SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – In the shattered Libyan town of Sirte, the hometown where Muammar Gaddafi met his end last month, the mood was grim on the eve of one of Islam's great festivals – the only good news was for the sheep.

As fellow Libyans prepared on Saturday to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, by giving thanks for liberation from Gaddafi's rule with the ritual slaughter of tens of thousands of the beasts, those waiting their fate at a roadside market in Sirte were finding few buyers.

Sirte, once Gaddafi's favored “capital of Africa,” lies in ruins. His tribal kin and loyal supporters in what became the last bastion of his 42 years of personal power were in no mood to join festivities that many Libyans will see as recalling the sacrifices of a war that has won them freedom.

“Who can celebrate Eid at a time like this?” grumbled Ali al-Saadeq, 48, as he joined a group of men eyeing up small flocks corralled in makeshift wire pens or huddled on the backs of farmers' pickup trucks by a highway on the edge of town.

“A revolution is supposed to turn things from bad to good,” he said as sellers manhandled their bleating livestock to show off their qualities and tempt reluctant buyers complaining of empty pockets. “But so far, we haven't seen anything good.

“People don't have money to buy sheep,” said al-Saadeq, noting the going rate was still a hefty $200-$300 a head. “People don't even have money to buy bread for their kids. Who has money now? The banks were all destroyed in Sirte.”

A few animals were changing hands – Sunday's dawn will see families across the Muslim world cutting sheep's throats for festive meals that recall the story of God's favor to Abraham in sparing his son. But as these were trussed by the legs and slung into the trunks of cars, many more remained unsold.

HARD TIMES

Standing at the improvised market – like much of downtown Sirte the regular trade ground was destroyed in fighting and, locals say, by vindictive rebel forces from other towns – Taher al-Mansuri, a 33-year-old engineer, said he would make a purchase, but this year only to share a sheep with a neighbor.

The dislocation of the civil war meant he, like many in Sirte, had not been paid for months and the festivities of former times, when the once modest fishing village enjoyed patronage and cash from the Gaddafi clan, could not be matched.

Due to the revolt that began in February, the men said, they knew of no one locally who had managed to make the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, whose end is marked by Eid al-Adha.

“It's not the right time for someone whose house has been destroyed or has lost a relative, blown up or shot,” said Mansuri. “I don't think that a family would want to celebrate Eid when they have a relative also who is missing.”

Though few were prepared to venture avowed nostalgia for Gaddafi – barely a mile from where he was captured, tormented and killed by fighters for the National Transitional Council (NTC) – the anger against his enemies bubbled over.

“They've rounded up prisoners and killed them,” fumed Mehdi Juma, 40, referring to at least one case where international human rights monitors have accused NTC forces of suspected atrocities against pro-Gaddafi fighters who held on in Sirte for two months after the capital Tripoli was overrun.

Deep tribal and regional rivalries, notably between the people of Sirte and those of Misrata, Zawiya or Benghazi whose triumphant slogans are spray-painted across the bullet- and shell-scarred walls of Gaddafi's hometown, underlie fears that Libya, for all the postwar euphoria elsewhere, faces trouble in the future, even the risk of an insurgency or more civil war.

Unconfirmed reports in the area on Saturday spoke of two people killed near Sirte by suspected Gaddafi sympathizers. The talk added to a climate of fear that ubiquitous checkpoints and patrols by the motley forces backing the NTC have done little to alleviate, at any rate in the area around Sirte.

DEVASTATION

Inside the town itself, few residents appeared to have returned to homes, many of which have been damaged by fires as well as by explosions and the effects of shrapnel.

One group of young men, who said they were mostly students and supporters of the anti-Gaddafi cause, worked with a bulldozer to clear a street of rubble, but there was little other sign of activity. Many residents appeared still to be sheltering with relatives in the arid countryside round about.

The odd car passed along Sirte's seafront promenade, once a showcase for Gaddafi when he hosted international summits and foreign dignitaries. They crunched, cautiously, over blasted concrete and countless cartridge and shell cases.

Surveying the ruin of what had been his minimarket, 22-year-old Mohammed Mahfouz was in despair: “How can I fix this? There's no electricity, no water. It's beyond repair.

