Libyan Revolution Week 29 part 5

[joshcryer]

[joshcryer]

1. Libyan Revolution Day 204 updates below, current time in Libya, 12:51am Friday, September 9

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Revealed: How Libyan Rebels Rape Nigerian Women

Revealed: How Libyan Rebels Rape Nigerian Women!
By NewsAdmin on September 8, 2011

Sources in Libya have disclosed that sunset is a bad time for women in the refugee camp for black Africans in Janzour, a town six miles west of Tripoli.

The occupants of the camp disclosed that it has become a normal occurrence for the rebels around the camp to start shooting once it is dark. As soon as the shooting starts, they run into the camp and you hear them shouting “gabbour, gabbour”, the Arabic word for whore as they drag young women away from the camp. As soon as the rebels enter the camp in their vehicles, the refugees scatter.

Describing the daily hunt for women in the camp, a Nigerian woman said “you should be here in the evening; they just come in and carry people. They don’t use condoms; they use whatever they can find.” She disclosed that at times, nylon bags are used in place of condoms.

Unfortunately, there is no record to indicate how many women have been raped in the camp since it happens on a daily basis. It has also been observed that there are no records of statistics in the camp while foreign aid workers confirmed that they are prohibited from discussing the allegations on the record. Members of the International Red Cross also disclosed that the only things they have spoken to rebel leaders about are “security concerns.”

Read more...http://thestreetjournal.org/2011/09/revealed-how-libyan-rebels-rape-nigerian-women/

[tabatha]

3. This is a rehash of the article you posted in the previous thread

but fails to mention this:

"It was a group of young men," she said, adding that they did not appear to be a faction fighting for either side."

That is, there has been no confirmation that it is the rebels who are doing this.

By the way, despite all of the rape (probably highest in the world) in South Africa, and the large number of killings of White farmers (3,000), I still support the fact that South Africa should be a democratic country.

If you continue to repost this same article over and over again, I may have to start posting the rape and crime in South Africa and other African countries in response.

On these threads, we like to post stuff that has not been posted before.

[Prometheus Bound]

13. Perhaps you'd better read the article you're referring to. That comment refers to something else.

Alexandra showed a scar on her arm that she said had come from an assault on the street as she was leaving her home last month as the fighting intensified.

"It was a group of young men," she said, adding that they did not appear to be a faction fighting for either side.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/07/3126979/african-women-say-rebels-raped.html#ixzz1XQ3kaRmu

If you did this intentionally, you should be ashamed.

[pinboy3niner]

4. 'We fight for Muammar. We fight for Libya. He protected our country'

Source: The Independent

To the West, Gaddafi's defeat is inevitable, but his hired guns are still fervently loyal – even the injured ones

By Kim Sengupta in Tripoli

Friday, 9 September 2011

...


"We should capture him, put him in a cage and put it on television. That is the only thing that will convince some of these people (in Bani Walid) he is finished, otherwise this will carry on."


A little later came a salvo of a dozen Grad rockets from the supposedly besieged town, causing little damage, but showing that the loyalists retain weaponry and are in no mood to give up. Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's son, was back in Bani Walid rallying cadres, said an elder from the town.

...


"There are around 200 Gaddafi men inside Bani Walid and they are preventing a peaceful solution," said Mr al-Rubessi. They are not foreign mercenaries, large numbers of whom have been supposedly fighting for the regime, but Libyans. "These people have blood on their hands. They had opened fire on a protest march and killed innocent people. They are afraid of justice. We hoped that maybe they had left in the convoy, but they are still there."


The departure in the convey of hundreds of fighters from what is left of Gaddafi's forces should, in theory, hasten the end of further strife. But, all the indications are that those still fighting are locals rather than foreigners.


"Most of what they call the mercenaries had begun to disappear after the rebels entered Tripoli, although some of them fought alongside us in Bab al-Aziziya (Gaddafi's fortress) and here at Abu Salim," said Ahmed Mahmood Salhouddin, serving, until eight days ago, as a captain in the Libyan army.

...


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/we-fight-for-muammar-we-fight-for-libya-he-protected-our-country-2351560.html

[tabatha]

5. Rebels say Gadhafi loyalists holding hostages outside Sirte

By Roy Gutman and David Enders
McClatchy Newspapers

BENGHAZI, Libya — Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have moved hundreds of hostages to a village outside Sirte in what appear to be preparations for a final violent stand, officials of the National Transitional Council said Thursday.

The transfer of as many as 300 rebels taken captive during recent fighting to the village of Qasr bu Hadi, which is about 10 miles east of Sirte, took place earlier this week, transitional council officials told McClatchy.

Fathi Baja, the head of political affairs for the council, equated the transfer of the prisoners to "taking human shields."

Gadhafi loyalists also arrested at least four prominent backers of the National Transitional Council in Sirte on Wednesday and have moved them as well to Qasr bu Hadi, which is under the control of Gadhafi's Gaddhafiya tribe, according to Hassan al Droe, Sirte's representative to the council.

A rebel deadline for a negotiated settlement runs out at midnight Friday, and officials are now girding for a bloody endgame.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/08/2397153/rebels-say-gadhafi-loyalists-holding.html#ixzz1XPSR6BKH

[tabatha]

6. Special Libyan Unit Hunting Down Gadhafi

September 9, 2011
Posted in News, September 2011, Week Commencing September 5 | 00:28

Determined to hunt down Moammar Gadhafi, Libya’s new rulers say they have dedicated a special unit of fighters to track the elusive former leader, listening in on his aides’ phone calls, poring over satellite images and interviewing witnesses.

Although leads come mostly from on-the-ground tips, help is also coming from France and other Western countries, according to a French intelligence official. Satellite-based transmission intercepts of suspicious phone calls try to pinpoint where Gadhafi might be. Small CIA teams are also assisting in the manhunt, according to former U.S. officials.

Gadhafi, who hasn’t been seen in public for months, went underground after anti-regime fighters swept into Tripoli on Aug. 21. Capturing the ousted ruler would allow the former rebels to seal their grip on the country and shut the door on the possibility of Gadhafi’s inspiring an insurgency against the new leaders.

After more than four decades under his authoritarian rule, Libyans are haunted by the question of Gadhafi’s whereabouts, and the country has been awash with rumors that have put him everywhere from deep in a bunker under Tripoli to safe in exile in neighboring Niger or Algeria. On Thursday, Gadhafi himself dismissed talk of his flight, saying in an audio broadcast that he’s still in Libya, and exhorting followers to keep fighting.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/08/2397153/rebels-say-gadhafi-loyalists-holding.html#ixzz1XPJQniDy

[tabatha]

7. Niz of the Free Generation Movement is doing awesome work in Tripoli

Niz_FGM Niz

@THerwees email me any thoughts on ... then we can discuss further,

Once we unlock the potential of our youth, this nation will become great. #Libya

Shooting in the air in celebration has reduced drastically, but it hasnt yet stopped....#Tripoli

Free Generation Movement liaising with the Libya Stabilisation Team to see how we can facilitate improved public awareness. Watch this space

@bint_tarhouna scroll back to earlier tweets to save time.Once the mechanism & structure of the forum is finalised, we will outline details

@bint_tarhouna its neither.Its apolitical. Its youth orientated. Its voluntary.Its a service to facilitate opportunity for those who need it

Walls around #Tripoli are being whitewashed and being reserved for graffiti artists to express their creativity. Videos coming soon....

Members of the Free Generation Movement brainstorming an Anti Racism video campaign to raise awareness for this key issue....

Aid package being prepared in Tripoli for eventual fall of Sabha.We are just looking for a truck/lorry and volunteer driver to be on standby

Freedom Fighters going to Sabha tell me they would really like "Breakfast food". They mention Tuna, cheese, olives. What else? suggestions?

Niz, Mervet & Hamza just back from representing FGMovement @ meeting regarding the new & exciting Libyan Youth Forum... exciting times ahead

Please send us pictures of those martyred in Tripoli so we can honour them on our board in the square. Tripoli

The Free Generation Movement & members of the local community call for a stop in celebratory shooting (subs available)

More & more coffee shops & markets opening up around Tripoli.Healthy amount of traffic,fewer checkpoints,less shooting...normality returning

http://twitter.com/#!/search/Niz_FGM

[pinboy3niner]

8. Libya rebels scrambling to secure Kadafi arsenals

Moammar Kadafi's regime moved its weapons stockpiles as NATO unleashed airstrikes in March. Now, rebels have the tough task of finding and securing the caches, some of which have been looted.




Libyan rebels have availed themselves to the Kadafi regime's weapons stockpiles,
such as these munitions at a military base in Ajaylat. Securing the weapons from
terrorists is a challenge. (Francois Mori / Associated Press / September 7, 2011)


By Patrick J. McDonnellLos Angeles Times

September 8, 2011, 4:34 p.m.


Reporting from Tripoli, Libya— The fall of Moammar Kadafi has opened up Libya's vast armories to plunder and pillage, causing alarms to sound worldwide about the possibility that terrorists or insurgents may gain access to lethal weapons, including mines, mortars and missiles capable of shooting down civilian airliners.


Officials of the rebel leadership here say they are scrambling to secure Kadafi's arms stockpiles, but the sites are so numerous that the task is overwhelming. And securing the weapons is only one of many grave challenges facing them.


"We are doing our best, but we are extended to the limit," said Jalal Gallal, a spokesman for the interim administration here. "Some of these places are being found on an hourly basis. It's all-consuming. It is one of the legacies we have from Kadafi."


Weapons depots often turn up in unexpected places: homes, commercial strips, school property. The caches were a major supply source for Libya's rebels, who overran many stashes and helped themselves, often welding weapons systems to pickup trucks and slapping on homemade metal plates for armor.

...


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-arms-20110909,0,6482399.story

[pinboy3niner]

9. Libyan fighters drive on Kadhafi hometown

By Andrew Beatty (AFP) – 7 hours ago


TRIPOLI — Fighters loyal to Libya's new rulers captured a key objective in their drive on Moamer Kadhafi's hometown Sirte on Thursday, as the ousted strongman dismissed as lies reports he had fled to Niger.

...


"We have the right to defend ourselves even before the deadline," (de facto premier Mahmud Jibril) said after NTC troops besieging Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli, came under rocket fire from old regime loyalists inside the oasis town.


"Unfortunately, this chance was violated and exploited by putting more soldiers and fomenting Libyans to kill each other. We don't really see that the other side truly wants to take a chance and avoid bloodshed," Jibril said.

...


NTC fighters celebrated Thursday after they captured the Red Valley, 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Sirte, one of the main lines of defence of Kadhafi's troops in his hometown, an AFP correspondent reported.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5geCq6mqO2ad-CxRXNlUPugQKssTQ?docId=CNG.8829b1c45c2bc379aa7f0f9e25749f3e.891

[pinboy3niner]

10. “Libyans are not rats, Libyans are patriots and brave people”

Source: Kyiv Post (Ukraine)

At Libyan Embassy in Kyiv, Gadhafi persona non grata

Today at 01:08 | Rina Soloveitchik and Will Fitzgibbon


At an unremarkable green building on Ovrutska Street, two plaques on either side of the door depict the moment that a North African revolution reached Kyiv.


