ANOTHER TYRANT – GADDAFI FALLS III
Kyaemon
BBC News – Scenes of joy as Libya rebels enter central Tripoli
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14608807
VIDEO INSIDE
A convoy of Libyan rebels has rolled into central Tripoli past celebrating crowds after a day of heavy fighting in and around the capital.
Crowds on Green Square cheered them, waving flags and firing salutes.
President Obama said the Gaddafi regime had reached a “tipping point”. The UK said the end was near for the Libyan leader, and urged him to go.
The rebels reportedly captured Col Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam, as the Colonel himself vowed to fight on.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he had been informed of the arrest.
The court has indicted Saif for torturing and killing civilians. Another of Col Gaddafi’s sons, Muhammad, was also detained…
Gaddafi’s elder son Mohammed Al-Gaddafi surrenders to rebels
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-08/22/c_131065239.htm
Libyan rebels seize Tripoli, inch toward victory
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-08/22/c_131065225.htm
BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — Libyan rebel forces have till early Monday seized control of much of Tripoli and taken two of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s sons into custody.
Rebels waving opposition flags were seen in the wee hours entering the Green Square in the heart of the capital, a highly symbolic place where Gaddafi’s supporters had often rallied during the past weeks.
Senior official Abdullah Almayhop from the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Sunday that opposition forces had controlled the entire capital except Gaddafi’s Bab Al-Aziziyah stronghold and were clearing up the remnants of Gaddafi’s troops.
Facing the offensive of the rebels, forces loyal to Gaddafi appeared to have crumbled quickly, and the guard unit responsible for Gaddafi’s security had reportedly surrendered to the rebels.
At present, the whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi remains a mystery. Gaddafi had vowed to fight to the last drop of blood and not to leave Libya…..
Gaddafi’s eldest son surrenders – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOq0gtKlAHc
Ali Lagha, an opposition fighter in Tripoli, says he’s inside the house of Mohammed Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s eldest son, who surrendered earlier.
Tripoli resident describes rebel victories – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIwStbdalmY&feature=related
Asmaa, an opposition activist in the east of the Libyan capital, told Al Jazeera on Sunday morning that fighting between rebels and Gaddafi forces has erupted in many areas throughout Tripoli and the rebels are gaining.
Many Gaddafi fighters have been injured, she said.
Business News, Finance News, World, Political & Sports News from The Wall Street Journal – Wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/home-page
Libyan Rebels Sweep Into Tripoli – WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576522092285922016.html?mod=WSJ_Home_largeHeadline#project%3DSLIDESHOW08%26s%3DSB10001424053111903327904576522902558216800%26articleTabs%3Dslideshow
click slide show
The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
http://www.nytimes.com/
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Los Angeles Times – California, national and world news – latimes.com
LIBYA: Rebel fighters and supporters pour into Green Square – latimes.com
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/08/libya-rebel-fighters-and-their-supporters-poor-into-green-square.html
Rebel fighters and their supporters poured into the Libyan capital’s main square early Monday, firing weapons into the air and waving opposition flags on what had been the stage for nightly demonstrations in support of Moammar Kadafi’s regime.
Television footage from Green Square, which the rebels are now calling Martyrs Square, showed men ripping down posters of Kadafi and setting fire to the green flag of his regime as others danced and flashed victory signs.
25 comments
Kyaemon
August 23, 2011 at 1:36 am
Libyan rebels celebrate entry into Tripoli
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-08/22/c_131067124.htm
6 pictures
Kyaemon
August 23, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Tanks from Gaddafi’s Al-Aziziyah stronghold start shooting spree
Tanks from Gaddafi’s Al-Aziziyah stronghold start shooting spree
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-08/22/c_131066141.htm
Kyaemon
August 23, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Libyan rebels celebrate control of Tajoura, suburb of Tripoli
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-08/22/c_131065725.htm
8 PICS
Kyaemon
August 24, 2011 at 12:08 am
Rebels Overrun Gadhafi Compound
Fierce Street Fighting in Tripoli; Leader’s Whereabouts Are Unknown
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576525652544535820.html?mod=
Libyans poured into streets surrounding Moammar Gadhafi’s fortress-like compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, after rebels captured it following fierce street battles against forces loyal to the longtime leader.
Streets around the Bab al-Aziziya compound rang with mortars, heavy machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns throughout much of the day Tuesday as rebels took up positions around Col. Gadhafi’s symbolic stronghold. ….
