Libyan Revolution Week 31 part 3

[joshcryer]

[joshcryer]

1. Libyan Revolution Day 214 updates below, current time in Libya, 2:05pm Monday, September 19

[joshcryer]

2. China calls for early establishment of Libyan interim government

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-09/19/c_131147301.htm">China calls for early establishment of Libyan interim government
BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday called for an early establishment of the Libyan interim government.

"We hope for the early establishment of the Libyan interim government and for the Libyan people to resume their normal lives as early as possible," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing on Monday.

Hong's comments came after Libya's National Transitional Council(NTC) unveiled its plan for establishing an interim government.

Saying Libya has been experiencing significant changes, Hong called on all sides in Libya to follow the NTC's leadership, launch the inclusive political process at an early date, safeguard Libyan ethnic solidarity and national unity, and put the reconstruction of Libya back on track.

[joshcryer]

3. Gadhafi troops stall Libyan fighters' advance

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/09/19/international/i040014D63.DTL">Gadhafi troops stall Libyan fighters' advance
Pro-Moammar Gadhafi fighters fired anti-aircraft guns at revolutionary forces holding the northern gate of a loyalist stronghold for a second day Monday, as frustration with weeks of halting advances grows among the former rebel ranks.

Anti-Gadhafi forces have been massed outside Bani Walid since shortly after Libya's new rulers gained control of Tripoli and other parts of the country in August, leaving just a few major holdouts remaining loyal to the fugitive leader.

...

When they decide to enter the town, they charge in in half a dozen pickup trucks only to retreat a short while later.

On Monday, three of their cars rode right into an ambush by Gadhafi forces on a street none of the outsiders was familiar with. One of their fellow fighters, Wassim Rajab, said he heard from comrades that four of them were killed.

[joshcryer]

4. Libyans flee Sirte as fighters ready big guns

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyans-flee-sirte-as-fighters-ready-big-guns">Libyans flee Sirte as fighters ready big guns
SIRTE, Libya, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of families fled Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte on Monday as fighters sent by Libya's new rulers to capture the city rolled up with huge rocket launchers and artillery guns.

National Transitional Council (NTC) forces have been struggling to wrest Sirte from Gaddafi loyalists for several days and humanitarian groups have voiced alarm at the reported conditions within the coastal city, cut off from the outside.

...

"The problem is that there are some (Gaddafi) brigades preventing them from leaving," pro-NTC soldier Sadiq Atman said as his fellow fighters pieced together an anti-aircraft machine gun on the back of a pickup truck.

"If these families were able to get out, this would be a proper war," he said.

Heh, gtg...

[al bupp]

5. AJE Blog: Sabha airport under NTC control

10 min 7 sec ago - Libya
Al Jazeera correspondent Hashem Ahelbarra reports that anti-Gaddafi forces have captured Sabha airport and taken control of the southern city's Manshiya district

Sabha, deep in the Sahara desert, is one of the last redoubts held by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

Ahmed Bani, a military spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC), told a news conference in Tripoli
the council's forces captured the areas two hours earlier.

"Our flags are flying there," he told reporters.

[al bupp]

6. AJE Blog: UN to investigate rights violations

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

3 hours 26 min ago - LibyaAS REPORTED BY AFP:

A UN human rights team set up to investigate rights violations in Libya said on Monday it was concerned about allegations that many black Africans were being illegally detained in Libya.

It also pointed to allegations that many official documents were destroyed in the battle for Tripoli, warning that this may hamper attempts to bring perpetrators of violations to justice.

"In recent weeks, reports have emerged of the mass arrest of black Africans who are suspected of being pro-Kadhafi mercenaries," Philippe Kirsch, a member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya told the Human Rights Council.

"It has been reported that large numbers of migrant workers from Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan have allegedly been arbitrarily arrested by security forces of the NTC in Tripoli," he said.

[tabatha]

14. I am SOOOO glad that there is to be an investigation.

Sunlight disinfects not only the abuses but also the false charges.

[pinboy3niner]

22. Libya’s NTC denies abuse of black Africans

September 20, 2011 01:31 AM


GENEVA: Libya’s National Transitional Council pledged Monday to treat well foreigners accused of fighting for ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi, and denied that anti-Gadhafi fighters had committed systematic abuse of Africans. Throughout the uprising against Gadhafi’s 42-year rule, his opponents have accused Gadhafi of hiring fighters from countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Mali and Sudan. That has led to fears of mistreatment of blacks now that the former rebels are in charge.

...


Mohammed al-Alagi, identified as the justice and human rights minister of the NTC, told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Gadhafi had used mercenaries to kill Libyans, but that any who were captured would be treated fairly.

“The Gadhafi regime declared war on the Libyan people, and used foreign mercenaries,” Alagi said. “But when captured they will still have the right to an appropriate trial.”

Alagi added that the NTC would investigate any violations of human rights committed by its fighters.

“There have been no war crimes (by anti-Gadhafi forces),” he said. “If anything illegal has happened, it was individual acts by revolutionaries who were not acting under instructions from the NTC. We have called on the revolutionaries to treat prisoners according to Islamic Sharia and international law.”

...


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Sep-20/149184-libyas-ntc-denies-abuse-of-black-africans.ashx

[Swede]

7. K&R

[pinboy3niner]

8. Yemen protesters storm elite military base; 50 die

By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI - Associated Press | AP – 12 mins ago.


SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Thousands of protesters backed by military defectors seized a base of the elite Republican Guards on Monday, weakening the control of Yemen's embattled president over this poor, fractured Arab nation. His forces fired on unarmed demonstrators elsewhere in the capital, killing scores, wounding hundreds and sparking international condemnation.