Supporters of the Libyan rebels, who earlier this month unseated longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi, have scratched out the name of the state he used to rule with an iron fist. They have torn down portraits of the eccentric leader, tossed his Green Book into a locked storeroom and melted down his copper bust.

...


Outside, the tricolor flag of Libya’s new government, raised on Aug. 22, flew over the embassy. Grinning Libyan youths posed for photos next to it, giving the thumbs up.

...


A white, silk sheet hung loosely over a couch, reads “Libyans are not rats, Libyans are patriots and brave people.”

...


http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/112486/

[tabatha]

11. Gas mask shipments add to concern over Libya’s chemical arsenal

Loyalists feared to have access to mustard gas
By Simon Denyer
Washington Post / September 8, 2011

AL AJELAT, Libya - Documents showing the shipment of thousands of gas masks and chemical weapons protection suits to Moammar Khadafy’s remaining strongholds in the last weeks of his regime raised fresh concerns yesterday about whether the deposed Libyan leader’s forces could still have access to deadly mustard gas.

The Pentagon and an international monitoring organization have said that Khadafy’s remaining stockpiles are secure. But more than 11 tons of mustard gas is known to be accumulated in a country that suddenly lacks a strong central authority and where weapons are fast proliferating. Libyan rebels say they are concerned that Khadafy holdouts could have access to the mustard gas and could use it in a last-ditch effort to halt opposition advances.

Rebel commanders say the concerns are one reason they are moving cautiously as they try to drive Khadafy loyalists from his home town of Surt and a key military headquarters in the desert at Al Jufrah.

Khadafy has used chemical weapons before, during a war with neighboring Chad in 1987. But he agreed to dismantle his weapons of mass destruction program in 2003 in return for rapprochement with the West. To demonstrate his commitment, he ordered the bulldozing of 3,300 artillery shells that could have been used to deliver chemical weapons.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2011/09/08/gas_mask_shipments_add_to_concern_over_libyas_chemical_arsenal/

[pinboy3niner]

12. APNewsBreak: Libyans say Manila diplomat quits

Libyan nationals climb on a gate of the Libyan Embassy at suburban Makati city, eastern Manila in the Philippines, on Thursday Sept. 8, 2011. The two enraged Libyan students barged into their embassy in the Philippine capital to try to evict diplomats they suspect remain loyal to former dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)


Associated Press | Posted: Thursday, September 8, 2011 8:40 pm


One of two Libyan activists who stormed their embassy in the Philippine capital said a diplomat they accused of backing ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi has agreed to resign.

Associated Press journalists saw the two activists scaling the embassy's walls and barging into the building Thursday afternoon after scuffling with Filipino guards.

One of the intruders, former student Elyosa Fathi Elgardag, told The AP late Thursday that they left the embassy after the Libyan staff showed them a senior diplomat's resignation letter.

The other diplomat the two activists were seeking to oust from the embassy told them he wasn't a Gadhafi loyalist, according to Elgardag.

...


Elgardag's companion, a student who did not give his name, said the embassy failed to arrange for the continuation of financial aid to Libyan students abroad, making their lives miserable. He said they were barred from entering the embassy and were left with no choice but to storm it.

...


http://wcfcourier.com/news/world/asia/apnewsbreak-libyans-say-manila-diplomat-quits/article_c875c80a-d100-50d7-a759-38699dcb7185.html

[pinboy3niner]

14. Captured Gaddafi Minister 'Switches Sides'

Source: Sky News

3:35am UK, Friday September 09, 2011

Lisa Holland, foreigh affairs correspondent, Tripoli


Armed guards lead me towards the room where Libya's former Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim has agreed to meet me and they declare: "He's our big fish".

...


He insists he was simply putting out the Colonel's message and it was not his own.


"Making a press conference doesn't mean that you're saying your own opinion," he says.


He says he wanted out of the regime a few weeks ago and considered leaving the country and defecting. A politically convenient argument now or the truth?

...


I ask him if he now accepts the view of Colonel Gaddafi as a brutal dictator as most of the rest of the world has. He nods his head and says yes.


As we leave Khaled Kaim poses for photographs with the young guards in the block. It's a bizarre sight after the months at the Rixos spouting the Colonel's propoganda.

...


http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16065809

[pinboy3niner]

15. Singing once banned language in Tripoli

Posted in Political Videos by riverwalker:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x615419

[tabatha]

23. Here is the original song

http://youtu.be/HJEvMWb1H7M
with English translation of the lyrics, which are really beautiful.

This Libyan Amazigh song is dedicated to the mothers of the martyrs of the Libyan Revolution (Tanit** Goddess in Amazigh Mythology)

plus another by the same singer,
http://youtu.be/4_iOpA8eLMo

[pinboy3niner]

16. In Shift, Iran’s President Calls for End to Syrian Crackdown

Posted in LBN by alp227:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4989128

[pinboy3niner]

17. Why Is Qaddafi Using Syrian TV to Tell the World He's Still in Libya?

Source: Atlantic Wire

Uri Friedman Sep 08, 2011


In yet another sign of Muammar Qaddafi's loosening grip on power, the fugitive Libyan leader announced today that he would soldier on in Libya by phoning Syria-based Arrai TV, which has aired most of Qaddafi's audio messages through its sister channel Al Oruba since the fall of Tripoli. Bloomberg explains that the station is managed by a Libyan who's close to Qaddafi and owned by former Iraqi lawmaker Mishan Jabouri, who the U.S. has accused of broadcasting secret messages through patriotic songs to the Sunni terrorist group the Islamic Army of Iraq (the BBC adds that Jabouri, a Sunni Arab who was once close to Saddam Hussein, is also notorious for broadcasting television footage of attacks against coalition troops in Iraq). Arrai also has links with Rami Makhlouf, the Syrian telecommunications tycoon and cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.


Arrai isn't just conveying Qaddafi's messages. According to the BBC, it's also broadcasting statements by his son Saif al-Islam and running pro-Qaddafi news bulletins and commentary on a daily basis. "Even though Arrai is a private channel, it would not have been able to broadcast had it not been approved by the Syrian regime," Stanford's Lina Khatib tells Bloomberg. "By allying himself with Qaddafi like this, Assad is risking alienating himself further from the international community and the Arab community." When Bloomberg contacted Paris-based Eutelsat Communications, which carries the channels through a wholesale arrangement, about its story, Eutelsat said it was trying to shut down Al Oruba and Arrai.

...


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/09/why-qaddafi-using-syrian-tv-tell-world-hes-still-libya/42211/

[pinboy3niner]

24. Libya: the Syrian TV station hosting Col Gaddafi's rants

Source: The Telegraph

Six months ago, in an angry telephone call to its Iraqi proprietor, Col Muammar Gaddafi threatened to have the Al-Rai television station "blown up".


By Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent

7:00AM BST 09 Sep 2011



The Libyan strongman was apparently incensed by the support the station's presenters had given for the civilian uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.


But if Col Gaddafi's forthright views gave offence, there has been little evidence of it in recent days. Al-Rai yesterday broadcast its third audio message from Libya's fugitive leader in just over a week, repeatedly airing a splenetic diatribe in which Col Gaddafi denounced his foes as "dogs", "rats" and "mercenaries".

...


Al-Muqawamah, a Libyan outfit broadcasting out of a van somewhere in Tripoli, is all that remains of the vast propaganda empire he built over 42 years as the country's dictator.


But it is Al-Rai, a small Damascus-based satellite operation owned by former Iraqi MP Mishan al-Jabouri, that has provided Libya's fugitive leader with a last opportunity to speak to a significant audience.

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8751264/Libya-the-Syrian-TV-station-hosting-Col-Gaddafis-rants.html

[Whats_Happening]

28. I think and hope that Muammar is still in Libya --

as crazy-psychopathic as he is, I doubt that he would be favoring us with almost daily desperate speeches unless he was actually still "in country."

My best guess is Sabha. If not that, from what we've learned about his tunnel collection in Tripoli (plus his underground gynocological virgin-testing station) I fear that, like the Bond villain he is, he may have built some well-stocked, well-watered, well-air-conditioned bunker out in the middle of the vast Libyan desert -- if he did that, the game of "where's Waldo" might take a little more time than we would like. But I think he's still "in country."

[pinboy3niner]

18. Gadhafi forces take 300 hostages as 'human shields,' rebels claim

Friday, September 9, 2011
Updated: 10:24 PM

McClatchy Newspapers


BENGHAZI, Libya - Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have moved hundreds of hostages to a village outside Sirte in what appear to be preparations for a final violent stand, officials of the National Transitional Council said Thursday.

The transfer of as many as 300 rebels taken captive during recent fighting to the village of Qasr bu Hadi, which is about 10 miles east of Sirte, took place earlier this week, transitional council officials said.

Fathi Baja, head of political affairs for the council, equated the transfer of the prisoners to "taking human shields."

Gadhafi loyalists also arrested at least four prominent backers of the National Transitional Council in Sirte on Wednesday and have moved them as well to Qasr bu Hadi, which is under the control of Gadhafi's Gaddhafiya tribe, according to Hassan al Droe, Sirte's representative to the council.

A rebel deadline for a negotiated settlement runs out at midnight tonight, and officials are expecting a bloody endgame.

...


http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/gadhafi-forces-take-300-hostages-as-human-shields-rebels-claim_2011-09-09.html

[pinboy3niner]

19. Activists call for UN observers in Syria

AFP – 42 mins ago


Democracy activists called for the United Nations to send international observers to Syria after security forces stormed a northwestern village and killed three military defectors.

"The Syrian people calls on the United Nations to adopt a resolution to set up a permanent observer mission in Syria," activists said on their Facebook page, "Syrian Revolution."

"We demand access to the international media, we demand the protection of civilians," they said, calling for fresh demonstrations on Friday, the Muslim day of rest and prayers.

In the latest military operation, "a force comprising seven armoured vehicles and 10 jeeps stormed the village of Ibleen in Jabal Al-Zawiyah (region) in search of people wanted by the security services," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Heavy gunfire was heard as the forces stormed the village," the Observatory said in a statement received by AFP in Cyprus.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/activists-call-un-observers-syria-042703034.html

[pinboy3niner]

20. Libya: Tony Blair's Libya policy 'fuelled power obsession of Gaddafi's son'

Source: The Telegraph

Tony Blair's policy of close engagement with Libya ended up fuelling the power obsession of Col Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam, one of the regime's chief spokesmen told The Daily Telegraph.


By Richard Spencer, Tripoli

8:16PM BST 08 Sep 2011



Mr Blair's "carrot and stick" policy to bring the Gaddafi regime in from the cold over weapons of mass destruction crossed a line, particularly over human rights and the rendition of regime opponents, according to the former Libyan deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim.


In the most devastating portrait yet of the internal workings of the regime and its relations with the West by a senior insider, Mr Kaim, who was arrested on Tuesday, said Saif al-Islam's determination to succeed his father had scuppered chances of reform and reconciliation when the uprising began in February.

...


After The Telegraph tracked him down and persuaded him to talk, he gave an extraordinary portrait of infighting in the regime as the rebellion broke out, with officials trying to make contact with defected former colleagues in the senior ranks of the Benghazi-based opposition but having their advances scuppered by their own bosses.