Photos and Video inside
Kyaemon
August 24, 2011 at 12:40 am
Libyan rebels capture Bab al-Azizya compound, loot armory
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-08/24/c_131069695.htm
TRIPOLI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — Libyan rebels Tuesday captured Muammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli after heavy fighting and looted an armory inside the vast barracks, Al-Jazeera television reported.
TV footage showed that rebels swarmed into the huge compound and looted sniper rifles and other weapons from an armory inside the once heavily-fortified stronghold of the Libyan strongman.
Jubilant rebel fighters were seen roaming in front of a building damaged in a U.S. bomb attack decades ago, a symbol of Gaddafi’s defiance to the West.
Some rebels tramped Gaddafi’s pictures found in the building and destroyed a sculpture of the Libyan leader, who has ruled the country for over four decades. Some others shot into the air in celebration.
Plumes of black smoke were seen rising from inside the compound and loud explosions were resounding across the capital city.
Pro-Gaddafi forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the rebel fighters across the capital city. Rebels storming the Bab al- Azizya compound initially met fierce resistance from inside the compound, but later the defense melted down.
Earlier reports on Tuesday by Arab television Al-Arabiya said NATO fired two rockets at Bab al-Azizya and destroyed parts of the wall circling the heavily-fortified compound. The reports quoted a rebel official as saying that the rebel forces “are trying to enter the fortified stronghold through the Old Gate on the western side.”
There is no clear information about the whereabouts of embattled Gaddafi, who has ruled the oil-rich North African nation for over four decades. But Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, head of the Russian chess federation, said Tuesday that Gaddafi told him by telephone that he was still in Tripoli and did not intend to leave the country.
Ilyumzhinov said he received a brief call from Gaddafi and his eldest son Mohammed Tuesday afternoon.
“Mohammed Gaddafi said he is in Tripoli beside his father,” Ilyumzhinov told Interfax news agency.
Mohammed claimed in the telephone conversation that the forces loyal to his father were trying to repel the rebels out of the city, Ilyumzhinov said. Then Mohammed passed the phone to his father, who told the chess president that he was “alive and healthy in Tripoli, and not going to leave Libya,” Gaddafi was quoted by Ilyumzhinov as saying.
The Libyan leader said he was still confident of winning the war and asked people not to believe “the mendacious reports by Western television companies,” said Ilyumzhinov.
Earlier in the day, Saif al-Islam, the well-known son of Gaddafi, made a brief visit to the Rixos hotel housing dozens of foreign journalists, saying his father was still in Tripoli and safe. Ilyumzhinov played chess with Gaddafi when he visited Tripoli in June.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that the Pentagon still believes that Gaddafi had not left the country, although the rebels appeared to have controlled most of the capital Tripoli.
In Brussels, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Tuesday that the military alliance would not put boots on the ground and would only play a “supportive” role upon request in the post-Gaddafi Libya.
Kyaemon
August 25, 2011 at 1:14 am
Libya: Inside Gaddafi’s Tripoli compound
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14655724
Libyan rebels have spent the day searching and ransacking Col Muammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
It is still not known where he may have gone. Some Gaddafi loyalists in the capital are still exchanging gunfire with rebel fighters.
The BBC’s Wyre Davies says the fighting is unlikely to stop until Col Gaddafi is captured or killed.
A closer look at Libya’s National Transition Council
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14634701
The body that hopes to take charge of Libya – the National Transitional Council – is watching events closely and says it hopes to send officials to Tripoli as early as Wednesday.
Leading figures say they are keen to begin the process of establishing a new government as soon as possible.
The BBC’s Paul Wood takes a look at who the rebels are and considers who may lead Libya in a new era.
Kyaemon
August 26, 2011 at 4:42 am
Loyalist Fighters Dig In as Libya Rebels Set Bounty
Gun Fire Breaks Out in Spots Inside Tripoli,Gadhafi Urges Residents to Free Capital
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576527650707951690.html?mod=world_newsreel
Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces battled to hold parts of Tripoli and stood firm over swaths of the country Wednesday, as Libya’s rebel leadership acknowledged that the battle to control the North African country is far from over.
Libya’s rebel leadership offered a financial reward of more than $1 million for Col. Gadhafi’s capture.