The protesters, joined by soldiers from the renegade 1st Armored Division, stormed the base without firing a single shot, according to witnesses and security officials. Some carried sticks and rocks. They used sandbags to erect barricades to protect their comrades from the possibility of weapons fire from inside the base, but none came and the Republican Guards eventually fled, leaving their weapons behind.

Although the base was not particularly large — the Republican Guards have bigger ones in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen — its capture buoyed the protesters' spirits and signaled what could be the start of the collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year-old regime.

"It was unbelievable," said protester Ameen Ali Saleh of storming the base on the west side of the major al-Zubairy road, which runs through the heart of Sanaa. "We acted like it was us who had the weapons, not the soldiers."

...


http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-protesters-storm-elite-military-50-die-194332519.html

[pinboy3niner]

9. Libyan forces say they captured part of Sabha

(WRAPUP 5)

Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:33pm GMT

By Maria Golovnina and Alexander Dziadosz


BANI WALID/SIRTE, Libya, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Libya's interim government said on Monday its forces had seized the airport and fort in Sabha, one of the last strongholds of forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi which also controls the main route south out of Libya.

"Our forces are there in the airport and in the castle ... Our flags are flying there," Ahmed Bani, a military spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC), told a news conference in Tripoli. It was not possible to obtain independent confirmation.

Sabha, 770 km (480 miles) south of Tripoli and overlooked by an old fort built by Libya's former Italian colonial rulers, controls the main trail south to neighbouring Niger, an escape route used by members of Gaddafi's entourage.

Any advance on the town, which is still used as a military base, would be an important boost for government forces who are struggling to oust Gaddafi loyalists from the towns of Bani Walid and Sirte as well as to contain disunity in their ranks.

Bani also denied an assertion by Gaddafi's spokesman that his forces had captured 17 British and French nationals in the fight for Bani Walid. "There are no British or French prisoners" in the town, Bani said.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KJ3MU20110919?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

13. Libyan fighters take airport near pro-Gadhafi city--AP

By KIM GAMEL and RAMI AL-SHAHEIBI - Associated Press | AP – 18 mins ago.


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Facing little resistance, revolutionary fighters captured the airport and other parts of a southern desert city that is one of the last remaining strongholds of Moammar Gadhafi's forces Monday, even as military offensives stalled to the north.

...


"Our flags are waving there over the airport and other parts of Sabha," Col. Ahmed Bani, the military spokesman for the transitional government, told reporters in Tripoli.


The airport is about four miles from the center of Sabha, 400 miles (650 kilometers) south of Tripoli.


Hassan Moussa Tabawi, a spokesman of three southern brigades that led the takeover of Sabha, told The Associated Press that revolutionary forces have control of most of the city but still face pockets of resistance in a few central neighborhoods occupied by Gadhafi loyalists and Gadhadhfa tribe.


"The airport is totally secure and many residential neighborhoods have raised the liberation flag," he said in a telephone interview from Sabha. The two sides clashed on Sunday night, but he said the anti-Gadhafi fighters planned to take the rest of the city on Tuesday morning.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-fighters-airport-near-pro-gadhafi-city-175202316.html

[pinboy3niner]

10. Libya: Gaddafi son spotted in Bani Walid as heavy fighting continues

Libyan forces takes key parts of Sabha but NTC claims sighting in city where Gaddafi loyalists hold fast

Ian Black in Tripoli and Chris Stephen in Misrata guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 September 2011 13.54 EDT


Free Libyan forces have taken key parts of the southern desert town of Sabha, a bastion of support for Muammar Gaddafi and other senior regime fugitives, the new rebel government in Tripoli announced on Monday.

Confirmation of the capture of Sabha's citadel and airport marks a significant military advance, though the fate of the rest of the town was unclear. But there was no sign of an end to heavy fighting in Bani Walid, 100 miles south of Tripoli, where Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the deposed leader's son, was said to have been spotted.

Saif al-Islam, wanted along with his father for crimes against humanity, has been rumoured to be in the area before, but this was the first sighting to be claimed by officials of the National Transitional Council, now recognised internationally as Libya's government.

...


Rebels in Misrata believe a senior Gaddafi figure – possibly another son, Mutasim – is hiding in the coastal city of Sirte, which is also holding out after five days of heavy fighting in which 44 rebels have died.

...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/19/gaddafi-son-spotted-bani-walid

[pinboy3niner]

11. The Battle for Sirt: On Scene at the Libyan Rebels' Toughest Fight Yet

Source: TIME Magazine

By Abigail Hauslohner / Sirt Monday, Sept. 19, 2011



Moving up and down the highway that runs along Sirt's southern border, rebel gun trucks maneuvered amid heavy shelling and sniper fire to pound elusive but deadly targets within Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's hometown on Sunday for the fourth day running — and with little success.

Over the weekend, after the expiration of a deadline for Gaddafi loyalists to surrender, rebel fighters pushed into the city with relative ease, only to be quickly repelled by pro-Gaddafi forces, suffering heavy casualties. On Saturday, rebel gun trucks took turns driving up a coastal hill to launch a barrage of rockets and heavy artillery at vague targets within the sprawling coastal town. But despite three NATO air strikes over the weekend, those inside the city center only fought back harder, and rebels failed to penetrate their defenses. By Sunday night, with morale failing, some rebel fighters had begun to speak of pulling back even further, ostensibly to give families time to flee — even though the city's residents had been moving out in a steady stream for days.

