approximately one month, in anticipation of the Prophet Mohammed's birthday holiday on April 1. After a few minutes passed, she noticed that the fireworks were now sounding like they were going off within the inner courtyard perimeter of her residence, and assumed that kids were throwing the fireworks over her approximately 8 foot high perimeter wall. A few minutes later, someone began pounding on the front entrance door of the residence. The door was a substantial metal door with a deadbolt and eye viewer. The deadbolt was secured in the door. The pounding on the door was replaced a few moments later by what sounded like rocks being thrown against the door. The assault against the door continued for approximately 3-5 minutes. After approximately 10 minutes of silence, the American opened the front door, observed rocks and exploded firecracker casings in the foyer and her perimeter gate wide open. While securing the gate, she observed a teenager (approximately 15) with two younger children (approximately 11 or 12) a block away.

Approximately ten minutes later, while standing in the front foyer, she again heard noises outside the perimeter and yelled at them to go away. Approximately two minutes later, she observed three teenage-sized shadows scaling the perimeter wall through the grilled glass with embedded wire mesh within the wall. She screamed at the shadows to get down, which they did. She went inside the residence, secured the door and called her husband, who was at work. While on the phone with her husband, she could hear someone pounding on the gates and more rocks hitting the outside of the residence for approximately one minute.

The American's husband attempted to notify the police. Local police authorities could not be reached by landline or mobile telephone numbers for approximately two hours; when they were reached they stated that they would look into the disturbance.

Upon approaching the residence approximately 20 minutes after receiving the call, the American's husband observed a group of six juveniles approximately one block from the residence. The group consisted of two teenage boys, approximately 15 years of age, two younger boys, approximately 10 - 12 years of age and two young girls, approximately 10 - 12 years of age.

Upon entering the residence, it was observed that plants on the perimeter wall were broken, a light fixture on the wall was broken and scuffmarks were all along the wall in the area that the American had described as observing the shadows scaling the wall. The grilled glass with embedded wire mesh within the perimeter wall, pedestrian gate and vehicle gate was broken and cracked in multiple locations. At least 15 hand-sized rocks, over 20 used firecracker casings, an empty firecracker box and a broken lighter were found within the courtyard and front foyer area. The front door contained marks and embedded rock material indicating where rocks had struck the door with force.

The American had attended an organizational security briefing in October 2006, and acknowledged that, in retrospect, she knew she had done many things wrong and had acted on poor security awareness instincts. The residents plan to install anti-climb spikes to the top of the 8-foot perimeter wall to prevent similar incidents in the future.