One day after rebels celebrated their capture of Tripoli’s Bab al-Aziziya compound, the symbolic heart of the longtime strongman’s regime, Gadhafi loyalists pounded city neighborhoods with erratic mortar fire. Pro-regime snipers cut off the road to Tripoli’s airport, rebels said, and fired at motorists near its port. Pro-Gadhafi forces were also regathering in Abu Selim, a densely populated southern Tripoli slum known for its pro-Gadhafi sentiments.
Convoys of rebel trucks sped among Tripoli’s civilian traffic. The constant pop of celebratory gunshots intermingled with hostile fire, leaving those on the streets often unsure whether to duck or cheer. Even so, many residents of the city of some 2 million moved about many neighborhoods and some grocery stores opened for the first time in days…
Kyaemon
August 26, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Qaddafi’s Final Hours – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/qaddafis-final-hours.html?ref=africa
For more than 40 years, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has dominated and terrorized Libya ……
….. We are in awe of the courageous Libyans who pressed their fight. The rebels — a ragtag band that overcame incredible odds, battlefield defeats and bitter internal divisions — have showed extraordinary commitment and resilience.
…… The rebels’ Transitional National Council and the military are both hampered by ethnic and tribal divisions. The council must reach out quickly to all groups and ensure that it represents all Libyans.
It will also need to move quickly to put together a plan to restore public order as well as electricity and other basic services. It must outline a reasonable timetable for democratic elections.
As we learned at a very high cost in Iraq, all parties must have a role in building a new political order or those excluded will turn to violence. Decision-making — including how to restart damaged oil wells and share oil revenues — must be transparent.
World leaders can reinforce these messages by speaking out. President Obama on Monday rightly warned the rebels that “true justice will not come from reprisals and violence.” The release of frozen Libyan assets and the lifting of sanctions must be carefully managed.
It will be up to the Libyans to build their own future. The rebels’ victory — if followed by the democracy they promise — should inspire others to believe that the battle is worth fighting. And no autocrat, no matter how brutal, is invincible.
Libya rebels destroy symbols of Kadafi’s power – latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-tripoli-20110824-20110824,0,5290849.story
Reporting from Tripoli, Libya— When they finally had overrun Moammar Kadafi’s vast fortress and crushed the illusion that he still ruled them, euphoric rebels hunted down symbols of the power Libya’s leader had held over nearly every aspect of their lives.
They torched the Bedouin tent where Kadafi famously met with dignitaries and journalists. They drove around in one of the golf carts in which he navigated the compound. They mocked him by trying on a cheap plastic military hat that he might have worn in photos and on television.
Kyaemon
August 27, 2011 at 3:34 pm
More gunfire in Tripoli
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/more-gunfire-in-tripoli-26437338.html
More gunfire in Tripoli
2 hrs 50 mins ago – Reuters 1:29 | 2,700 views
Fighting continues in Tripoli even as some residents return home. Julie Noce reports.
Lessons from Iraq for Libya? Don’t do what the US did.
And remember that it is a very different place.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0825/Lessons-from-Iraq-for-Libya-Don-t-do-what-the-US-did
Lessons from Iraq for Libya? Don’t do what the US did. – CSMonitor.com
Libya’s war looks like it’s going to rage on for some days yet. Though much of Tripoli is now in rebel control, there was heavy fighting in parts of the city today, a chaotic and lawless situation persists on some of the roads around the city, and cities like Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte and Sabha in the country’s deep south appear to remain in the hands of regime loyalists.But by the time an angry citizenry has rifled through the sock drawers and wardrobes of a tyrant’s palaces it’s almost always too late for him to stage a successful comeback. The National Transitional Council (NTC) has offered a $1.7 million bounty on Qaddafi – and amnesty for any regime figure that brings him in – in an effort accelerate the cracking of regime solidarity.
NTC leaders are holding a flurry of international meetings – in Paris, Doha, and Istanbul – this week to get some of Qaddafi’s billions that are currently locked up in foreign banks released to them so they can put that money to work building interim legitimacy. It’s a reasonable time to look at what comes next.
RELATED: Where is Qaddafi now?
For Americans, obsessed as we are with projecting our own experiences on the rest of the world, the starting analogy for answering questions about what to do with Libya is often Iraq.
Saddam Hussein, like Qaddafi, was an Arab leader who’d long defied US interest in the regime. Both men ran ruthlessly efficient police states.