“A revolution that comes like this, wrecks buildings, steals and loots and writes obscene things on the walls of people's homes and destroys everything in its path and sets fire to houses, is this a revolution?

“I don't feel like it's Eid. It's just a normal day, a depressing day.”

Along the street, where streetlights stand crooked in the warm sea breeze, reduced to the punctured texture of cheese-graters in testimony to the hails of metal that flew along the beachfront last month, Zia Mohammed, 36, stood disconsolate in the wreckage of her home, her children bewildered around her.

Husband Mohammed Ramadan, standing in the charred and still reeking wreckage of his sitting room, said it had been deliberately torched by NTC fighters who suspected him – wrongly, he said – of being a supporter of Gaddafi, a common complaint across the seaside town that is home to 100,000.

“We have nothing to give to the kids, nothing to eat,” his wife Zia said. “We have no gas to cook with. We have nothing.

“Here, there is no Eid.”

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

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One of Africa's newest oil producers, Mauritania bridges the Arab Maghreb and western sub-Saharan Africa.

The largely-desert country presents a cultural contrast, with an Arab-Berber population to the north and black Africans to the south. Many of its people are nomads.

In the Middle Ages Mauritania was the cradle of the Almoravid movement, which spread Islam throughout the region and for a while controlled the Islamic part of Spain.

European traders began to show interest in Mauritania in the 15th century. France gained control of the coastal region in 1817, and in 1904 a formal French protectorate was extended over the territory.

Morocco opposed the country's independence in 1960 and for a time tried to absorb it. But Morocco's King Hassan II later improved ties as part of his plan to divide Western Sahara.

The eventual deal in 1976 brought more problems, though, with Mauritania coming under attack by Polisario Front guerrillas, who opposed Moroccan control of Western Sahara, and the subsequent downfall of the leader since independence – Moktar Ould Daddah – in a military coup.

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At a glance

Politics: A coup in 2005 ended President Taya's two decades of authoritarian rule; presidential polls in March 2007 marked the start of a short-lived move towards democracy – another coup followed a year later

Economy: Mauritania depends heavily on drought-prone agriculture; its rich coastal fishing grounds are threatened by over-exploitation; offshore oil exploitation began in 2006

International: Al-Qaeda militants are presenting a serious challenge and have kidnapped and killed several foreigners

Peace was agreed with the Polisario in 1979, but this in turn worsened relations with Morocco, until a detente in 1985. More recently, ties with Senegal have been strained over the use of the Senegal River, which forms the border between the two countries.

Mauritania officially banned slavery in 1981. The government has denied accusations that it is still being practised.

One of the world's poorest countries, Mauritania has pinned hopes for future prosperity on the exploitation of its offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. The Chinguetti and Tiof fields are expected to yield millions of barrels of oil.

The country forged diplomatic ties with Israel in 1999, one of three Arab nations to have done so, but suspended them in January 2009 in protest at Israel's military operation in Gaza. It closed the Israeli embassy in March.

Under former President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, Mauritania was an ally of the US in its “war on terror”. American special forces were despatched to train Mauritanian troops.

Al-Qaeda militants operating in Mauritania, Algeria and Mali have become increasingly active, kidnapping and killing several foreigners.

Mauritania's response has been to take an increasingly tough line against the militants, refusing to negotiate with al-Qaeda over hostages.

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Morocco's culture aids its economy

The Kingdom of Morocco is the most westerly of the North African countries known as the Maghreb.

Strategically situated with both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, but with a rugged mountainous interior, it stayed independent for centuries while developing a rich culture blended from Arab, Berber, European and African influences.

Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956, when Sultan Mohammed became king. He was succeeded in 1961 by his son, Hassan II, who ruled for 38 years. He played a prominent role in the search for peace in the Middle East, given the large number of Israelis of Moroccan origin, but was criticised for suppressing domestic opposition.

A truth commission set up to investigate human rights violations during Hassan's reign has confirmed nearly 10,000 cases, ranging from death in detention to forced exile.

A former capital, Marrakesh is famed for its architecture

After his death in 1999 Hassan was succeeded by his son, who became King Mohammed VI and was seen as a moderniser. There has been some economic and social liberalisation, but the monarch has retained sweeping powers.

