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Inside the US consulate in Benghazi: material and human damage laid bare
Visit to burned-out consular building reveals extent of attack and gives Libyans a chance to disown mob and offer condolences
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Chris Stephen in Benghazi
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 September 2012 13.58 EDT
Bloodstains from a US employee who grabbed a column while being evacuated from Benghazi consulate
A Libyan man explains that the bloodstains are from an American employee who grabbed the column while being evacuated from the consulate in Benghazi. Photograph: Mohammad Hannon/AP
The bullet holes, smashed masonry and blood on the walls of the burned-out consulate on the southern outskirts of Benghazi are testament to the gun battle that raged through the building, claiming four lives including that of the US ambassador, Chris Stevens.
As the owners of the damaged building and the accommodation block a mile down the road took the Guardian on a tour of the sites on Thursday, reports that the attack was the work of an isolated group seemed to be at odds with the physical evidence and what their staff had told them.
"Better security would not have stopped this," said Adel Ibrahim, the owner of the accommodation building where blood is now spattered beneath a hole smashed in a wall by a heavy projectile. "A security unit is fine if you are facing 10 persons, but there were 400 attackers. [The Americans] would have needed an army to stop them."