But there the similarities end – most obviously in the fact that the troops who took Tripoli are entirely indigenous guerrillas, not US soldiers. The rebel’s near-victory would not have been possible without NATO – largely French – air assaults on Qaddafi’s troops and command centers (the language in the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973 that air strikes would be only used to “protect civilians” was very broadly interpreted), but the Libyan rebellion owns this victory in a way that the Iraqis never did.
There are also vast social and cultural differences, most notably the far greater homogeneity of Libyan society, which is overwhelming comprised of ethnic Arabs who adhere to Sunni Islam. Iraq, with its majority Shiite population long treated as second-class citizens by the Sunni minority that Mr. Hussein’s Baath regime drew from, had the risk of sectarian conflict built into its DNA. The large Kurdish minority in northern Iraq, an area already autonomous thanks to a NATO no-fly-zone imposed after the first Gulf War, created another front for potential ethnic conflict.
And the fall of Hussein, who had been a staunch opponent of theocratic Iran, put the country in play for the geopolitical games of Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two great regional powers it lies between. Both the Saudis and the Iranians backed sectarian militias inside the country, helping to feed Iraq’s bloody civil war……
African Union troops – rarely very effective – are also largely out of the question. The AU was a staunch backer of Qaddafi and is hated by most rebels, who believe (despite scant evidence) that many of its members contributed mercenaries to help Qaddafi fight against them. Over the years, Qaddafi has poured billions into the AU and various African wars, something that’s stirred resentment amongst millions of Libyans who thought that money would have been better spent at home, and resented having their sons sent to fight and die in places like Chad.
Is there a chance for a post-Qaddafi civil war in Libya? Yes. Should the international community, particularly those who helped drive Qaddafi from his perch, be looking for ways to help if it comes to pass? Absolutely. But they should be looking to Iraq for warnings, not answers.
Kyaemon
August 27, 2011 at 10:46 pm
Battle for Tripoli
Posted By: Marc Martin
Posted On: 12:19 p.m. | August 25, 2011
http://framework.latimes.com/2011/08/25/libya-2/#/0
Fighting continues in the Libyan capital as rebel forces search for the country’s longtime ruler, Moammar Kadafi, who was dislodged from his command and control center this week and remains in hiding.
Slide Show 19 pics
‘Rebel snipers in Tripoli part of NATO plan to spark mass panic’ – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IOj-MHE-v4&feature=relmfu
Libyan rebels say they’re pushing on towards Tripoli and claim they’re now around 30 kilometres from the capital. There’ve also been reports of sporadic violence within Tripoli itself – but many people on the ground there say the situation is much calmer.
Kyaemon
August 27, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Key moments in the battle for Libya – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m81T1oj3iI0
Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Aug 21, 2011
It’s been a long, difficult push to Tripoli for the Libyan rebels. Beginning six months ago and inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and neighbouring Egypt, anti-Gaddafi rallies spread from the east to the capital, Tripoli in western Libya. Libyan rebels as they pushed ahead and faced resistance from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, losing many key players along the way, including the rebel commander, Abdel Fattah Younes. But, despite Younes’ death, rebel fighters succeeded in taking control of many key towns and cities, most rapidly in the last few days, in the final push to take control of Tripoli. Al Jazeera’s Emike Umolu looks back at the key moments that marked the road to Tripoli.
Kyaemon
August 29, 2011 at 2:19 am
TIME PHOTOS ON LIBYAN WAR
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2060413_2306492,00.html
254 PICTURES
Kyaemon
August 29, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Tripoli’s residents enjoy Gaddafi’s luxuries – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NFpfyO3lhyw
The whereabouts of Gaddafi’s family remains unknown, but their abandoned homes in the capital Tripoli are exposing their luxurious lifestyle. An indoor pool in the house of Muammar Gadaffi’s daughter Aisha has been taken advantage of by curious rebels and their families. Tripoli residents are taking tours of Gaddafi’s compound, which is evidence of the ruler’s extravagance available for all to see. Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal reports from Tripoli.
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Older video, a few months ago,
Putin: Who gave NATO right to kill Gaddafi? – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=Iw5Ij_RFJ1Q
285,637
Who gave coalition forces in Libya the right to eliminate Gaddafi? That’s the question Vladimir Putin’s been asking, during an official visit to Denmark. The Russian Premier also said NATO’s effectively joined one of the warring sides in the conflict. And more responsible action should be taken instead.