Sirt cuts the vast territory now held by the Libyan rebels' U.N.-recognized National Transitional Council (NTC) in half. And as one of the last remaining regime strongholds, it may become one of Libya's fiercest fights yet. The NTC fighters say that a mix of mercenary fighting power and regime propaganda has kept the port city firmly out of their reach. But that town has also produced few rebels; the forces attacking the city are hobbled by a lack of familiarity with the streets within, and some said they were frustrated by what they claimed was an attempt by loyalist forces to use civilians as human shields. "They put families in front of them. And we cannot kill the children or the women because we are not killers," said Khaled al-Ogaab, a fighter from Misratah.

...


Late on Sunday afternoon, a rotation of determined doctors and paramedics performed CPR on 21-year-old Abdel Aziz al-Bawel. "Gunshot wound to the left side," said one of the paramedics who rescued him from the front line. Outside, al-Bawel's friends watched tearfully from an open window. But after half an hour, a doctor ordered the medics to stop. With no defibrillator, no blood bank and no running water, the wounded die easily there. And quickly and silently, two medics sewed up al-Bawel's wounds and wheeled his body into another room, preparing the field hospital for the next round of casualties.


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2093738,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

[pinboy3niner]

12. Relishing liberty, Libyans protest at new rulers

Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:36pm GMT

By William Maclean


TRIPOLI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Clasping placards and standing in a neat line, a dozen men and women staged a protest against Libya's new rulers on Monday in what they said could be Tripoli's first public demonstration critical of the authorities who toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

In the kind of a move that would have could have earned them arrest or a beating in the Gaddafi era, the demonstrators assembled outside the city's Corinthia hotel to demand the interim authorities, called the National Transitional Council (NTC), do more to help wounded Libyans currently being treated in Tunisian hospitals.

They said thousands of Libyans were stranded there, some with their families, and needed the support of the NTC, which increasingly has access to funds thanks to the gradual release of overseas Libyan state assets that had been frozen under sanctions.

In Gaddafi's time, Libyans say, public demonstrations were often paid-for events, in which officials gave small sums of cash to residents to demonstrate in front of state television cameras.

Asked if the new authorities had given them any problems, one protester, Kamel Moussa, told Reuters with a smile the demonstration had gone smoothly.

"They are not hassling us," he said. "It's we who are hassling them!"

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KJ3UX20110919?sp=true

[tabatha]

15. And no-one fired at or arrested....

priceless.

[pinboy3niner]

16. Newly liberated in Libya

Added On September 19, 2011

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports on newly liberated Libyan towns in the south (3:09).

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/09/19/wedeman-libya-drive-by-liberation.cnn

[pinboy3niner]

17. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 215: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:01 AM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

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]

18. Qatar National Bank reopens office in Libya

Gulf Times (Qatar) reports that the bank is reopening six months after its closure.

[Cali_Democrat]

19. As Libyan “rebel” offensive stalls, NATO bombs kill hundreds

By Alex Lantier
19 September 2011

NATO bombed cities across Libya over the weekend as fighting continued in Sirte and Bani Walid between troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and the NATO-backed forces of the National Transition Council (NTC).

There are mounting reports of casualties due to the NATO bombing. NATO spokesmen said yesterday that on Saturday NATO forces bombed 11 targets in Sirte, 11 in the nearby Al-Jufra oasis, and 3 in the city of Sabha, far to the south.

Moussa Ibrahim, an official of the Gaddafi regime, released a statement yesterday saying that 354 people had been killed and 700 injured when a NATO air strike in Sirte hit the city’s main hotel and a nearby apartment block. He said an additional 89 people were still missing.

“In the past 17 days,” he added, “more than 2,000 residents of the city of Sirte were killed in NATO air strikes.”

Read More: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/liby-s19.shtml

[tabatha]

21. Libya: lies and spin in Gaddafi's Tripoli

In different circumstances, I actually think Moussa would be quite a nice bloke. But in that claustrophobic Tripoli hotel, where he lives and works and spins and lies day in, day out, Moussa Ibrahim has become the face of the regime he’s paid to front.

http://blogs.channel4.com/world-news-blog/libya-lies-and-spin-in-gaddafis-tripoli/15723

Libya Dispatch: Lies, Damn Lies and Government-sponsored Trips

The steady diet of propaganda shoved at the captive audience of correspondents has left us all bitter and a bit shellshocked, just automatically disbelieving everything that is said. “This is not government propaganda, this is a true genuine appeal to the international community,” said the government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim one day at a press conference, almost suggesting that everything up until that point had been propaganda.

Watching state television involves a neverending stream of images of planes taking off, explosions and dead children. The impression is that hundreds if not thousands of Libyan children are dying every day from the NATO bombings. Which I suppose is possible, but why aren’t we seeing them?

http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/08/libya-dispatch-lies-damn-lies-and-government-sponsored-trips/

Tripoli Tom, as he is named, is a lying spinner.
If the report came from the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, then that would be a different matter.

[tabatha]

20. Libya: Transitional Government Should Support Victims

“The NTC has a duty to investigate allegations of sexual assault and to ensure that these claims are not buried,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Some brave women and men have come forward and talked to us, despite the stigma of rape in Libya. They and others deserve to see justice served.”

The full extent of sexual violence during the conflict remains unknown, due in part to the stigma surrounding rape in Libya and the dangers that survivors may face when they make crimes public. Human Rights Watch has documented nine cases of apparent gang rapes and sexual assault at the hands of Gaddafi forces, and one at the hands of unidentified perpetrators, committed between February and May 2011. The assaults were mainly in territory controlled by Gaddafi forces at the time.

