Libyan rebels seize massive weapons depot

[Turborama]

Source: LA Times

Rebels in the Nafusa mountains take control of tons of arms after a short battle with troops loyal to Moammar Kadafi in the latest in a string of victories by opposition forces in western Libya.


By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
June 28, 2011, 11:09 a.m.

Reporting from Ghaaa military base, Libya— Rebels in Libya's Nafusa mountains seized control of and pillaged a massive weapons depot Tuesday morning after a short desert battle with troops loyal to Moammar Kadafi, taking control of many tons of arms in the latest of a string of opposition victories in the country's west.

At least two rebels were killed in the fighting, said a medical official at the site.

Long convoys of pickups and tractor trailer trucks could be seen streaming across the desert to the site after the fighting. They were loaded with rockets, ammunition, high-caliber guns and assault rifles before heading back to rebel-held cities. The insurgents also seized dozens of military vehicles at the site, which consisted of dozens of concrete storage mounds scattered across the desert.

The victory gave the increasingly confident rebels here a boost. They were also galvanized by the International Criminal Court's decision Monday to issue arrest warrants for the Libyan leader, his son Seif Islam Kadafi and intelligence chief Abdullah Sanusi.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-weapons-20110629,0,2814730.story

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Libyan rebels find major munitions dump

Uploaded by http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish">AlJazeeraEnglish on June 28, 2011
Opposition fighters in Libya have captured a munitions dump from Gaddafi forces in the West of the country, near the town of Zintan.

Finding the collection of weapons depots there is being seen as a major victory for the rebels as they edge closer to the capital, Tripoli.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from the nearby town of Jadu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDfpNbazfvs

(There's a better clip about this on AJE at the moment, I'll add it when it goes online.)

[TheWraith]

1. Sounds like it was left underdefended.

That could imply that Ghaddafi is starting to run low on troops.

[GOTV]

2. How do you pronounce Ghaaa? Any differently than Ghaa?

Also, check out this photo from the article. That one rebel fighter doesn't even have shoes on. That's dedication.

[Iterate]

3. Video of previous Nato strikes at the site

The first one here set off a 1.5 kiloton secondary explosion and the cloud reached to 20,000 ft. People in Zintan 35km away gathered to watch:
May8th Nato's strickes on Al-Qa'aa arm depots 35km S. Zintan. Cameraman's filming from #Zintan
http://youtu.be/ufcr98UaRR4

Another. The header claims it's from Tomahawk cruise missile, but there is no evidence for that. The explosion as shown is from the stored munitions.
May18th2011 Nato's Tomahawk pounding AlQa'aa arm depots South Zintan. Nafusa mtns
http://youtu.be/kIdefMnjwEs

And another, smaller attack:
May31st Nato's strickes on Al-Qa'aa arm depots 35km S. Zintan. Cameraman's filming from #Zintan
http://youtu.be/2L1LfACWiEY

This was one of the main weapons storage sites for the two-month siege/shelling/grad missile attacks on Yefren, Qa'laa, Zintan, and other cities in the area.

Early in the month, Gaddafi ordered the cities of Yefren and Qalaa to be leveled and Zintan taken or the three generals in charge would be shot. One was executed, but two others escaped to Algeria. Within days the attack had failed and the FF from Nafusa lifted the siege and liberated the cities. I disagree with the AJE headline that says the rebels "found" the munitions dump.

Edit to add, the depot is at the center of this map, and covers about 4 square miles:
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=31.7316712&lon=12.3355865&z=11&l=5&m=b

[daleo]

4. NATO can get the hell out now

Since the rebels can now take care of themselves.