Kyaemon
August 29, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Libyan forces killed detainees: rights group – Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-forces-killed-detainees-rights-group-064818027.html
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Evidence indicates that loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi killed at least 17 detainees and arbitrarily executed dozens of civilians as rebels moved into Tripoli, a New York-based human rights groups said Sunday.
Reporters touring Tripoli have found clusters of decomposing corpses in several areas of the capital, including a roundabout near Gadhafi’s Bab al-Azizya stronghold.
“The evidence we have been able to gather so far strongly suggests that Gadhafi government forces went on a spate of arbitrary killing as Tripoli was falling,” said Sarah Leah Witson of Human Rights Watch.
Since rolling into the Libyan capital a week ago, rebels have fought fierce battles with regime loyalists, but by the weekend had largely pushed them to the outskirts of the city.
The rebels now control most of Libya, but Gadhafi remains at large……
Kyaemon
August 30, 2011 at 1:17 am
Gaddafi remains a threat to Libya, world: rebel chief
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-08/29/c_131082197.htm
DOHA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Muammar Gaddafi is still a threat to Libya and the world, as his whereabouts remain misty, chief of the executive board of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) Mostafa Abdel Jalil said here Monday.
At a meeting, held in the Qatari capital of Doha, of senior military figures from countries participated in the military actions in Libya in the past months, Jalil called on the coalition to further help and support the North African nation, as no concrete information about the whereabouts of the embattled Libyan leader and his sons were currently available.
The rebel fighters captured last Tuesday Gaddafi’s Bab al- Azizya compound in the capital Tripoli, but Gaddafi had already withdrawn “tactically.”
Analysts say the large amount of missiles, and chemical weapons reportedly possessed by Gaddafi’s forces, including over 10 tons of mustard gas (estimated by the United States), could be a peril.
On Sunday, Libyan rebels had said that over 10,000 prisoners arrested by Gaddafi’s government had been freed since the rebel forces took control of Tripoli, but about 50,000 prisoners were still missing. Rebel military spokesman Col. Ahmed Bani said it would be “catastrophic” if it turned out that they had already been killed after being arrested.
The rebels had on Saturday vowed fair trials for those having worked with Gaddafi, and said the reward for killing or capturing the fallen leader could be increased.
The rebels are reportedly preparing attacks on Monday to capture Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte.
Related:
Gaddafi calls for fight to destroy rebels: TV
TRIPOLI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi called on his loyalists on Thursday to fight and destroy rebels in the capital city of Tripoli in a short audio speech broadcast on Syria-based Arrai Oruba television.
He called on all Libyan people to bring women and children to “purify” Tripoli, saying there would be no safe place for the rebels. Full story
Don’t rush to celebrate the post-Gaddafi era
BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — The Libyan rebels and NATO, having chosen the most violent means to effect change, have put an end to the 41-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi after fully taking control of the capital, Tripoli.
The price the Libyan people have paid for the “liberation” is enormous. The six-month-long civil war has completely paralysed the Libyan economy, ruined its lifeline oil industry, split the country between its West and East, unleashed tribal forces and left a heavy toll of casualties. Full story
Kyaemon
August 30, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Gadhafi on the run
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/08/26/sidner.libya.gadhafi.tunnels.cnn
Nic Robertson reports plenty of tribes in Libya are loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and could be assisting him as he hides.
CLICK VIDEO INSIDE
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older video
Libya Rebels Overtake Tripoli As Gaddafi Regime Crumbles
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/libya-rebels-tripoli_n_932706.html
TRIPOLI, Libya — Euphoric Libyan rebels took control of most of Tripoli in a lightning advance Sunday, celebrating the victory in Green Square, the symbolic heart of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. Gadhafi’s defenders quickly melted away as his 42-year rule crumbled, but the leader’s whereabouts were unknown and pockets of resistance remained.
State TV broadcast Gadhafi’s bitter pleas for Libyans to defend his regime. Opposition fighters captured his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, who along with his father faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. Another son was under house arrest.
Kyaemon
August 30, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Why Is Much of Africa Giving Libya’s Rebels the Cold Shoulder?
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2090615,00.html
Who said money couldn’t buy friends? Even though over 40 nations and the Arab League have now recognized the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council as the new Libyan government following longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi’s fall this week, Africa’s regional bloc, the African Union, is refusing to do so. On Friday, the pan-African organization that Gaddafi largely bankrolled and at times led rebuffed calls to extend legitimacy to the NTC rebels, calling instead for an “inclusive” government in Libya — presumably meaning one that includes members of Gaddafi’s regime, although not necessarily the deposed leader himself. To many, the move is sure to deepen perceptions that the African Union is more of an old presidents’ club than a serious international force.