He said that despite Saif al-Islam's reputation as a reformer, it was he and his cronies who took a strong line against engagement with the rebels. He said two distinct proposals by officials to bring an end to the conflict were stopped by Col. Gaddafi's "stubbornness" and Saif al-Islam's determination to succeed his father.


"The succession was his obsession, even after February," he said. "The trouble was he just didn't want to believe he had lost his chance."

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8750821/Libya-Tony-Blairs-Libya-policy-fuelled-power-obsession-of-Gaddafis-son.html

[tabatha]

21. Mercenaries used by Gaddafi return home penniless

Suliman one of Gaddafei’s mercenaries from Niger says, “I fought for Gaddafi, they promised me 5000 Euros but got nothing and now I am sick and penniless”, he has returned to Niger after he fled from the ranks of the forces loyal to Gaddafi, which was defeated in the ongoing battles in past months by the Freedom Fighters.

Suliman (56 years), fought in the Tuareg rebel movements in Niger in 1990 and 2005, like hundreds of Tuareg former fighters, he was contacted in April by Gaddafi’s agent Agali Alambo who was one of the leaders of the second Tuareg rebel movement and who lives in Tripoli, and offer him to serve as mercenaries in the forces of Gaddafi.

Three weeks later Suliman, a father of seven, returned to his home town Agadez as he was wounded in the chest during the battles of Misuratah , now he has more difficulties supporting his family.

He said regretfully, “we were 299 of former combatants, I was promised to get an advance payment of 3.2 million CFA francs (about five thousand euros), but I did not get any thing.”

http://www.freemisurata.com/EngArt/archives/835

[Amonester]

54. But, but, but... gladhafi respects basic workers' rights!! /sarcasm

Poor man. He got suckered by another war-criminal oligarch's promises.

When will their destructive reigns end?

[pinboy3niner]

22. Libya: former UN Gen. Assembly president brokered deal allowing Gaddafi family to cross to Algeria

Source: The Telegraph

A former president of the United Nations General Assembly brokered a deal allowing Col Muammar Gaddafi's wife and children take refuge in Algeria, according to reports.




Col Gaddafi's wife Safia and daughter Aisha Photo: AFP



By Damien McElroy, Algiers

7:30PM BST 08 Sep 2011


...


A statement from the RCD, the Algerian opposition, said (Ali) Treki, who ran Col Gaddafi's efforts to buy support from African regimes and tribal leaders for decades, had secured a personal promise of sanctuary for fleeing relatives from the Algerian leader.


President Bouteflika personally made the decision to allow Col Gaddafi's wife Safia, daughter Aisha, sons Mohammad and Hannibal, plus other relatives cross into Algeria last week.


The opposition said that Mr Treki had lavished gifts on President Bouteflika to secure his goodwill, including the deeds to a Libya embassy residence in Algiers. "He has regularly visited Bouteflika in his home in Sidi Ferruch with suitcases which can be assumed that it did not contain the Libyan Green Book," said the statement in the name of the RCD leader, Said Saadi.


Col Gaddafi's regime failed to gain accreditation for Mr Treki as its UN ambassador this spring after its delegation resigned in the wake of the popular uprising in February. Two years earlier he had courted controversy in the UN by declaring homosexuality was not "acceptable".

...


The RCD, which has 21 members of the Algerian parliament, condemned the decision to admit the family as a demonstration that the military-backed government in Algeria remained hostile to the wave of popular revolt sweeping North Africa.

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8750601/Libya-former-UN-General-Assembly-president-brokered-deal-allowing-Gaddafi-family-to-cross-to-Algeria.html

[pinboy3niner]

25. Libya: Steady Views, Declining Interest

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

Released: September 8, 2011


Overview

Despite the apparent success of NATO-supported rebel troops, public views about the decision to conduct air strikes in Libya remain mixed and have changed little since the U.S. and allies launched military operations there in late March.


Over the same period, public attentiveness to the events in Libya has declined substantially – even as rebels have taken control of Tripoli and sent Moammar Gadhafi into hiding.


Currently, 44% say the U.S. and its allies made the right decision to conduct air strikes in Libya, while 33% see this as the wrong decision; 23% offer no opinion. In early April, shortly after the operation began, 50% said the air attacks were the right decision, 37% disagreed and fewer (13%) had no opinion.


President Obama receives positive marks for his handling of the situation in Libya – 49% approve while 32% disapprove. In April, the public was more evenly divided in opinions about Obama’s performance on Libya: 41% approved while 46% disapproved.

...


Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those following news about Libya very closely say they approve of Obama’s handling of the situation in Libya; 26% disapprove and 8% say they not know. Again, those following less closely are more divided: 46% approve of Obama’s handling, 33% disapprove and 21% offer no opinion.

...





http://people-press.org/2011/09/08/libya-steady-views-declining-interest/

[Whats_Happening]

27. America won't give Obama his credit in a Gallup-daily-tracking way vis-a-vis Libya

until we get Muammar himself. Which they will. (My best guess is Sabha/Sebha.) Give it a couple of weeks, and Americans will understand, at least, that not only did Obama get Osama, but he also got the Lockerbie mastermind, and the man we tried to bomb in the mid 80s -- the "mad dog" of the Middle East -- you know, I believe that even Ronaldus Magnus himself must be looking down on Obama and NATO at this point, and giving them credit, and smiling.

[pinboy3niner]

26. Beijing "willing to help" Libya rebuild, China's Vice FM says

China is ready to help Libya rebuild after Muammar Gaddafi's downfall and it supports the United Nations taking a leading role in reconstruction efforts, Cui Tiankai, the country’s vice foreign minister, said on Friday.

"It depends on the needs of the Libyan people themselves, whatever they need we will be willing to help them," Cui told reporters on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Auckland.

Cui said that while the north African nation's first priority was restoring order after almost seven months of conflict, Beijing stood ready to offer assistance when the rebuilding began.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-9-2011-1118

[pinboy3niner]

29. HRW: Syrian forces remove wounded from hospitals

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY - Associated Press | AP – 15 mins ago.


BEIRUT (AP) — A leading human rights group (Human Rights Watch) says Syrian security forces have "forcibly removed" 18 wounded people from a hospital in the restive central city of Homs.

...


The accusations stem from a military siege in Homs on Wednesday, when activists said at least 20 people were killed.

The New York-based rights group also says Syrian security forces prevented medical personnel from reaching the wounded in the city that day.

http://news.yahoo.com/hrw-syrian-forces-remove-wounded-hospitals-083603757.html

[pinboy3niner]

30. New group of Muammar Gaddafi officials arrive in Niger

Fri Sep 9, 2011 8:51am GMT


AGADEZ, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A new group of 14 Muammar Gaddafi officials including General Ali Kana, a Tuareg who was one of Gaddafi's close guards in charge of his southern troops, are in Niger's northern city of Agadez, Niger security sources told Reuters on Friday.

Two sources said the group included four top officials, amongst them two generals. The identity of the other general has not been confirmed.

A Reuters reporter in Agadez said the four top officials were staying at a hotel in Agadez owned by Gaddafi.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K90RN20110909

[pinboy3niner]

34. Update: Source identifies other general as Ali Sharif al-Rifi, commander of Libyan Air Force

Reuters also adds further details:

A Reuters reporter in Agadez said the four top officials were staying at the Etoile du Tenere hotel, a luxurious hotel in the outskirt of the town, said to be owned by Gaddafi, where the Libyan leader stayed during a Muslim holiday in 2007.

"The group arrived in four four-wheel-drive vehicles on Thursday afternoon," one of the sources said, adding that they had been accompanied by Nigerien security forces.

A Reuters cameraman said local officials of the Agadez region including the chief of police, the chief of the gendarme and the head of intelligence were seen entering the hotel to meet the four senior officials from Libya.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K91DS20110909

[ellisonz]

31. Interpol issues arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, al-Senussi

1 hour 16 min ago - Libya

Interpol has issued arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, it said in a statement on Friday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor had made the request to the Lyon-based police organisation on Thursday.

"As far as Interpol's general secretariat headquarters is concerned, Muammar Gaddafi is a fugitive whose country of nationality and the ICC want arrested and held accountable for the serious criminal charges that have been brought against him," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in June for all three for crimes against humanity. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he wants Interpol to issue a red notice to arrest Muammar Gaddafi for the alleged crimes against humanity of murder and persecution.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

[pinboy3niner]

33. Interpol 'red notice' for the arrest of Gaddafi

Posted at The Guardian's Live Blog:

[Amonester]

58. Also, from Interpol's site:

At: http://www.interpol.int/Public/Wanted/Search/ResultListNew.asp?EntityName=&EntityForename=&EntityNationality=&EntityAgeBetween=15&EntityAgeAnd=95&EntitySex=&EntityEyeColor=&EntityHairColor=&EntityOffence=&ArrestWarrantIssuedBy=ICC&EntityFullText=&cboNbHitsPerPage=10&cboNbPages=20&Search=Search

[pinboy3niner]

32. NATO airstrikes conducted Thursday, September 8

Key Hits 08 SEPTEMBER:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 2 Armed Vehicles, 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher.


In the vicinity of Waddan: 9 Anti Aircraft Guns, 3 Radar Systems.


In the vicinity of Sebha: 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility.


In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Surface to Surface Missile Storage Facility.


...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements**: 1000 (air, ground, maritime).


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 08 SEPTEMBER: 2


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 08 SEPTEMBER: 14


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110909_110909-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

35. French satellite firm: can't stop Gaddafi broadcasts

Fri Sep 9, 2011 12:28pm GMT


• Eutelsat says in contact with partner on Syria's Arrai

• Says doesn't censor content, up to local partner to decide

• Muammar Gaddafi using al-Rai to deliver audio messages


PARIS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat said on Friday it had no right to turn off a Syrian television station that is broadcasting audio messages by ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

...


Eutel, the world's third-largest satellite operator, said earlier it was in contact with local distributor Noorsat to see whether Noorsat could stop transmitting Arrai and sister channel al-Oruba, which has also give Gaddafi a platform to speak.

Both channels are owned by Mishan Jabouri, an Iraqi who fled to Syria after the 2003 downfall of Saddam Hussein.

"We talked to Noorsat and Noorsat removed al-Oruba," Eutelsat spokeswoman Vanessa O'Connor said. "That was their decision and their action. Arrai is still broadcasting and as things stand at the moment we have taken it as far as we can."

...


The French government indirectly owns a 25 percent stake in Eutelsat through the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE78806120110909?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

36. Gadhafi forces fire from bastion south of capital

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI - Associated Press | AP – 33 mins ago.


WISHTAT, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi supporters rocketed a front line south of Tripoli Friday, testing the patience of the country's new leaders as a grace period for the holdouts to surrender runs out.

...


Friday, Gadhafi holdouts fired mortars and missiles from Bani Walid. Forces of the National Transitional Council trying around Bani Walid unloaded hundreds of boxes of ammunition and ordinance and reinforcements rushed toward the front line in the desert sand in trucks mounted with weapons.

"Today marks the last day of the deadline," said Abdel-Razak al-Nazouri, a commander in the region. "Our men are preparing for an attack, probably tomorrow."

...