The cases documented by Human Rights Watch involve three men and seven women, ranging in age from 22 to 41 years old. All of the victims allege gang rape, with one case involving at least seven perpetrators.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/19/libya-transitional-government-should-support-victims

[pinboy3niner]

23. Libya conflict: EU failed on Libya's refugees - Amnesty

Source: BBC

19 September 2011 Last updated at 19:42 ET


European Union countries have "shamefully failed" to help thousands of refugees stranded near Libya's borders, Amnesty International says.

It says the EU has failed to resettle some 5,000 mainly sub-Saharan Africans who face persecution in their nations.

Amnesty says the EU - some of whose member states have taken part in Nato's operations in Libya - must "urgently address the resettlement issue".

Britain rejected the criticism, while other EU nations have made no comment.

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14977155

Amnesty's press release (with pdf link to full report):
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/libya-totally-inadequate-response-eu-states-refugees-stuck-limbo-2011-09-19

[pinboy3niner]

24. Libya: Civilians flee Sirte amid battle (& confirm loyalists shooting civilians trying to leave)

Source: Global Post

Pro-Gaddafi fighters had shot dead those who tried to escape, people said

Tracey Shelton
September 19, 2011 19:08


SIRTE, Libya — More than 100 families fled the war-torn city of Sirte Monday morning as forces from Libya’s new government struggled to secure a safe exodus for as many civilians as possible.

Forces who were fighting inside the city Saturday withdrew on Sunday to secure the perimeter of Sirte in preparation for Monday's evacuation. In an interview with GlobalPost Sunday evening, Ramadan Zalmore, the chairman of the military council, said they would evacuate civilians before reentering the city.

“Gaddafi forces have been holding hundreds of families hostage, refusing to let them leave the area,” he said. “They have been using family homes to shoot from. We do not know which of these homes still have families inside, so it is not possible to return fire. We must get the civilians out before we make a full advance.”

Families fleeing the city Monday confirmed that pro-Gaddafi forces had prevented their exit since the transitional government's forces advanced on the city.

...


“There are still many snipers. If anyone tries to leave the city they are shooting them dead,” said one 26-year-old man traveling with his extended family of 15. “They shot two people in our area yesterday. We have been trying to find a safe passage but Gaddafi loyalists have been blocking the way.”

...


http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110919/libya-sirte-evacuation

[joshcryer]

25. What kind of scorched earth policy is this? Gaddafi's troops have employeed it in every city.

Why would anyone do this? I know it was common in Sarajevo... it just, makes no sense pinboy3niner.

[pinboy3niner]

26. In this case I think the answer is...

...that by terrorizing civilians into staying, Gaddafi forces maintain their advantage. They can use heavy weapons, while revolutionary forces won't use theirs while civilians are present.

It's murder, and a war crime, but they don't care.

[CJvR]

48. Human shields...

...need not be volunteers. Hiding behind civilians usually work for tyrants and despots in danger of being bombed by the west. By making their stand in populated areas, and keeping those areas populated at gunpoint, they have a nice meat shield to protect them from the worst bombing and use of heavy weapons while they themselves can fire off everything in their arsenal. If Gaddafi intentionally kills a few hundred civilians noone would care, not even the crickets, if a NATO bomb misstakenly kills a dozen the howls of outrage from the media would be deafening.

During Cast Lead there was a nasty & dangerous rumor that the Hamas 'leadership' was hiding in a hospital basement.
Saddam held the entire population of Iraq hostage for a decade of international sanctions.

Besides it is hardly anything new, the loyalists have been making these claims since the first bomb dropped and never been able to back it up.

[Distant Observer]

54. Contradicted by BBC interviews which said civilians can't leave because there is no GAS

In those interviews no one said anything about people being shot. In fact the info was that many had left before all supplies for travel -- GAS, WATER, FOOD -- had run out.

I guess the rebel rule is WALK THOUGH THE HOT DESERT AND WE WILL LET YOU LIVE. Else you deserve DEATH.

Not to say that there both may not be true.

But we have learned (from the rebels themselves) that much of the
communications on their side is well calculated propaganda.
The same might be said for the info from the other side.

[pinboy3niner]

56. Reuters has reported rebels giving free petrol to civilians to flee

And the reports on Gaddafi forces shooting civilians are coming from the civilian residents themselves, who are giving these accounts to journalists.

Here's one of the many stories on the fuel handouts:

September 14, 2011

NORTH GATE OF BANI WALID, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan transitional government forces handed out free petrol to help hundreds of civilians flee a desert town held by Muammar Gaddafi's loyalists ahead of an onslaught aimed at capturing one of the ousted ruler's last bastions.

Complaining of hardship and intimidation, residents of Bani Walid headed to nearby towns or started the 180 km (112-mile) journey north toward the capital Tripoli on Tuesday in cars packed with children and possessions.
...

Bani Walid resident and NTC supporter Isa Amr, 35, said the town was running out of fuel, food and water, making it impossible for his family to stay any longer.

"Rebels gave us some petrol, enough to drive to Tripoli. The rebels are really helping us," he said, driving away with his wife and three young children.

http://www.realclearworld.com/news/reuters/international/2011/Sep/14/civilians_flee_pro_gaddafi_town_ahead_of_assault.html

[pinboy3niner]

57. Libyans flee siege in Gadhafi's hometown Sirte

If you choose to believe that those rebel babarians are forcing helpless civilians to "WALK THOUGH THE HOT DESERT AND WE WILL LET YOU LIVE. Else you deserve DEATH," be my guest. But...

By RYAN LUCAS - Associated Press | AP – 5 mins ago.