Morocco is bidding for membership of the European Union, its main trade partner, but there appears to be little enthusiasm for this within the bloc.

To the south, the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975 and a guerrilla war with Algerian-backed pro-independence forces ended in 1991. UN efforts have failed to break the political deadlock.

To the north, a dispute with Spain in 2002 over the tiny island of Perejil revived the issue of the sovereignty of Melilla and Ceuta. The small enclaves on the Mediterranean coast are surrounded by Morocco and have been administered by Madrid for centuries.

Morocco has been given the status of non-Nato ally by Washington, which has praised its support for the US-led war on terror. After deadly suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003, Morocco launched a crackdown on suspected Islamic militants.

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MONROVIA, Liberia – Violence broke out at the headquarters of the country’s opposition party and at least one person was killed Monday, less than 24 hours before Liberia’s presidential runoff that is being viewed as a test of the country’s fragile peace after a devastating civil war.

Monrovia has been tense ever since Winston Tubman, the leader of the opposition Congress for the Democratic Change party, called for supporters to boycott Tuesday’s vote. International observers have rejected his allegation that the electoral process is rigged in the incumbent’s favor, and analysts say Tubman is pulling out of the vote because he knows the CDC will lose.

Inside the opposition headquarters was a scene of chaos: The body of a man in his 20s lay in a pool of blood. Nearby another four people were screaming in pain with what appeared to be bullet wounds. Thousands of others were standing and shouting.

Tubman and his running mate, former soccer star George Weah, were trying to calm down angry fans. It was not immediately clear what set off the violence, but it appeared to have degenerated when security forces opened fire on demonstrators. The protesters had gathered to rally support for the boycott.

At least 100 Liberian security forces and United Nations peacekeepers had fanned out across the neighborhood, setting up roadblocks and securing the perimeter. United Nations peacekeepers drove tanks to the area and helicopters flew overhead. The soldiers continued to fire tear gas at the agitated mass inside the CDC building.

Tubman trailed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by a more than 10-point margin in the first round of voting in October, finishing with around 30 percent of the vote to Sirleaf’s more than 40 percent. Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist who was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has since been endorsed by the third-place finisher and it appeared likely that she would win the Nov. 8 runoff.

Tubman’s boycott will not stop Sirleaf from winning, but it could damage the credibility of the election and undercut her victory since she will be running unopposed.

Electoral law allows candidates to pull out before the start of the election, but once the election is already in progress, ballots cannot be altered and so both Tubman and Sirleaf will appear on Tuesday’s ballot, said Alexander Bick, the head of the Carter Center’s observation mission in Liberia.

The Carter Center, as well as the United States and the United Nations Security Council have issued sharp rebukes, calling on Tubman to reverse his decision.

As he walked between the wounded, Weah told The Associated Press that the violence is further proof that the runoff needs to be rescheduled.

“With what happened I don’t think holding the election tomorrow is the right thing to do,” he said.

Liberia emerged from a 14-year civil war in 2003 after rebels encircled Monrovia, forcing its warlord leader Charles Taylor to accept an offer of exile. Sirleaf became the continent’s first elected woman president when she defeated soccer star George Weah in the 2005 race. Since then she has been credited with maintaining peace, and with luring hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment.

Unemployment and poverty remain among the highest in the world, however, and Tubman attempted to paint Sirleaf as elitist and her administration as corrupt. He threatened to boycott soon after the results from the first round began trickling in following the Oct. 11 poll.

The government agreed to change the head of the electoral commission, whom Tubman said was biased toward the ruling party. But last Friday, Tubman said the concessions did not go far enough and that he was not sure the vote would be fair. He asked for the election to be delayed by up to two months, and when that demand was not met, he gave a speech calling on his supporters to boycott the vote.

“This decision is unfortunate for the electoral process in Liberia, and unfortunate for Liberia’s young democracy. The result is that there won’t be anything at stake,” said International Crisis Group West Africa Director Gilles Yabi, the author of a report on the country’s electoral process. “It’s motivated by the fact that they (Tubman’s party) think they don’t have a chance. It’s a way to stain the election. To create a problem of credibility for the president.”

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Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press photographer Rebecca Blackwell contributed to this report.

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