The transitional council fighters said they had captured 10 Gadhafi soldiers they suspected were spying on them. Dressed in fatigues, their hands tied behind their backs, the 10 were being held in two pickup trucks at the Wishtat checkpoint, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Bani Walid.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/gadhafi-forces-fire-bastion-south-capital-113916152.html

[pinboy3niner]

37. Rebel forces mass at Bani Walid as surrender deadline approaches

Al Jazeera's David Poort reported from near Bani Walid that fighters from Libya's National Transitional Council are still amassing in the area of Ban Walid, 150km southest of Tripoli, in a standoff with pro-Gaddafi troops who refuse to surrender.

Supply vehicles with food, ammunition and medical gear were driven towards the frontline on Friday, as the press was kept at a distance for fear of giving away strategic information to Gaddafi’s troops.

Some trucks of the Libyan Red Cross turned back due to “heavy fighting” in the area and ambulances were seen driving high-speed to and from the frontline.

NTC pick-up trucks driving away from the frontline carried at least 10 handcuffed prisoners, among them - allegedly - Ali al-Ayeb, a reputable pro-Gaddafi commander who has been hiding in the Bani Walid area.

A spokesman for the NTC-fighters near the frontline said that NATO jets bombed certain targets in the Bani Walid area in response to rocket fire by pro-Gaddafi forces on Thursday, when at least six Grad missiles exploded near NTC positions.

The NTC has set a Saturday deadline for towns still loyal to Gaddafi to surrender, but Mahmoud Jibril, Libya’s de facto prime minister, warned that its troops would return to the offensive sooner if they continued to come under attack.

An un-known number of hard-line Gaddafi-loyalist fighters are said to be staying in the Bani Walid area. Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s son, is said to be among them.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-9-2011-1348

[pinboy3niner]

38. 'Different atmosphere' around Bani Walid as rebel fighters take daily rocket fire, casualties

Al Jazeera's correspondent Sue Turton reports from near Bani Walid. "There is a much different atmosphere here today, the fighters are in a much more somber mood as they are now taking casualties, and dealing with daily rockets."

"They are feeling incredibly frustrated because they've been here now for a week, and they are worried because most of them are from Bani Walid and are concerned for their friends in the area."

With regards to the deadline regarding the surrender of Gaddafi, the fighters, although they keep saying 'tomorrow', it seems that "tomorrow will be the day the fighters push into Bani Walid."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-9-2011-1406

[pinboy3niner]

39. Tripoli documents reveal Scotland Yard protected Saif Gaddafi from death threats in UK in 2004

Matthew Weaver and Paul Owen post at The Guardian's Live Blog:

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was offered police protection in the UK in 2004 after intelligence was uncovered about an apparent plot to have him killed, the Guardian has learned, writes Nick Hopkins.

Officers from Scotland Yard's special branch spoke to Saif and reassured him that steps were being taken to ensure his safety. He was also put on the police's "at risk" register.

The details of the threat to Gaddafi's 38-year-old son, and the efforts that Scotland Yard and MI5 made to look after him, are contained in documents found in Tripoli since the fall of the old regime.

At the time of the plot in early 2004, Saif Gaddafi was living in London. Britain and the US were at pains to ensure that nothing upset Libya's return into the international community.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/09/libya-syria-middle-east-unrest-live#block-21

[pinboy3niner]

40. Fighting outside Gaddafi towns, loyalists captured

(UPDATE 1)

Fri Sep 9, 2011 1:38pm GMT

• Rebels say captured 10 pro-Gaddafi fighters

• Bodies brought back from front line


By Maria Golovnina and Sherine El Madany


NORTH OF BANI WALID/EAST OF SIRTE, Libya Sep 9 (Reuters) - Heavy fighting erupted outside the two main bastions of Muammar Gaddafi's supporters left in Libya on Friday as fighters loyal to the fugitive leader unleashed barrages of rockets on provisional government forces closing in on the towns.

Regular volleys of Grad rockets were fired on National Transitional Council positions north of Bani Walid and east of Gaddafi's hometown, Sirte, on Friday, Reuters witnesses said.

Ambulances streamed back and forth from the front line outside Bani Walid, carrying the injured. NTC fighters grabbed dozens of crates of rocket-propelled grenades and mortars and raced to the front.

...


Smoke rose from the front line -- now just 5 km outside the town, which is 150 km (90 miles) inland from the capital Tripoli -- as the fighting continued and NATO planes roared overheard, monitoring the battles.

In Teassain, 90 km east of Sirte, Reuters witnesses saw heavy rocket exchanges between NTC forces and the pro-Gaddafi still controlling the town. NTC forces were seen moving artillery in the direction of the Gaddafi stronghold.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K91QP20110909?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

41. Sirte: As fighting rages in the area, news crews have close calls

Separate reports are coming in from BBC, Sky News and Al Jazeera of their correspondents and crews coming under attack as they try to cover the fighting around Sirte.

The Guardian notes that BBC producer Jonny Hallam and Sky producer Neal Mann appear to have gotten caught in the same rocket attack, posting their tweets on the Live Blog. Hallam tweeted:

that was close. grad rocket landed 50m from me. hooray for soft sand if that had hit tarmac i would not be tweeting right now

After followed a barrage of 20 more grads and AAA fire. Gaddafi Loyalists are showing no signs of surrendering. #sirte

we took cover behind a building and were stuck there for 30 minutes. hearing the rockets come down around us. #Sirte

All this was happening at a position 68km from the east gate of #sirte. so the #FF still have a long way to go before they reach the city

Now we are a safe distance away we are checking our vehicles and equipment for any damage. We had to jump out of them when we ran for cover

Only casualty to report are Paul Wood's trousers that got ripped across the knee when he dived for cover. #Libya

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/09/libya-syria-middle-east-unrest-live#block-19#block-19

Sky's Neal Mann gave a similar account:

Rebels have pushed forward another 20-30km towards Sirte this morning, have crossed the Wadi Al Hamra #Libya

We pushed forward with the rebels & ended up being caught up in an exchange of grad rockets. Had to hit the sand and take cover. #Libya

We heard one grad come over our heads, very close, but it appeared to not explode.

ITN and BBC also got caught in the same incoming fire, everybody got out unscathed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/09/libya-syria-middle-east-unrest-live#block-19#block-23

And Al Jazeera's Hodel Abdel-Hamid has been doing live reports from 100 km east of Sirte, reporting that when the AJ crew moved 25 km further west they came under attack and had to pull back.

[pinboy3niner]

44. "The building we were using for cover was directly hit by 2 grad 5 mins after we left"

--Followup tweet from BBC producer Jonny Hallam via The Guardian's Live Blog.

The building we were using for cover was directly hit by 2 grad 5 mins after we left. 4 #ff injured.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/09/libya-syria-middle-east-unrest-live#block-19#block-28

[pinboy3niner]

42. NATO says destroys two Scud missiles in Libya

Fri Sep 9, 2011 1:41pm GMT

BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) -

...


"Over the last 24 hours, NATO intelligence revealed the presence of two Scud missiles in the vicinity of Bani Walid," NATO spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie said in a statement.

"Therefore, at approximately 0600 hours ... NATO aircraft conducted a precision strike against the warehouse hiding the missiles. The strike was successful and the missiles were destroyed," he said.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7880BU20110909

[pinboy3niner]

43. Niger says would respect court commitments on Gaddafi

Fri Sep 9, 2011 2:15pm GMT


NIAMEY, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Niger would respect its commitments to the International Criminal Court if Libya's Muammar Gaddafi or his sons entered the country, the head of President Mahamadou Issoufou's cabinet told Reuters on Friday.

"We are signatories of the Rome Statute (of the International Criminal Court), so they know what they are exposed to if they come. Niger is a country of rights but we will also respect our international commitments," cabinet director Massaoudou Hassoumi said.

...


Hassoumi also confirmed that General Ali Kana, a Tuareg who was in charge of Gaddafi's southern troops, and General Ali Sharif al-Rifi, the commanding officer in his airforce, were the latest senior Libyan officials to flee the country.

"They are in Agadez under control," he said of the regional hub of the northern zone through which the head of Gaddafi's security brigades, Mansour Dhao, passed earlier this week en route to the capital Niamey.

"We are taking them in on humanitarian grounds. No one has told us that these are wanted people. We are keeping a watch on them but we cannot detain them over nothing," said Hassoumi.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K91W020110909

[pinboy3niner]

45. An Iraqi exile gives outlet to Gadhafi's voice

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY - Associated Press | AP – 11 mins ago.


BEIRUT (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi may be on the run, but he's still talking — and his outlet is a curious one: clandestine, late-night phone calls to a private Syrian satellite TV station run by an Iraqi exile with a shady past.

Gadhafi, who once had multiple state-run Libyan stations at his beck and call, has made three calls from hiding to Al-Rai TV, trying to rally his dwindling supporters and insisting he will never give up. The messages add to the bizarre spectacle surrounding Gadhafi's downfall and his attempts to stay a step ahead of the former rebels hunting for him.

Al-Rai's owner, Mishan al-Jabouri, refuses to divulge much about why Gadhafi chose his station to call into and whether he knows where Gadhafi and his sons are hiding.

"It's my own secret that I won't reveal," al-Jabouri told The Associated Press by telephone this week when pressed for details. "You shouldn't ask such questions because I am contacting a person in the war field, how can I say how I contact him? It's impossible to tell you."

"We have our own means and methods to keep in contact with them," he said.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-exile-gives-outlet-gadhafis-voice-152745521.html

[pinboy3niner]

46. Kadhafi generals in Burkina Faso: Tuareg source

AFP – 17 mins ago.


A number of Libyan generals loyal to Moamer Kadhafi are now in Burkina Faso having passed through Niger, a source from Niger's ethnic Tuareg community said Friday.

"Three or four weeks ago a group of generals and senior officials close to Kadhafi entered Niger via Agadez," the source said, giving no numbers.

They continued on to Niamey, where they made large transactions at the Libyan Bisic bank before going on to Burkina Faso, the source added.

...


A number of Kadhafi aides, including the head of his personal security details, Mansour Daw, are currently under house arrest in Niamey, in a state-owned villa on the banks of the Niger river.


http://news.yahoo.com/kadhafi-generals-burkina-faso-tuareg-source-160856775.html

[pinboy3niner]

47. Dutch unblock $2bn frozen assets for Libya's NTC

AFP – 55 mins ago.


The Netherlands received permission Friday to unfreeze two billion dollars (1.4 billion euros) in Libyan assets and send them to the National Transitional Council, its foreign affairs ministry said.

"Today we received authorisation from the United Nations to release two billion dollars in Libyan money held in Dutch accounts and send it to Libya," Ward Bezemer, a spokesman for the Dutch foreign minister told AFP.

The savings, from the Central Bank of Libya and belonging to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's regime, are taken from a total of 3.1 billion euros frozen in March by the Dutch government in line with EU sanctions imposed against Libya.

"The money will go today," the spokesman said, but he did not know when it would arrive in Libya.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-unblock-2bn-frozen-assets-libyas-ntc-160547884.html

[Iterate]

48. The Tripoli Brigade

The Tripoli Brigade
Latest update: 09/09/2011

On Sunday August 21st, anti-Gaddafi forces entered Tripoli after six months of fighting. France 24's Matthieu Mabin was with the rebels throughout this historic day on their final journey to the Libyan capital. Here is an excerpt from his report.