SIRTE, Libya (AP) — Families in pickup trucks stacked with mattresses and jugs of water fled Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte Tuesday ahead of an expected new push by revolutionary forces to seize the city, as the anti-Gadhafi forces claimed progress in the battle for a city in the remote southern desert.


Earlier, residents fleeing Sirte said they had been living under a state of siege with Gadhafi's forces preventing them from leaving, while living conditions deteriorated and the city came under constant rocket fire and NATO bombardment.


"I tried to leave earlier with my family, but Gadhafi's forces wouldn't let me," said Abdullah Mohammed, a 34-year-old computer engineer traveling with his wife, two daughters and son. "We managed to run away at dawn by taking back roads out of the city."

...


About 30 families were lined up to get fuel from a tanker parked about 12 miles outside Sirte with pickup trucks and cars packed with mattresses, water, crates of onions and suitcases in the back.

...


"Our guys are going inside the city to give the families what they need, water and fuel so they can leave," field commander Mohammed Mebeggan said as NATO warplanes flew overhead. "We are giving them the opportunity to leave. Today is the last day."

...


http://news.yahoo.com/libyans-flee-siege-gadhafis-hometown-sirte-122120853.html

[pinboy3niner]

27. A top Gaddafi general has been captured in southern Libya

From AJE's Live Blog:

A senior general loyal to Gaddafi has been captured in southern Libya, an official from the country's new leadership told AFP on Tuesday.

"General Belgacem Al-Abaaj, Gaddafi's intelligence chief in the al-Khofra region, was captured" on Monday about 100km from Sabha, said Mohamed Wardugu, spokesman for the "Desert Shield Brigade" in Benghazi.

Wardugu said the NTC forces had entered Sabha and taken control of the airport there but that fighting was continuing in some quarters.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-20-2011-0417

[al bupp]

28. A guide to Libya’s surveillance network

http://owni.eu/2011/09/12/a-guide-to-libyas-surveillance-network/

After repeated interrogations lead by http://reflets.info/tag/amesys/">Reflets.info, http://owni.fr/2011/06/10/la-libye-sur-ecoute-francaise/">OWNI, the http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904199404576538721260166388.html">Wall Street Journal and the http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2011/09/01/01003-20110901ARTFIG00412-comment-j-ai-mis-8-millions-de-libyens-sur-ecoute.php">Figaro, Amesys, the French company that sold Internet surveillance systems to Gaddafi’s Libya tried to calm things down with a statement posted http://amesys.fr/">on its website http://www.scribd.com/doc/63801804/AmesysCP">(mirror):

"The contract only concerned the sale of materials capable of analysing a fraction of existing internet connections, only a few thousand."

However, the documents in OWNI’s possession tell a different story, in fact, the exact opposite story. In contrast to traditional surveillance systems that target specific connections, the “massive” (sic) Amesys surveillance system is used to intercept and analyze the entirety of the telecommunications network, to the scale of an entire country.

In its presentations for the high-end surveillance service, Amesys flaunts EAGLE as having been conceived to monitor the whole spectrum of telecommunications: IP traffic (internet), mobile and landline telephone networks, WiFi, satellite, radio and micro waves thanks to its “passive waves, invisible and inaccessible to any intruder.”

[tabatha]

29. NTC claims humanitarian disaster in Gadhafi stronghold From Jill Dougherty and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are creating a humanitarian disaster in Bani Walid, the National Transitional Council's military spokesman charged Monday.

Col. Ahmed Bani told reporters that Gadhafi forces are robbing food stores, leaving civilian residents to starve. He also charged that Gadhafi loyalists are shooting everyone trying to join the revolution, including men, women and children. "They are carrying out mass killings," Bani said.

"This proves they are trying to destroy the town before it is liberated," he added, calling the Gadhafi forces "criminals" and "killers."

Asked by CNN why, if there is such a humanitarian disaster, NTC forces do not immediately enter the city, the colonel said the problem is "geography." There are tactics the forces must follow to reduce casualties, he said.

Bani Walid is surrounded by anti-Gadhafi forces, he said.

Asked to comment on assertions by Gadhafi spokesman Musa Ibrahim that loyalist forces in Bani Walid had captured a group of 17 mercenaries fighting for the NTC, including some British, Qatari, French and Asians, the spokesman dismissed the claim, saying, "Don't listen to him, he's from another planet."

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/19/world/africa/libya-war/

So, when Mussa Ibrahim says that NATO has killed thousands of civilians, it actually means that Gaddafi is killing thousands of civilians.

[pinboy3niner]

30. Two Filipino maids flee #Gadhafi's relative; Philippine Embassy evacuates pair to #Tunisia

From latestbreakingnews.com:

@AP

Two Filipino maids flee #Gadhafi's relative; Philippine Embassy evacuates pair to #Tunisia. http://t.co/LG5ijUdI -MM

2:44AM GMT Sep 20, 2011

[tabatha]

31. ChangeInLibya on critics of Libya

ChangeInLibyaIsmael Zmirli

We wanted a democracy & a country where everyone is free to have his opinion without fear and that's exactly what we're going to get.

This type of thinking is in fact part of the mentality Dictators implant in us: The pan-Arab socialist anti-colonial fluff.

Do the French & British & NATO have their own interests in mind? Yes. So do we. Did they help us more than some so called "brothers"? Yes.

Before any Arab nation tries to take the moral high ground & claim Libya was helped by "colonizers". What the hell did YOU do for us?

I am an Arab and a Muslim first & foremost but I'll be damned if someone else tries to belittle or laugh at my country's sacrifices.