Often dismissed as a clown or lunatic, in Africa Gaddafi was a serious player, and the continent’s longest-standing ruler. Money goes a long way in places without much, and the eccentric leader used his country’s oil wealth to spread his fingers everywhere. His luxury hotels dot capital cities across the continent, and he funded pet rebel groups across the continent. But, besides his hefty purse, Gaddafi also was a symbol for some of African pride. His often incoherent but vehemently anti-Western diatribes on the international stage often found a sympathetic audience among disillusioned African youth. Unlike other North African leaders, who prefer to stress their Arab ties and downplay their African ones, Gaddafi embraced a continental role, keeping pan-African visions alive. His much-ballyhooed pipe dream of a United States of Africa might have failed, but it paved the way for today’s African Union — which in turn thanked him by angrily denouncing the NATO operation that paved the way for his downfall…..
Kyaemon
September 1, 2011 at 4:15 am
Qaddafi regime rejects Libyan rebels’ ultimatum to surrender
NATO is still hoping for a negotiated settlement with Libyan rebels to avoid more fighting, particularly in Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. The deadline expires Saturday.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2011/0831/Qaddafi-regime-rejects-Libyan-rebels-ultimatum-to-surrender
…..”Sometimes to avoid bloodshed you must shed blood, and the faster we do this the less blood we will shed,” said Ali Tarhouni, the deputy head of the National Transitional Council….
Victory in Sirte is crucial because it would unite rebel-held territory from Tripoli in the west to the eastern city of Benghazi, giving the rebels uninterrupted control of the country’s long coastal area and its many oil facilities.
Taking Sirte would also pose a key test of rebels’ ability to persuade Qaddafi loyalists to admit that a 42-year era of dictatorial rule is over, lay down their arms, and integrate themselves in the new Libya.
While rebels expressed hope that a battle could be avoided through a negotiated deal before Saturday, Qaddafi regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim rejected the ultimatum
“No dignified honorable nation would accept an ultimatum from armed gangs,” he said in a phone call with the Associated Press. Mr. Ibrahim did repeat the regime’s offer to negotiate the formation of a transitional government, but the rebels dismissed that option. The National Transitional Council (NTC) that orchestrated much of the uprising from Benghazi has said it will appoint an interim government once Qaddafi is found, the Monitor reports.
pyinlepyaw
September 1, 2011 at 8:56 am
ကြောက်စရာ ရင်ထိတ်စရာ တက်ကြွစရာတွေ စုပေါင်းခံစားလို့ရတဲ့ ဖြစ်ရပ်မှန်လေးတွေအတွက် အများကြီး
ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိပါကြောင်း…။
Kyaemon
September 2, 2011 at 3:30 am
Gadhafi Vows No Surrender
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904583204576544302569471690.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth
Rebels Extend Deadline as Qaddafi Says He’ll Resist
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/world/africa/02libya.html?_r=1&hp
RIPOLI, Libya — The transitional government of Libya’s triumphant rebels decided Thursday to extend by up to a week the deadline given to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and his remaining fighters to surrender, but the fugitive leader rejected the ultimatum and raged at his enemies in a new broadcast that called for the country to be “engulfed in flames.”
Colonel Qaddafi, whose whereabouts remained a mystery, delivered the screed in an audio message that was first broadcast by Al Rai, a television channel in Syria that has often carried pro-Qaddafi news and propaganda. It was not clear how the channel received Colonel Qaddafi’s message — apparently his first after more than a week on the run — or whether it had been prerecorded.
“We will fight the collaborators,” he said. “The Libyan people are not a herd of sheep. They are heavily armed.”
Daring the rebels to find him, he improbably predicted that Libyans would rise up and reject the new government as well as the NATO powers that have been bombing his forces for months under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians. “Their supplies will run out, but ours will never run out,” he said. “Let there be a long fight, and let Libya be engulfed in flames.”
The rebel decision to extend the ultimatum, coming on the anniversary of Colonel Qaddafi’s rise to power in Libya 42 years ago, means that the original deadline set by the rebels, Saturday, has been pushed back to Sept. 10. The step came as the new government seemed to gain momentum, with more countries — notably Russia and Romania — formally recognizing it as the legitimate authority in Libya, and with an international conference on post-Qaddafi Libyan reconstruction convening in Paris.