By Matthieu MABIN

Their names are Hatif, Sam and Adam. For months, they have been training for the final assault on Tripoli. They are manual workers, businessmen and students. From Dublin to Washington, they have come back to their country to rid the Libyan capital of its dictator...

These men are the elite rebel forces. Their name: the Tripoli Brigade. France 24 followed this small army of volunteers who played a decisive role in the liberation of Tripoli and the fall of Gaddafi.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110901-reporters-libya-tripoli-brigade-taking-capital-rebels-green-square-martyrs-fighters-rebellion-gaddafi?ns_campaign=editorial&ns_source=twitter&ns_mchannel=reseaux_sociaux&ns_fee=0&ns_linkname=20110901_reporters_libya_tripoli_brigade_taking_capital

Video: http://www.france24.com/en/20110901-reporters-libya-tripoli-brigade-taking-capital-rebels-green-square-martyrs-fighters-rebellion-gaddafi

[pinboy3niner]

49. BREAKING, AJE: Rebel fighters have entered Bani Walid

Sue Turton just reported live that they are about 1 km inside the town and are clearing the area of loyalist fighters and snipers.

Reports of some rebel casualties, no reports of civilian casualties.

[pinboy3niner]

50. Reuters: Anti-Gaddafi forces enter loyalist town

Fri Sep 9, 2011 5:23pm GMT

"They (anti-Gaddafi fighters) are in the north of the city fighting snipers, we have also entered from the east," senior National Transitional Council official Abdallah Kanshil said.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K92JR20110909

[pinboy3niner]

51. Libya fighters: We're battling in pro-Gadhafi town

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI - Associated Press | AP – 7 mins ago


WISHTATA, Libya (AP) — Libyan fighters clashed Friday with Moammar Gadhafi's supporters inside the town of Bani Walid, one of the last towns holding out against the country's new rulers, the former rebels said.

Abdullah Kenshil, the former rebels' chief negotiatior, said the former rebels were fighting gunmen positioned in houses in the town.

"They are inside the city. They are fighting with snipers," he said. Anti-Gadhafi forces were moving in from the east and south, and were fighting about a mile (2 kilometers) from the center of the town, he said.

Kenshil said the attack was provoked by Gadhafi forces firing rockets from inside Bani Walid at former rebel forces who had taken up positions around the town. He said three Gadhafi loyalists had been wounded and three killed, while the former rebels had one dead and four wounded.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/libya-fighters-were-battling-pro-gadhafi-town-172226662.html

[pinboy3niner]

53. More details from AP:

"They forced this on us and it was in self-defense," (Abdullah Kenshil) said.

He said three Gadhafi loyalists had been wounded and three killed, while the former rebels had one dead and four wounded. He said the former rebels had taken seven prisoners.

Kenshil said the former rebels believed that there were about 600 Gadhafi supporters in and around Bani Walid.

"Snipers are scattered over the hills and the rebels want to chase them," he said. "There is hand-to-hand combat. The population is afraid so we have to go and protect civilians."

http://news.yahoo.com/libya-fighters-were-battling-pro-gadhafi-town-172226662.html

[pinboy3niner]

55. Libya conflict: 'Battle under way' for Bani Walid

Source: BBC

Anti-Gaddafi forces in Libya say they have begun the battle for Bani Walid, one of the last remaining loyalist strongholds.

9 September 2011 Last updated at 13:39 ET


Anti-Gaddafi commanders said they had cleared outlying areas and were within two kilometres of the centre.

They said they hoped to have full control in the next few hours.

...


The BBC's Richard Galpin, near Bani Walid, says the anti-Gaddafi forces had given a briefing in which they said they had had no choice but to respond to the loyalist attacks.

They said they had made quick progress so far but that they were not engaging in a full military assault as they still wanted to minimise casualties.

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14862235

[pinboy3niner]

56. Bani Walid situation moving quickly--Al Jazeera

From AJE Live Blog:

Al Jazeera's Daviod Poort, reporting from near Bani Walid, says the situation there is moving quickly.

He spoke to Doctor Abdallah Kenshil, an NTC-spokesman in the Bani Walid, who told him:

“I think we are very close. We are pushing further and we hope we can take the city without further fighting. But from our experience, they (pro-Gaddafi troops) are fighters – very professional, from different parts of Libya and also mercenaries.

But once we engage with them they throw down their weapons. There are snipers who shoot at the troops and at civilians.

We have taken seven prisoners. We are now 2 to 1,5 km from the centre of town, from the souq.

When we will go in for the final push is up to the commanders in the field and to their superiors. We’ve entered the area from the east north and south. The deadline is finished. They (pro-Gaddafi troops) finished it.

There are some 600 pro-Gaddafi fighters still in the area. The move in groups and are equipped with sniper rifles and heat-seeking missiles.

We hope that Saif al-Islam is inside the area.

We have one fatality on our side. Four fighters were wounded. On the Gaddafi side there were three fatalities.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-9-2011-2052

[tabatha]

60. BaniWalid

Marguer_dMarguerite Dehlerby sharon_lynchFF ENTERED Res area #BaniWalid r clearing road and area from Snipers Residents So Happy via #Aje FightContinues #Libya


Jonathan Miller, UK Channel 4, reports from an arms warehouse in Al-Ajelat where unknown chemicals are oozing out of drums, and paper records show that decontamination medication and gas masks and chemical suits were sent by the thousand to Sirte and elsewhere in recent weeks.......... Phials of atropine were filmed - antidote to nerve gas.

FreeBenghazi Libya.elHurra by ChangeInLibya#AJE #sueturtonaje Only forays into BaniWalid, and not full force of fighters. Because goal is only to clear out snipers from city #Libya7 minutes ago

PCNNPCNNCNN teams in Misrata, Libya are hearing reports of an uprising within the Gadhafi force holdout town of Bani Walid.

[pinboy3niner]

59. Anti-Gaddafi Fighters 'Storm Besieged Town'

Source: Sky News

Anti-Gaddafi fighters say they have entered the town of Bani Walid, one of the former Libyan leader's few remaining strongholds, and street battles are taking place.

7:00pm UK, Friday September 09, 2011


The heaviest fighting for days broke out following a week of attempts at negotiating with tribal leaders, who are thought to be largely in support of the deposed dictator.

Rocket, mortar and tank fire have also been exchanged outside Sirte, Col Gaddafi's home town, according to witnesses.

...


Sky's Lisa Holland, in Tripoli, said: "There's a developing humanitarian situation, no movement in or out of these places - the siege of Bani Walid and Sirte cannot continue much longer."

NTC officials said fighters were also advancing toward the remote southern town of Sabha, the ancestral home of the Gaddafi, where he still commands support.

...


http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16066371

[pinboy3niner]

62. Reuters update:

(UPDATE 1)

Fri Sep 9, 2011 6:14pm GMT

"They (anti-Gaddafi fighters) are in the north of the city fighting snipers, we have also entered from the east," senior National Transitional Council official Abdallah Kanshil said, adding that they had also made their way in from the south.

He estimated loyalist forces at around 600 men, saying pro-Gaddafi reinforcements must have been recently sent to the town.

"People are very afraid, that is why we have to go in," he said, adding they were not aiming for a "full-scale war" and had not received orders from central NTC command to enter the town.

There was heavy fighting outside Bani Walid earlier on Friday and Kanshil said Gaddafi forces had been firing rockets and cluster bombs there.

...


"They (NTC fighters) are engaging in low-level fighting with Gaddafi brigades, we are pushing," he said.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K92W620110909?sp=true

[CJvR]

71. Lets hope for...

...the swift fall of Bani Walid.

Then it will be just Sirte and Sahba left, with an impossibly long front between them to defend.

[tabatha]

76. My heart cries out for the additional fighters they will have to lose.

[tabatha]

52. 09/06/2011 - ICC - Libya - Gaddafi ordered mass rape,

Latest update: 09/06/2011
- ICC - Libya - Muammar Gaddafi - rape
Gaddafi ordered mass rape, ICC prosecutor says

REUTERS - International Criminal Court investigators have evidence linking Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents and may bring separate charges on the issue, the ICC prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested arrest warrants on May 16 against Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country’s spy chief on charges of crimes against humanity committed during attempts to crush the country’s rebellion.

ICC judges are considering Moreno-Ocampo’s request, but the prosecutor said that after their decision, he might present new charges of mass rape.

The rape allegation is not new. It was raised in the U.N. Security Council in April by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, who said some of Gaddafi’s troops had been issued with the impotency drug Viagra. Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview with Reuters on May 2 he was investigating the allegation.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110609-libya-gaddafi-linked-systematic-rape-opposition-says-icc-prosecutor-ocampo

[tabatha]

57. After celebrations, the pain for lost ones in Libya lingers

THE images broadcast to the world in recent days show Libyans waving rebel flags and firing guns in the air to celebrate the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

What they do not show are the thousands of Libyan families whose fathers, husbands and sons were seized and not returned by Gaddafi's thugs during the six-month uprising.

Those families are suffering the agony of not knowing whether their menfolk are alive or dead and must spend these supposedly joyful days searching hospitals and prisons - and the sites of massacres and mass graves.

The family of Tariq Ben Halim, 40, a wealthy businessman from the Gargaresh district of western Tripoli and the grandson of a prime minister in Libya's pre-Gaddafi era, is a case in point. Mr Halim's mother, Jamila, 74, wept uncontrollably as her other offspring recounted his harrowing story yesterday, and sought to comfort Mr Halim's four-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son.

A gang of armed thugs from the Interior Ministry came for Mr Halim at midnight on May 22 because they suspected he was financing the rebels. The family believes he may have been denounced by a neighbour because he originated from Benghazi, where the uprising began.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/after-celebrations-the-pain-for-lost-ones-in-libya-lingers/story-e6frg6so-1226133395591

[pinboy3niner]

61. Libyans advance on most remote Gaddafi desert town

Fri Sep 9, 2011 5:47pm GMT


• Sabha furthest stronghold from Tripoli

• Home to thousands of African migrants

• Battles erupt around Gaddafi bastions


By Christian Lowe


TRIPOLI, Sep 9 (Reuters) - Provisional government forces advanced through Libya's deserts towards the most remote major town still not under its control on Friday, as heavy fighting erupted just outside the other two towns still held by pro-Muammar Gaddafi forces.

Sabha -- tucked away in the vast southern deserts -- has been cut off from the rest of the country since shortly after the fall of the capital Tripoli and very little information is available about the situation there.

A town of about 100,000 people, it has been fiercely pro-Gaddafi during the war and is known as home to a large population of sub-Saharan African migrants.

Officials at the National Transitional Council's Tripoli military headquarters told Reuters that between 100 and 150 vehicles had set off for Sabha on Friday and that more would leave in convoy later in the day and into Saturday.

"There are people going from Jadu, from Zintan, from Tripoli, there is a mixture," NTC fighter Abu Aziz Selem told Reuters as he rushed out of the capital with a Kalashnikov assault rifle slung over each of his shoulders.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K92EP20110909?sp=true

[Iterate]

70. Rebel support inside Sabha

The Reuters reporter didn't mention it, but the rebel support inside the city has been steady and hard won since the beginning.