Anyway, good night all. That's just another thing off my chest. Long live #Libya. God bless Syria, Yemen, Bahrain & any1 fighting for freedm.

And lest you forget: #Libyan civilians were rescued after a UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION. Don't bloody compare us to other wars & countries.

[pinboy3niner]

32. After Siege, Misrata Shuts Door on Returns

Source: Wall Street Journal

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Libyan City, Shelled by Gadhafi Forces, Bars Those Who Fled, Takes Homes

By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV


MISRATA, Libya—Thousands of families fled this Libyan port city during the uprising against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's rule, escaping the months of deadly shelling and street battles that turned stretches of Misrata into rubble.

...


Misrata's revolutionary authorities—only loosely connected to the interim Libyan administration, the National Transitional Council—have established de facto immigration checkpoints on the roads leading into the nation's third-largest city. Those without special permission are turned away.

...


Misrata revolutionaries, he says, have seized the lists of Misratan collaborators at Col. Gadhafi's security headquarters in the nearby cities of Khoms, Zliten and Tawergha, and have fed them into the computer database against which locals and outsiders asking to return are checked.

...


The restrictions on the return of refugees from Misrata are temporary, until the scarred city's emotions abate, Mr. Sherqessiya says.


"The people are angry," he says. "But day by day this will pass. Today we are fighting, tomorrow we say hello to each other, and the day after we'll drink tea together."

...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903374004576581150199574800.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

This is worth reading the full story to understand what is happening here. (If the link doesn't provide full access, google the article headline.)

[pinboy3niner]

33. Relief for family as they escape Bani Walid

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Sep 19, 2011


The Libyan town of Bani Walid is still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists as fighters from National Transitional Council surround it on all sides.

One family escaped from the town after Gaddafi troops entered the town after the fall of Tripoli.

Al Jazeera's Anita Mcnaught caught up with them in Tripoli (2:23):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqYXKtwurD0&feature=player_embedded

[pinboy3niner]

34. Yemen protest camp shelled as crackdown continues in Sana'a

Posted in GD by nadinbrzezinski:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1969649

[pinboy3niner]

35. The noose is tightening. #NTC fighters surround #Sirte from South, West and East

(Hoda Abdel Hamid is an Al Jazeera correspondent with the revolutionary fighters around Sirte.)

@HodaAHHoda Abdel-Hamid

the noose is thightening. #NTC fighters surround #Sirte from South, West and East. #Gaddafi loyalists resisting show level of organisation.

34 minutes agovia web

[pinboy3niner]

36. Remember, Libya is an AU matter, Zuma tells UN

Source: South African Press Association

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Sep 20 2011 07:55


South Africa was "open" to discuss Libya's future in the United Nations, but insisted on African Union (AU) participation in the North African country, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday.

"We do not want ... the Libyan process to proceed without the AU participating. This is an AU member state," Zuma told South African Broadcasting Corporation television news.

...


He was expected to participate in an AU peace and security council meeting on Libya hosted by the UN secretary general.

...


http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-20-remember-libya-is-an-au-matter-zuma-tells-un/

[pinboy3niner]

37. Syrian activists travel to UN today to demand no-fly zone implemented by Arab League

From The Guardian's Live Blog:

Yemeni women show the blood on their hands after helping wounded comrades during clashes with government at an anti-regime demonstration outside Sanaa University, calling for boycotting university studies as part of protests demanding the resignation of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh on September 18, 2011. Photograph: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images


• Syrian activists will travel to the UN building in Geneva today to demand international protection for civilians. In a letter to the UN The Syrian Revolution General Commission calls for the imposition of no fly zone implemented by the Arab League. It also calls for UN monitored ceasefire.

• At least 100 people were killed in the last week alone, according to the UN's dputy high commissioner for human rights. Kang Kyung-wha said "the scale and nature of these acts may amount to crimes against humanity."

• We are damned if we do impose sanctions on Syria and damned if we don't, writes George Monbiot.

The division on this question among Syrians, the difficulty in predicting the outcome of measures that might help and will harm, a repulsion from collaboration pitched against a fear of aggravation, lead me to an unusual place for a polemicist. There is no right answer.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/20/yemen-libya-middle-east-live-updates#block-1

[pinboy3niner]

38. Pro-regime forces in Yemen kill 9 people

By AHMED AL-HAJ - Associated Press | AP – 10 mins ago.


SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni medical officials say pro-regime forces have killed nine people on a third day of deadly violence in the rapidly escalating showdown between protesters and the embattled president.

Tuesday's killings take to at least 60 the number of people killed since Sunday, as anti-regime protesters step up their campaign to topple President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The officials say those killed Tuesday included three protesters, three rebel soldiers and a bystander in the capital. They were killed by mortar shells fired by government forces.

Officials said clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern city of Taiz left two more people dead. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
...

http://news.yahoo.com/pro-regime-forces-yemen-kill-9-people-084339784.html

[pinboy3niner]

39. NATO airstrikes conducted Monday, September 19

Key Hits 19 SEPTEMBER:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Armed Vehicle, 1 Multiple Rocket System.


In the vicinity of Waddan/Hun: 6 Anti Aircraft Guns. 1 Command and Control Node.


In the vicinity of Sebha: 2 Air Missile Systems, 2 Military Air Radar Defence Facilities, 3 Air Missile Facilities.


In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Command and Control Node.


...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements**: 1309 (air, ground, maritime)


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 19 SEPTEMBER: 1


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 19 SEPTEMBER: 22


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110920_110920-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

40. From Abu Salim to Mater Dei

Source: Times of Malta

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

by Christian Peregin


One of the Libyans receiving medical treatment in Malta spent his summer in Tripoli’s notorious Abu Salim prison and was the fifth to break free when the city was finally liberated last month.