Rebel leaders who have massed forces outside Surt, the Mediterranean coastal enclave that is Colonel Qaddafi’s hometown, told the BBC that they had been negotiating with tribal elders there and had decided to give the talks another week. Abdel Hafidh Ghoga, deputy chairman of the Transitional National Council, the provisional rebel government, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying the deadline for surrender had been extended because “there are good indications that things are moving in the right direction.” ….
Kyaemon
September 9, 2011 at 10:10 am
NATO drops leaflets urging Qaddafi loyalists to surrender
One NATO leaflet directed at non-Libyan Qaddafi fighters warned in Arabic: ‘You have been involved in violent acts against innocent Libyan civilians…. Leave this country now.’
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2011/0906/NATO-drops-leaflets-urging-Qaddafi-loyalists-to-surrender
….They’re also firing leaflets – and targeting in particular the African-origin units thought to comprise much of his military force.
Mercenaries and other non-Libyan born troops may constitute the majority of the loyalist forces still in control of Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli, where a military move is likely any day, Col. Omar Ahmed Bani, the rebel military force’s spokesman told McClatchy Monday. Foreign-born fighters, many of whom have become naturalized, also are thought to dominate the forces in Sirte, Qaddafi’s birthplace on the Mediterranean coast, and in Sabha, deep in the Sahara desert. …….
Kyaemon
September 17, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Libya NTC forces enter Sirte, Bani Walid
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/16/c_131143175.htm
TRIPOLI, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Libyan fighters said Friday they had entered Sirte and Bani Walid, two of the last strongholds of toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Forces loyal to Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) captured the airport in Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, after fierce attacks, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera reported Friday, citing NTC fighters.
The NTC forces also poured into the desert town of Bani Walid, about 180 km south of the capital Tripoli, after two weeks of siege, and vowed to take control of it in the evening. Gunfire and explosions were heard near the town.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tripoli on Friday morning to show support for Libyan people’s struggle to end Gaddafi’s 42-year-rule.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited Tripoli and Benghazi a day earlier, confirmed that NATO will keep on its mission “until the civilians are protected and the work completed.”
Cameron and Sarkozy, who spearheaded the NATO mission in Libya, vowed that their countries will help the Libyans hunt down Gaddafi whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Kyaemon
September 17, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Pro-Kadafi forces counter offensives in 2 Libyan cities
Revolutionary fighters encounter stiff resistance during incursions in Surt and Bani Walid, which continue to defy the new transitional government. At least 19 anti-Kadafi fighters are killed.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-offensive-20110917,0,7222898.story
Reporting from north of Bani Walid, Libya—
Forces loyal to ousted Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi put up fierce resistance Friday on two fronts, fending off revolutionary fighters trying to take a pair of holdout cities that have defied the nation’s new transitional government.
Anti-Kadafi fighters launched major attacks on Surt, the coastal town where Kadafi was born, and Bani Walid, a desert city that benefited from the longtime leader’s financial largesse. But in both cases the attackers’ predictions of quick and decisive victories proved wrong.
At day’s end, Libya’s new rulers were facing the disturbing prospect of potentially protracted battles to oust Kadafi loyalists from the two towns.
The revolution that seemed sealed with last month’s stunning victory in Tripoli, the capital, is now clearly facing a major obstacle in the two contested cities and a third pro-Kadafi stronghold, the city of Sabha in the south.
While in hiding, Kadafi has urged his followers to mount a guerrilla war. His spokesman, also in hiding, has vowed that the former regime’s loyalists would turn Libya into “a true hell.”
Snipers and mortar and rocket fire met fighters who attempted to storm the two cities, both of which had pre-conflict populations of about 100,000. Many residents have fled amid weeks-long sieges cutting off both towns.
In Bani Walid, about 95 miles southeast of Tripoli, the day began with hundreds of volunteers driving toward the city in pickups turned into gun trucks, exuding confidence that they soon would reach the town center and defeat its defenders.
But heavy resistance from Kadafi loyalists slowed the fighters’ advance. They crouched behind dun-colored buildings and struggled in intense street fighting to move forward amid mortar fire and sniper rounds. The pro-Kadafi forces were poised to pick off the interlopers from sniper positions in buildings and on the town’s high ground.
“Once we got into town, the bullets seemed to be coming from everywhere,” said one fighter from Tripoli, Nabil Drawil, who said his unit advanced about 200 yards into Bani Walid before withdrawing under heavy fire. “We passed some buildings, and then they started shooting at us from behind.”