ETA the map, with neighborhoods:
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=27.0331347&lon=14.4277954&z=14&l=0&m=b

It's been strong enough lately that they've been able to man checkpoints and even expand their control. I found a video a few days ago of one of the checkpoints -but it was 30 seconds of a guy sitting on a chair in the sun. Not so interesting for a post.

There was this though, posted today:
Sirte_Feb17 Sirtawi
New PICS from free Al-Gurdha, #Sabha facebook.com/photo.php?fbid… 5 hours ago

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=161938630554658&set=a.161937813888073.39249.119477011467487&type=1&theater&pid=317333&id=119477011467487

[pinboy3niner]

72. Looks like some of my neighbors getting together for a barbecue :)

Well...without the weaponry, maybe...

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

63. Rebel casualties mount as they near Gaddafi stronghold (Sirte)

Source: BBC

9 September 2011 Last updated at 14:19

There has been heavy fighting in Libya outside one of the Gaddafi regime's last strongholds.

Anti-Gaddafi forces have been preparing for an attack on Sirte, Col Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace.

Regime loyalists in the town have been given until 10 September to surrender.

The BBC's Paul Wood was caught up in the fighting close to the front line, about 40 miles east of Sirte and sent this report (2:26).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14858894

[pinboy3niner]

64. Families trickled out from Bani Walid before battle despite loyalists' efforts to prevent it

(From Reuters WRAPUP 4, Fri Sep 9, 2011 5:44pm GMT)

Families trickled out of Bani Walid before the fighting intensified, belongings crammed into their cars.

"I'm taking my family away from war," said Khalid Ahmouda, stopping his car briefly to speak to Reuters. "They are afraid because there will be a big fight today or tomorrow."

His veiled wife, Oum Abdurahman, leaned from a window, holding her baby son. "There's no power, no food, no water. Many people want to leave but have no fuel for their cars and Gaddafi forces are preventing people from leaving," she said.

"They fire in the air to terrorise people. Today we managed to leave," she said, adding that her brother-in-law was among 11 people killed on May 25 in a crackdown on townsfolk who had staged anti-Gaddafi protests.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K83UL20110909?sp=true

[tabatha]

65. Les Africains, les mal-aimés de la révolution libyenne

TRIPOLI - "We do not want Africans and the African Union, this deception of Muammar Gaddafi," cry of the faithful after Friday prayers in the great Place des Martyrs in Tripoli.

Resentment against Africans has never been stronger in Libya since the beginning of the revolt in February against former absolute ruler of the country, had the merger with Africa one of the pillars of its foreign policy in recent years.

For ordinary Libyans, the sub-Saharan Africans have participated significantly in the defense of the deposed regime, which recruited many of them mercenaries.

"Africans have committed 40% of killings suffered by the Libyans since the revolution of February 17 and before that they lived on the back of the Libyan people," said Faten Mohammed el-Annabi, a student of 21 years.

"I have one wish: they disappear forever from our country because they were purchased to kill and expel the Libyans," she adds.

http://kassataya.com/afrique/les-africains-les-mal-aimes-de-la-revolution-libyenne

[pinboy3niner]

66. AJ reports rumors of uprising of residents within Bani Walid against Gaddafi loyalists

Sue Turton just gave a live report on AJE saying she's hearing these rumors but has no confirmation yet. Rebel sources say they penetrated 1 km into the town from the North and 4 km in from the East.

[tabatha]

67. Search for Tripoli prison massacre victims seeks to heal old wounds

An excavation of mass graves began on Friday in search of the 1,200 victims of a Libyan prison massacre, in an attempt to close the most infamous chapter of Muammar Gaddafi's bloody four-decade rule.

Diggers found multiple bodies in a single grave – one of 38 graves at a cemetery in Tripoli. It is believed the remains had been moved there from the notorious Abu Salim jail, scene of the killing of inmates in 1996.

More than 1,000 bodies are still thought to be within the grounds of the prison. Excavations there have been delayed as officials await the arrival of experts and equipment for DNA testing. Digging is expected to begin in a week.

Fifteen years have passed since Gaddafi's troops murdered 1,200 prisoners who had dared to protest against their dirty conditions. The jail's liberation after the fall of Tripoli to rebel forces opens the way for an investigation that aims to heal a national trauma.

Khaled Saleh, of the pressure group Human Rights Solidarity, which is helping organise the search, said: "This is the most important event in the new Libya. It buries the ghosts of the past. Everyone has been working towards this moment for six months and we will start in one week."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/search-victims-tripoli-prison-massacre?CMP=twt_gu

[pinboy3niner]

68. Tunisian rights group holds long-barred meeting

AP – 16 mins ago.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A long-suppressed Tunisian rights group has been allowed to hold its annual congress for the first time in 11 years, and it is calling on the country's next leaders to ensure independent courts, women's rights and the end of capital punishment.

The Tunisian League for Human Rights was barred from holding its gathering under autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali was ousted by a popular uprising this year that prompted revolts around the Arab world.

http://news.yahoo.com/tunisian-rights-group-holds-long-barred-meeting-190712828.html

[pinboy3niner]

69. "Battles have started on the outskirts of Libya's Sirte after pro-Gadhafi forces attacked"

From breakingnews.com:

NTC military spokesman says battles have started on the outskirts of Libya's Sirte after pro-Gadhafi forces attacked -@Reuters

6:40PM GMT Sep 9, 2011

[Iterate]

73. Gaddafi loyalists burn key files in Sabha

Gaddafi loyalists burn key files in Sabha
Tripoli - Imad Ajjaj
Friday, 09 September 2011 13:26 GMT

Libyan officials claim that the Gaddafi elite have destroyed crucial files from the Civil and Estate in Sabha, one of the few cities that remains under Gaddafi control. National Transitional Council (NTC) media committee member, Abdel Hameed Adam, told the Quryna newspaper that Gaddafi loyalists, including mercenaries from the Justice and Equality movement, had also vandalised the Sabha International airport to prevent planes from landing. Libyan rebels have attacked wells at the South Company, which are owned by Saleh Al-Qadhafi. Some injuries were sustained among the rebels.

Gaddafi followers continue to control Sabha hospital, preventing rebels from receiving treatment. NATO aircraft have also bombed a plastic factory and the public works company, which had been considered as a meeting point for the mercenaries. The National Transitional Council has started providing humanitarian aid, communications infrastructure and electricity to Sabha. At the same time, Libyan rebels have intensified weapons inspections in Sabha ahead of the expected failure of negotiations for the city’s surrender.

A source from the NTC has confirmed that the rebels are preparing themselves to enter Sabha next Saturday, which is the deadline that the NTC gave Sabha’s Gaddafi loyalists. However, Abdel Hameed said that the people of Sabha city are not concerned about the NTC deadline, as they overwhelmingly support the rebels entering the city.

http://www.arabstoday.net/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30428:gaddafi-elites-burn-civil-and-estate-registry-files-in-sabha&catid=20:home-also-in-the-news

[pinboy3niner]

74. Fighters enter Bani Walid; battles erupt near Sirte

(WRAPUP 6)

Fri Sep 9, 2011 8:01pm GMT


• Fighters enter Bani Walid, battles near Sirte

• NTC says ceasefire scrapped a day ahead of surrender deadline


By Maria Golovnina and Sherine El Madany


NORTH OF BANI WALID/EAST OF SIRTE, Libya Sept 9 (Reuters) - Fighters loyal to Libya's new rulers launched what appeared to be assaults on the final bastions of Muammar Gaddafi loyalists on Friday, with fighting reported inside the town of Bani Walid and near Gaddafi's home town of Sirte.

The battles at the two towns broke out a day before a deadline set by Libya's interim National Transitional Council for Gaddafi holdout towns to surrender or face onslaughts.

NTC officials said the outbreaks of fighting meant the ceasefire had effectively been scrapped. That could pave the way for some of the final battles of a six-month civil war.

...


NTC spokesman Ahmed Bani said battles had also erupted close to a river near Sirte after pro-Gaddafi forces fired rockets at NTC forces laying siege to it. The coastal city was just a village when Gaddafi was born there 69 years ago, but has become a power base, lavished with cash under his rule.

"They attacked our forces so we had to answer them. There was shelling and there was no way to avoid that," Bani said. Asked if the fighting meant Saturday's ceasefire deadline had been effectively scrapped, he said: "Yes, it was breakable."

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K83UL20110909?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

75. Surrender deadline for Gaddafi strongholds is in 30 minutes. nt

[pinboy3niner]

77. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 205: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:10 AM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, UTC +1 hour, GMT +2 hours










Inside one of Gaddafi's torture cells
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030931/Libya-Inside-Gaddafis-torture-

chamber-The-bloodstained-cells-inside-primary-school-used-brutalise-enemies.html

[pinboy3niner]

78. UN Secretary General calls for new mission in Libya

Source: BBC

9 September 2011 Last updated at 17:43 ET

By Barbara Plett
BBC UN correspondent


The UN Secretary General is calling on the Security Council to establish a new mission in Libya to manage the country's transition to democracy.

The mission would have a three-month mandate to help restore public security, promote political dialogue and strengthen institutions.

UN diplomats hope to pass a resolution on the mission by the end of next week.

They say it will also call for the arms embargo to be eased, but not ended, and a partial lifting of council sanctions.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's special advisor, Ian Martin, said the Libyans envisage a major UN role in helping to organise elections. They also want UN advice on a process of justice and reconciliation, and assistance to develop an effective police force.

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14862154

[pinboy3niner]

79. Obama welcomes Libyan ambassador

6:41 p.m. Friday, September 9, 2011

The Associated Press


WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has formally received Libya's ambassador to the U.S. and accepted his credentials to represent the country and its new rebel government. The ambassador, Ali Aujali, was also the envoy under Moammar Gadhafi until he broke with the regime and called for Gadhafi to resign.

The White House says Obama accepted Aujali's credentials in the Oval Office Friday along with those of other recently arrived ambassadors. The traditional ceremony marks the formal beginning of an ambassador's service in Washington.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/obama-welcomes-libyan-ambassador-1165738.html

[pinboy3niner]

80. Rebels have been told by NTC to cease fire, hold Bani Walid positions until dawn

According to Al Jazeera (Hoda Abdel Hamid in a live report from Ras Lanuf).

[pinboy3niner]

81. Fight for Bani Walid 'near end'

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Sep 9, 2011


Heavy fighting has broken out near the town of Bani Walid, with National Transitional Council commanders saying they are close to capturing the town from Gaddafi loyalists.

Reports say fighters have been engaged in street-to-street combat with pro-Gaddafi forces.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports from outside Bani Walid (2:32):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhofM0Pzaxs&feature=player_embedded

[pinboy3niner]

82. Libya: Battle for Bani Walid 'under way' (BBC video - 1:51)

9 September 2011 Last updated at 21:13 ET

Anti-Gaddafi forces in Libya say they are close to capturing the town of Bani Walid, one of four towns still under the control of loyalist fighters.

Commanders said they had cleared outlying areas and were within two kilometres of the centre.