...


Naser Sarraj, 47, worked in one of Tripoli’s hospitals as a doctor but ended up in Muammar Gaddafi’s bad books in February when he felt compelled to remove a picture of the dictator from the maternity ward.


“I don’t know why I did it... It came from inside,” he says with a wide smile, recalling his small act of rebellion against the totalitarian regime.

...


“I also told some of my colleagues that the Libyan TV stations were not telling us the facts... and I knew some of the nurses worked for the Libyan intelligence.”


These two deeds were enough for Dr Sarraj’s name to be blacklisted in a database of Gaddafi dissidents. However, he was only arrested in June when Gaddafi decided to go back on his initial pledge to forgive troublemakers.

...


http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110920/local/From-Abu-Salim-to-Mater-Dei.385573

[pinboy3niner]

41. Libya "mercenary" claim turns spotlight on special ops

Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:56am GMT

• "Mercenaries" claim highlights special ops

• Boast seen as propaganda

• Libya is special forces' latest battlefield


By David Brunnstrom and Giles Elgood


BRUSELS/LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - A boast by Gaddafi loyalists that they had captured 17 foreign mercenaries this week has been greeted with scepticism, but the claim has highlighted the importance of covert military operations in the overthrow of the Libyan leader.

Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim has so far not made good on his promise to put the group on television and he has produced no other evidence to back his story, which was quickly denied in Western capitals.

"The lack of evidence is for the moment what I find most remarkable about the whole story. Where are the boots, where are the watches, not to mention the faces?" said Francis Heisbourg, chairman of the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

The whole thing may turn out to be no more than a bold piece of disinformation by a spin doctor with nothing to lose. But it still fits in with a compelling narrative surrounding the secret side of Libya's war.

"This claim is coming from Moussa Ibrahim and a good proportion of what he has been saying is flat-out wrong," said Shashank Joshi, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

"Moussa Ibrahim has no credibility to protect, so if it turns out to be completely wrong there are no repercussions for him -- it's just a good piece of psychological warfare."

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KK0WH20110920?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

42. Video: NTC fighters in another push for Sirte (1:41)

Outside the Libyan city of Sirte, the National Transitional Council fighters continue to face strong resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.

On Monday they had to pull back from the eastern front after intense clashes.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from the eastern front of Sirte (1:41):

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-20-2011-1056

[pinboy3niner]

43. Defiant recorded audio message from Gaddafi broadcast Tuesday

Reuters - Libya's deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi said the system of rule he set up was based on the people's will and could not be removed, speaking in a recorded message broadcast on Tuesday.

In the audio message, he also said NATO's planes would not be able to continue their operations in Libya.

"The political system in Libya is a system based on the power of the people ... and it is impossible that this system be removed," he said. "The bombs of NATO planes will not last."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-20-2011-1323

[pinboy3niner]

44. UN General Assembly to discuss Libya, Palestinian quest for statehood

updated 6:52 AM EST, Tue September 20, 2011


United Nations (CNN) -- The rebuilding of Libya and the Palestinian quest for statehood are expected to be the dominant topics this week as world leaders converge on the United Nations in New York this week for the 66th annual session of the General Assembly.

On Tuesday, a Libya summit is scheduled, which has been billed as an event designed to give world leaders a chance to figure out ways to help Libya rebuild from the battle to oust Moammar Gadhafi.

Libya's National Transition Council, newly recognized by the U.N. as the legitimate authority in that country, will be present in New York and will be represented by its chairman, Mustafa Jalil.

This meeting strikes a stark contrast to two years ago, when Gadhafi gave 100-minute rambling General Assembly address where he floated conspiracy theories, urged probes into U.S. military activities and took aim at the structure and the actions of the Security Council itself.

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/world/un-general-assembly/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[pinboy3niner]

45. Libya: Deaf rebels fight for rights

Source: Global Post

Special unit of 86 deaf soldiers battles against Gaddafi forces and wins new respect


Rebel fighter Abubakar Mustafa Awene, 18, poses with his weapon at the Deaf and Mute Brigade
headquarters in Misrata. Photo by: Tracey Shelton


Tracey Shelton
September 20, 2011 06:17


MISRATA, Libya — Khalid Mustafa Sati fights in silence.

...


Sati can see the smoke and flames from his gun as he fires at Muammar Gaddafi's soldiers, but he cannot hear the sound of the bullets. Nor does he have a voice to speak of the death and violence he has witnessed during this upraising.

Sati is one of Misrata's many heroes, praised for his courage and quick thinking on the battle field. He now heads a unit of 86 men. What sets them apart is that they are deaf.

"In the early days there were not so many men fighting," Sati said. "I wanted to show everyone that we needed to get out there; show the people I can't hear, I can't speak, but I can fight. If I could do it, they had no excuse not to be out there, too."

Of the 86 members of the Deaf and Mute Brigade, only 7 can hear, and they are fluent in Libyan sign language and act as interpreters for the others. The majority, like Sati, were born with their condition. Others have lost their hearing later in life through injuries or disease.

...


Gabag had been trying to assist the men to form an association since 1992 but their requests were constantly delayed or refused. They were not granted permission to meet together under Gaddafi's system, which feared unity and alliances among its citizens.