Pro-Kadafi forces spread oil on some of the town’s roads, invading fighters said, making it hard for vehicles to get traction.
At least six revolutionary fighters were killed and several dozen injured in the offensive, doctors said. It was the second time in the last week that anti-Kadafi fighters had been repulsed in an attack on Bani Walid, where a local radio station urged residents to resist the invaders.
At various staging areas north of the city, the fighters seemed stunned and in disarray. It was often not clear who was in charge. Ambulances waited for a steady stream of wounded coming from town.
There also appeared to be tension among fighters from different parts of Libya. All are volunteers, many civilians who had never fired a gun before joining the revolution that began early this year.
By nightfall, the forces poised to take Bani Walid earlier in the day were in a full retreat, speeding out of town in trucks as occasional shells from loyalist forces fell nearby.
Many fighters were openly distressed that the people of Bani Walid appeared to have remained largely loyal to Kadafi even after Tripoli and much of the nation backed a rebellion that ended his 40-year reign.
“We don’t really know who’s with us and who’s against us in Bani Walid,” said Ismael Abuda, 24, a former hospitality student in London who sported a razor haircut and wore blue denim shorts while wielding a Kalashnikov rifle and, on his waist, a Beretta 9-millimeter pistol. “There are a lot of civilians there, but they’re still with Kadafi. We have nothing to do with them.”
Libya’s rebel forces enjoyed remarkable success in extending their control to much of this vast country, but they generally counted on support from popular uprisings within cities and towns. The fighters have had less success when attacking hostile terrain where Libya’s former leader remained popular.
Kyaemon
September 18, 2011 at 1:42 am
REPORTER’S BATTLE FRONT VIDEO INSIDE
BBC News – Libya: Fierce fighting on the road to Sirte
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14961229
17 September 2011 Last updated at 13:15 ET
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Heavy fighting has resumed in Libya for the loyalist-held coastal town of Sirte.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters pushed forward at Sirte with machine guns and rockets but have met shellfire from loyalists.
The BBC’s Alastair Leithead, with the anti-Gaddafi forces near Sirte, said the fighters had advanced about another 10km (6 miles) towards the city.
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Kyaemon
September 25, 2011 at 4:34 pm
NATO destroys 8 Libyan warships – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaWPa0cZ41w&feature=related
RAF strikes Libyan warships at Al Khums port. Ministry of Defence releases cockpit video showing Tornado and Typhoon warplanes attacking two warships at Al Khums, Libya, and a facility in the dockyard being used to construct fast inflatable boats. A Nato aircraft sank eight warships belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in coordinated attacks on the ports of Tripoli, Al Khums and Sirte on Friday. It was the first time RAF aircraft had bombed warships during the Libyan operation. The MoD also targeted a facility in the dockyard being used to construct fast inflatable boats. used to mine waters near the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata and attack vessels in the area. ”Given the escalating use of naval assets, Nato had no choice but to take decisive action to protect the civilian population of Libya and Nato forces at sea,” said Rear-Admiral Russell Harding, deputy commander of the Nato mission in Libya.
Caught on Tape: NATO bombs Libya ‘warships’, RAF cockpit combat camera – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=jRZT624kQjs&feature=fvwp
The British Ministry of Defence released footage on Friday of NATO fighter jets striking the Tripoli harbour. NATO fighter jets struck the harbour in bombing runs overnight, damaging five coast guard boats and a warship, the Libyan government confirmed early on Friday. Footage released showed Royal Air Force Tornados and Typhoons striking two warships and a facility in the dockyard constructing fast inflatable boats.
Video of French jets bombing Libya ammunition dump, rebels fire rockets – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcka0pJL6X8&feature=relmfu
The French military has released a video it claims shows French fighter jets bombing a Libyan ammunitions depot south of Tripoli on March 28th. The 32 seconds black and white sequence appears to show five explosions as munitions hit their targets, which the French military said were in Gharyan, 100 kilometres south of Tripoli. Meanwhile the U.S. is reportedly sending CIA teams into Libya to gather intelligence and set up links with rebels. It comes as doubts grow about the exact makeup of the movement to oust Colonel Gadaffi. That’s prompted criticism of plans to arm them, with NATO officials themselves admitting they fear that Al-Qaeda fighters are among the rebels.