Bani Walid and three other loyalist-held towns were given until Saturday to surrender but the anti-Gaddafi forces said they had come under attack.

Richard Galpin reports (1:51):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14863618

[tabatha]

83. Libyans find mass grave, bodies of slain detainees

Al-Alagi, the justice minister, alleged that the orders for the killings came from the top. At the least, he said, brigade commanders would be brought to justice.

The international court’s prosecutor said recently he is unlikely to launch fresh cases, even though he has evidence implicating other members of Gadhafi’s regime, including Khamis, the military commander.

Even as the search for the victims continues, Abrahams said the degree of savagery displayed so far is shocking.

“In other wars, it’s often the enemy from other ethnic groups, a religious group or nationality, but this was Libyan on Libyan.”

http://shabablibya.org/news/libyans-find-mass-grave-bodies-of-slain-detainees

[tabatha]

84. Migrant workers hired by rebels to help move weapons.

Mood returning to normal? Migrant workers hired by rebels to help move weapons.

http://yfrog.com/mmcw9rj

http://yfrog.com/kjcjhbgj

[Iterate]

85. Fears Over Gaddafi’s Forces In Nigeria

Fears Over Gaddafi’s Forces In Nigeria
Written by Hassan Ibrahim, Kaduna Saturday, 10 September 2011

There were fears, on Friday, that some members of the regime of embattled Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi may have crossed over to some parts of Northern Nigeria.

According to Hamada Radio International report, monitored in Kaduna, they were among hundreds fleeing Libya as fighters of the Transition National Council (TNC) closed in on one of Gaddafi’s strongholds, Bani Walid.

...

The report said some members of the Libyan military had maintained close family ties with Northern Nigeria, citing Gen. Youssef Dbiri, who headed Gaddafi’s security service and has his maternal root in Nguru, Yobe State from North-Eastern Nigeria.

It stated, “According to security service sources in Niger Republic, the fragile ceasefire between the Toureg rebels and Niamey will be tested in the coming weeks if attempts are made to give outright support to Special Forces from France, UK, USA and Jordan in the Gaddafi hunt.”

more... http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/front-page-articles/5226-fears-over-gaddafis-forces-in-nigeria.html

[Iterate]

86. HRW: Libya: 19 Suffocated in Gaddafi Detention

Libya: 19 Suffocated in Gaddafi Detention
Bodies Revealed by Gaddafi Soldier
September 9, 2011

(Tripoli) – The discovery on September 8, 2011, of 18 bodies buried in western Libya corroborates reports of the death by suffocation of detainees held by Gaddafi forces in June in the town of al-Khoms, Human Rights Watch said today. Another victim died a few days later, so was not buried with the other 18.

Officials from the military council of al-Khoms, about 120 kilometers east of Tripoli, found the bodies in a remote area between the towns of Bani Walid and Orban. The officials said a captured Gaddafi soldier led them to the spot. The bodies are apparently those of men ranging in age from 23 to 50 who suffocated to death on June 6, when they were held in two metal shipping containers, according to two survivors interviewed by Human Rights Watch.

“The Gaddafi forces threw detainees in metal containers with little water and air on a brutally hot day, and refused to let them out despite cries for help,” said Fred Abrahams, special advisor at Human Rights Watch. “It’s the latest evidence of inhumane treatment faced by Libyans who opposed the Gaddafi regime.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed two survivors of the incident and a third man who was detained and tortured in one of the 40-foot long metal containers prior to the incident. A video, apparently filmed by a Gaddafi soldier on his cell phone, viewed by Human Rights Watch, shows the third man and five other detainees getting kicked and whipped inside the container. Human Rights Watch also saw the 18 exhumed bodies, all of them in an advanced state of decomposition, when they were brought, on September 8, to the Tripoli Medical Center morgue.

According to the two survivors, Gaddafi forces in al-Khoms began arresting men in the town in late spring, after underground rebel groups began harassing and attacking government security forces. From at least May, Gaddafi forces were holding detainees on the grounds of a shuttered Chinese company in the town. Some of the detainees were held in offices and in the workers’ sleeping quarters. Others were held in two metal containers on the company grounds, each ventilated by gunshot holes in their sides.

Mohamed Ahmed Ali, a 54-year-old teacher, said he was arrested on May 20, after he was overheard criticizing Gaddafi. “I was taken to the Chinese company. It was the worst possible treatment,” he said. “As soon as I arrived they used no words, they just started beating me.”

According to Ali, the soldiers used whips and batons that inflicted an electric shock. On September 7, he showed Human Rights Watch the extensive scars on his back from the beatings. He also explained how many of his fellow detainees suffocated to death:

At 11 p.m. they opened the container and put in some food and closed the door. At 4 a.m. we felt it was about 30 degrees in the container. We knew the coming day would not be normal. We prayed to Allah to lessen our suffering. We had 1.5 liters of water for 19 people… By 9 a.m. it was really hot. Our clothes were drenched, I could wring out my shirt. At 11 a.m. people started passing out. I took a broom stick and hit the container from inside saying: “We’re Muslims, we’re Libyans, we’re brothers.” But they just insulted us, called us “rats.”

Ali said he lost consciousness around noon. “Finally they opened it,” he said. “Nine of the 19 were dead. We later heard that in the container next to us nine of the 10 had died.”

The sole survivor from the other container, Abdelrahman Ahmed Sherif, a 23-year-old upholstery worker, said he was arrested on May 16, on allegations that he was handing out anti-Gaddafi pamphlets, and then taken to the Chinese company grounds, where he spent about 20 days.

“They made me lie on the floor and they hit me on the legs, hands and between the legs, also with a Kalashnikov ,” he said. He told Human Rights Watch what happened on June 6:

We woke up before dawn. The temperature was up. There was a lack of oxygen and no drinking water. Our numbers were high, so we were drinking water quickly. We kept banging on the doors but they didn’t open. They kept insulting us, telling us to shut up. Anyone who closed his eyes would pass out… I saw people passing out. After they opened the door I found that my head was cut. I don’t know how it happened.

According to Sherif, the Gaddafi soldiers put the bodies in a Toyota pickup truck, but he does not know what happened to them next.

Col. Salem Tweer, head of the al-Khoms military council, the local security force that assumed control in the town after Gaddafi forces left in August, said that his forces had taken into custody a Gaddafi soldier who admitted to having buried the bodies. The soldier, whom Tweer declined to name, said that he had received orders to burn the bodies, but he refused the order and buried the bodies in a remote area to the south of al-Khoms.

On September 8, the captured soldier took Tweer and a team from al-Khoms to a remote site called Wadi Dufan between Orban and Bani Walid, about 60 kilometers south of al-Khoms, where they exhumed the 18 bodies. Around 11 p.m. they brought the bodies by truck to the morgue at the Tripoli Medical Center, where they were briefly inspected by Human Rights Watch. Tweer said the bodies were of the men who had died in the containers.

Another man who had been detained in the containers, but released prior to the suffocation deaths, corroborated the claims of regular torture at the Chinese company grounds. Mohanned Jamal Berfad, 22, said he spent 10 days in one of the containers after his arrest, on May 19, on suspicion of having participated in anti-government protests. He told Human Rights Watch:

Since they first brought me in they used electric shocks with an electric baton. They beat us with sticks and kicks, slaps, and punches, and they put their shoes on our heads. They hung us upside down. They had a room for interrogation in the company and they took us there and another room for torture.

Local journalists in al-Khoms showed Human Rights Watch a video they said had been taken from the cell phone of a Gaddafi soldier, which shows three men in green military uniforms kicking and whipping six bound and blindfolded men in a metal container. Mohanned Jamal Berfad watched the video and identified himself as one of the men being beaten. He identified one of the other detainees getting beaten in the video as his cousin Yousef Berfad, 23, who was arrested for having sent information to the Al Jazeera news network.

In one of the rooms in the Chinese company building, Human Rights Watch found metal bars attached to the window and walls, which Sherif said were used to tie up prisoners for beatings. In other rooms in the building, Human Rights Watch found discarded military pants and jackets, as well as the remains of plastic ties, which Ali and Sherif said were used to bind the detainees. In one room were empty boxes of 7.62mm ammunition, standard rounds for AK-47 assault rifles, and empty munitions crates.

The Victims

Yousef Saleh Berfad, 24
Tarek Ben Haleem, 27
Beleed Hamadi, 50
Waleed al Rutbi, 27
Mohammed Ahmed Ehbees, 33
Ali al Taib Abu Sneena, 33
Ausman (Sudanese man, last name unknown), 38
Fathi Sultan, 23
Mohammed Ali Away, 28
Abdul Hameem Al Hbati, 29
Abdul Basit Al Barasi, 39
Mohammed Mohammed al Mabrouk, 40
Muhi Aldeen Mohammed Away, 25
Usama Ali al Marish, 27
Faisal Abdulali Amer, 32
Ali Ibrahim Sultan, 27
Unidentified man from Tarhuna, about 25
Unidentified man from Tarhuna, about 50

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/09/libya-19-suffocated-gaddafi-detention

[Iterate]

87. Libya's NTC chief flies to Tripoli

Libya's NTC chief flies to Tripoli
Saturday, September 10, 2011, 10:15

The head of Libya's new leadership, National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil, flew to Tripoli today for his first visit since its fighters seized the capital and ousted Moamer Kadhafi, an AFP correspondent said.

Abdel Jalil told AFP his visit to Tripoli from NTC headquarters in Benghazi was "temporary" and that the council he heads would be transferred to Tripoli "after the (full) liberation" of the country.

"Yes, God willing," he replied when asked if he was flying to Tripoli as he boarded a plane in the country's second city Benghazi in the east.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110910/world/libya-s-ntc-chief-flies-to-tripoli.384143

[pinboy3niner]

88. UN to get draft Libya resolution next week - envoys

Fri Sep 9, 2011 11:48pm GMT


• Britain drafting resolution that would ease UN sanctions

• Vote could come as early as next week - diplomats


By Louis Charbonneau


UNITED NATIONS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Britain plans to submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council early next week that would start easing sanctions against Libya and establish a modest U.N. mission there, diplomats said on Friday.

...


The resolution will also follow recommendations from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asked the council to create a mandate for a U.N. mission to assist Libya's transitional leadership in a number of ways, including restoring public order and security and preparing for democratic elections.

The initial mandate would be valid for three months, Ban said in a letter to the 15-nation council. The mission would not include peacekeepers or U.N. police to help maintain order in the country. Ban said, however, that the U.N. mission would assist the government in promoting human rights.

One diplomat said the draft resolution would not call for an end to the no-fly zone over the North African state. But it will include an easing of the arms embargo to enable the Libyan authorities to get some weapons needed to maintain security.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN1E7881VK20110909?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

89. For residents in Bani Walid, the fight is 'an honor issue'

From AJE Live Blog:

Al Jazeera correspondent David Poort reported on Saturday from outside Bani Walid:

A fighter just told me that the fight from within Bani Walid is 'an honor issue'. They want to be able to say that they freed themselves, that they revolted against (Muammar) Gadaffi, like the people in Benghazi did.

Follow David in Libya on twitter @DavidPoort

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-10-2011-1410

[pinboy3niner]

90. AJE: Rebel fighters have taken North gate of Bani Walid, now "combing the town of snipers" nt

[pinboy3niner]

91. Libya: Rebels dig in for the long haul as push for Sirte postponed

Source: The Telegraph

Libyan fighters outside Sirte held their positions on Saturday despite the threatened deadline for the city to surrender.

By Rob Crilly, at Umm el-Gindeel

12:31PM BST 10 Sep 2011


Their push for Colonel Gaddafi's home town was put on hold about 60 miles to the east of the city as they collected the dead and treated the wounded from hours of intense rocket exchanges on Friday.


"We couldn't move, we were stuck," said one young fighter among the crew of an armoured personnel carrier. "If we had moved we would have been hit."


He added that he did not expect a fresh assault to be attempted for at least two days.


His commanders know they face an intense battle for the city.


They believe loyalist forces have T92 Russian-made tanks – much more modern than anything the former rebels can muster – dug in around the city.

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8754344/Libya-Rebels-dig-in-for-the-long-haul-as-push-for-Sirte-postponed.html

[pinboy3niner]

92. Libya rebels battle for final Gadhafi strongholds

Volunteers amass on Bani Walid, vow to 'get rid of Gadhafi once and for all'

msnbc.com news services
updated less than 1 minute ago


WISHTATA, Libya — Volunteer fighters poured in from the Libyan capital and other towns held by the former rebels on Saturday to join what they expect to be the final battle for Bani Walid, one of Moammar Gadhafi's last remaining strongholds.

...


Volunteers asking to join the battle said Saturday they were getting increasingly impatient with the standoff. Dozens crowded around a desk at a mosque in Wishtata, a hamlet about 25 miles from Bani Walid, to register their names, blood type and other information.

...


Despite a bombardment of rockets from Gadhafi loyalists, columns of vehicles drove toward the front line at Bani Walid Saturday, with rebel fighters in pick-up trucks shaking their fists in the air and shouting "Here come the Libyans."

...


"Civilians will be protected. We are already inside the city and we have found rocket launchers in the houses. We have thousands of fighters," (Abdullah Kanshil, an official of the ruling NTC) said.


Kanshil said about 1,000 Gadhafi soldiers were defending the town — far more than the 150 previously estimated.

...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44465824/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

[Iterate]

93. The Tripoli Brigade (part 2)

FRANCE 24-The Tripoli Brigade (part 2)
Uploaded by Libyanym on 9 Sep 2011

The Tripoli Brigade (part 2)

On Sunday August 21st, anti-Gaddafi forces entered Tripoli after six months of fighting. France 24's Matthieu Mabin was with the rebels throughout this historic day on their final journey to the Libyan capital. Here is an excerpt from his report.
By Matthieu MABIN
Their names are Hatif, Sam and Adam. For months, they have been training for the final assault on Tripoli. They are manual workers, businessmen and students. From Dublin to Washington, they have come back to their country to rid the Libyan capital of its dictator.

These men are the elite rebel forces. Their name: the Tripoli Brigade. France 24 followed this small army of volunteers who played a decisive role in the liberation of Tripoli and the fall of Gaddafi.

http://youtu.be/daPbWqEuSUY
++

[pinboy3niner]

94. Another reporter comes under fire--Ben Wedeman in Bani Walid

CNN's Ben Wedeman just gave a live, on-air (on-cable?) report saying he and CNN crew took fire in Bani Walid a half hour ago.

"There were bullets flying about 8 feet over our heads," Wedeman said.

The fighting is ongoing, but Wedeman said it's impossible at this point to tell which way it's going, in favor of the rebels or the loyalists.

[pinboy3niner]

95. Fierce fighting, casualties reported at Red Valley, 60 km from Sirte

From AJE Live Blog:

(AFP) - The joy of capturing a key town from Muammar Gaddafi's troops is short-lived for fighters of Libya's new leadership as Red Valley comes under fresh attack from ex-regime diehards just a day after its fall.

Just 60 km from Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the ghost town in the valley was under the control of the National Transitional Council (NTC) before coming under a hail of bullets in a surprise counter-attack on Friday.

After intense fighting over three days, the fighters of the new rulers had taken control on Thursday of the town which takes its name from the seemingly dry river bed at its entrance.

Red Valley, with its deserted buildings and houses bordering a paved road, had become yet another frontline in the fierce fighting between pro- and anti- Gaddafi forces.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-10-2011-1555

AJE's Hoda Abdel Hamid also has been doing live reports from the area. After advancing 50-60 km during the week, rebels came under heavy attack at Red Valley and Hamid also reports that the area is mined.

[pinboy3niner]

96. NATO airstrikes conducted Friday, September 9

Key Hits 09 SEPTEMBER:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Surface to Surface Missile Facility, 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher, 1 Armed Vehicle.


In the vicinity of Hun: 1 Command and Control Node.


In the vicinity of Al Jufrah: 1 Military Facility.


In the vicinity of Sebha: 1 Tank.


In the vicinty of Bani Walid: 1 Armed Vehicle.


...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements**: 1011 (air, ground, maritime)


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 09 SEPTEMBER: 2


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 09 SEPTEMBER: 9


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110910_110910-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

97. Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports hearing NATO airstrikes at Bani Walid

She also reports seeing a drone overhead. Reuters is reporting 5 airstrikes.

[pinboy3niner]

98. Photo from outskirts of Bani Walid showing fighters coming back from front line

(Photo by David Poort, Al Jazeera)

[pinboy3niner]

99. Libya fighters battle for Gaddafi-held Bani Walid

Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:11pm GMT


• Gaddafi fighters resist attack on Bani Walid

• NTC forces pull back as NATO warplanes attack Gaddafi positions

• Surrender deadline for Gaddafi strongholds has expired


By Maria Golovnina


NEAR BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Libyan fighters trying to capture one of Muammar Gaddafi's last strongholds battled into the desert town of Bani Walid on Saturday against stiff resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.


But after advancing to within 500 metres (yards) from the town centre, some forces of Libya's Transitional National Council (NTC) pulled back shortly before NATO warplanes carried out at least five strikes on Gaddafi positions around the
town.


"Field commanders have told us to retreat because NATO will be bombing soon," fighter Abdul Mulla Mohamed said, driving away in one of dozens of vehicles leaving Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

...


"We are not far from liberating Bani Walid," Daw Saleheen, a representative of the NTC's military council, said earlier. "We urge Gaddafi fighters to lay down their weapons. You can go to any house and will be safe. It is not too late."


Two NTC commanders were killed and two wounded in the fighting. Doctors said two Gaddafi soldiers and one NTC fighter were killed on Friday. Abdullah Kanshil, an NTC official, said four or five civilians had died in overnight fighting.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KA00820110910?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

100. Egypt: Retry or Free 12,000 After Unfair Military Trials (HRW)

Posted in GD by rug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1912352

[pinboy3niner]

101. Lagarde: IMF recognises transitional council as Libyan govt

Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:13pm GMT


MARSEILLE, France, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund recognises Libya's National Transitional Council as its government and will send a team there as soon as security permits, its chief, Christine Lagarde, said on Saturday.

...


French finance minister Francois Baroin said the IMF would advance a further $35 billion in funds.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFP6E7K500C20110910

[pinboy3niner]

102. NATO Airstrikes Rock Gadhafi Stronghold in Libya

September 10, 2011


NATO airstrikes have rocked Libya's desert town of Bani Walid, one of the last remaining strongholds for Moammar Gadhafi's supporters.

News organizations say loud explosions were heard over the town on Saturday, after allied aircraft roared overhead.

Meanwhile, VOA correspondent Elizabeth Arrott near the town says provisional government fighters have been going house-by-house in an effort to root out snipers. She says heavy artillery fire can be heard from the scene.

...


Story and audio report (1:24):
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Ongoing-Clashes-in-Libyas-Gadhafi-Stronghold-Kill-3-129580273.html

[pinboy3niner]

103. Tony Blair denies knowing about 'rendition' of Libyans on his watch

Source: The Telegraph

Tony Blair has denied knowing whether British security services co-operated in the rendition of Libyan dissidents to their homeland, where they were subjected to torture by the regime of Colonel Gaddafi.


By Patrick Sawer

10:31AM BST 10 Sep 2011


...


Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he "didn't know about them".


His admission came during a bad-tempered interview with presenter John Humphrys during which Mr Blair justified the "war on terror" and the invasion of Iraq. He also said the use of force against Iran's nuclear programme could not be ruled out.


The most difficult moment during the 30-minute exchange came when the former Prime Minister was questioned about the use of rendition by the British security services in co-operation with their Libyan counterparts.


Mr Blair said: "I can't comment on individual cases because I don't know about them. I don't know everything that is happening. We didn't support rendition as far as I know.

"There is no point putting stories to me about these people, I don't know about them."

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/8754253/Tony-Blair-denies-knowing-about-rendition-of-Libyans-on-his-watch.html

[pinboy3niner]

104. Libyan expat from Bani Walid returns, fights to free his hometown

From AJE Live Blog:

Tariq Zbida, a business student originally from Bani Walid, left his studies in Berlin, Germany, picked up a gun, and joined the NTC-fighters to free his home-town.

“When I came back to Libya, for the first time in my life I could taste freedom. I knew that I had to come back and help free my country," he told Al Jazeera's David Poort, on the outskirts of Bani Walid.

“I think this fight is far from over. I would say the loyalty inside Bani Walid is split fifty-fifth. And I know my people; they are tough. They won’t go down without a fight. Gaddafi loyalists have executed two of my cousins, so this battle might just take a little bit longer.

“We know that Saif al-Islam is in Bani Walid. We have our people inside town who have seen him, people we trust.”


(Photo: David Poort, Al Jazeera)

[pinboy3niner]

105. Libya battles rage after deadline expiry

Source: Al Jazeera

NTC fighters seek to wrest Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha after Gaddafi loyalists ignore deadline to surrender.

Last Modified: 10 Sep 2011 15:46

...


Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reported that there seemed to be more pro-Gaddafi fightersin Bani Walid than expected, possibly coming in from Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown. "This is a surprise as it was thought that the rebels had cut off that link between the two towns," she said.

Amid the continued fighting, NATO carried out at least five air raids on the town, Reuters news agency reported.

Ambulances transferred casualties from Bani Walid, as NTC fighters grabbed crates of rocket-propelled grenades and mortars and raced to the front.

Tariq Zbida, a Bani Walid resident who has joined the ranks of NTC fighters, told Al Jazeera's (David) Poort that the fight for the town was "far from over". Referring to Gadaffi loyalists still holding out inside the town, he said "they were tough and would not go down without a fight".

Fierce battles were also being fought over Sirte and and the southern desert town of Sabha.

...


Story and video report (2:31):
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/09/2011910143719760952.html

[pinboy3niner]

106. SYRIA: Assad agreed reform measures - Arab League chief

CAIRO | Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:36pm IST


CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League agreed with President Bashar al-Assad on a series of measures to end months of bloodshed in Syria which will be presented to an Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, the League head said on Saturday after a visit to Damascus.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/09/10/idINIndia-59266120110910

Al Jazeera is reporting 15 more killed in Syria protests today.

[joshcryer]

107. Week 30 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1913199