...


http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110919/libya-deaf-rebels-determined-fight

[al bupp]

46. CNN: Ben Widerman w/ NTC fighters inside Sabha

http://www.twitvid.com/UKKBY">CNN Exclusive: Ben Wederman with NTC fighters Inside SABHA 20/9/2011 12.00GMT

[Swede]

47. CNN journalist injured in attack near Sirte

A Libyan revolutionary fighters' convoy came under attack Saturday on the outskirts of Sirte, the birthplace of Moammar Gadhafi, injuring a CNN journalist who was traveling with them.

Ian Lee was treated for shrapnel in his ankle in a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack. He was in good spirits and was able to speak with his family by phone.

Lee was with a CNN team traveling with anti-Gadhafi fighters and other journalists towards Sirte, where fierce fighting unfolded again Saturday. The revolutionaries have been met there with stiff resistance from loyalists.

From a roundabout on the edge of the city, where revolutionaries have been amassing, the CNN team followed fighters heading north towards the sea to evacuate civilians, said CNN correspondent Phil Black, who was with Lee.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/17/libya.war.journalists/

[al bupp]

49. AU has recognized the NTC as Libya's official government

@Feb17Libya
The African Union (AU) has recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's official government. - #Libya #Feb17
28 minutes ago

[al bupp]

50. AJE Blog: NTC fighters in the east of Sirte are regrouping

6 hours 55 min ago - LibyaAl Jazeera's Hoda Hamid, reporting from Libya, says the National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters in the east of Sirte are regrouping for another push towards the city.

"They have reached the eastern gate on monday evening and had to pull back after intense clashes with Gaddafi loyalists.

"They say they are hoping to keep the momentum.

"Over the past few days, NTC fighters have advanced a good 40km towards Sirte but the closer they get, the tougher it gets."

[al bupp]

51. AJE (video): NTC fighters in another push for Sirte

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

6 hours 47 min ago - LibyaOutside the Libyan city of Sirte, the National Transitional Council fighters continue to face strong resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.

On Monday they had to pull back from the eastern front after intense clashes.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from the eastern front of Sirte.

http://www.youtube.com/v/VYThm6JACN8&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"

[al bupp]

52. AJE Blog: Sirte update

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

6 hours 30 min ago - Libya fighter from the Libyan National Transitional Council at the easten Sirte front tells Al Jazeera that there is a sandstorm obscuring visibility. He does not think that there will be any significant advance today, at least not until the wind slows down.

[al bupp]

53. AJE Blog: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday met Libya's Jalil

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

1 hour 54 min ago - Libya

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday met Libya's interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, ahead of talks between the United States and its allies on Libya's future.

...

"Today, the Libyan people are writing a new chapter in the life of their nation. After four decades of darkness, they can walk the streets, free from a tyrant," Obama said.

Credit for the "liberation of Libya, belongs to the people of Libya," he insisted, but stressed the international community was not pulling out yet.

"Libya is a lesson in what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one," he said in the remarks.

[pinboy3niner]

55. Libya forces seize suspects in alleged attack plot

Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:57pm GMT


TRIPOLI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Libyan interim government forces stormed a house in Tripoli on Tuesday and arrested four brothers suspected of planning bomb attacks in the capital on behalf of ousted former ruler Muammar Gaddafi, residents and witnesses said.

...


The raids targeted four sons of Colonel Amer Moussa Zintani, an aide to Gaddafi, fighters said. They named the four as Abdel Bari, Ahmed, Moustafa and Youssef. Zintani's whereabouts are not known, they said.

There were chaotic scenes outside the house as people who accused the men of killing their family members urged vigilante justice but were held back by NTC fighters.

"They are involved in killing Libyans as well as organising a cell in support of Gaddafi but thank God we have now arrested them," said Abdel Rahman Bushagour, one of the fighters.

"(They were planning) terror attacks at the Martyrs' Square, hospitals and government institutions," he added.

...

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KK4FE20110920?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

58. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 216: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:01 AM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

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]

59. Obama Praises Libya’s Post-Qaddafi Leaders at U.N.

Source: New York Times

By HELENE COOPER

Published: September 20, 2011


UNITED NATIONS — President Obama met Libya’s transitional leader for the first time on Tuesday, and extolled what he called the Libyan people’s successful struggle to depose Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. The meeting came on the first of two days of annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, during which the most vexing issue confronting Mr. Obama will be the Palestinian quest for full membership.


“Just as the world stood by you in your struggle to be free, we will stand with you in your struggle to realize the peace and prosperity that freedom can bring,” the president said at a meeting on Libya’s future, which included other world leaders and emissaries from the Transitional National Council, the group of former Libyan rebels whose forces ended Colonel Qaddafi’s four decades of absolute rule last month. Before the meeting, Mr. Obama met privately with the leader of the council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil.


In his remarks at the meeting, Mr. Obama warned the Libyans that it “will take time to build the institutions needed for a democratic Libya — there will be days of frustration.” But he said the successful overthrow of Colonel Qaddafi, with aid from a NATO bombing campaign, had demonstrated that the world should “not underestimate the aspirations and will of the Libyan people.”


Mr. Obama announced that the United States was officially reopening its embassy in Tripoli, which was closed in the early days of the conflict. An advance military team has been in the Libyan capital for the past week to prepare for the reopening.

...


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/world/obama-meets-with-world-leaders-at-united-nations.html

[pinboy3niner]

60. President Obama: "It was Libyans who pushed their dictator from power"

Matthew Weaver, at The Guardian's Live Blog, posted more on President Obama's speech at the U.N.:

Barack Obama has congratulated the people of Libya for ousting Muammar Gaddafi, and defended Nato's intervention as an example of what the international community can achieve.


Speaking at the United Nations the US president said: "Make no mistake, credit for the liberation of Libya belongs to the people of Libya. It was Libyan men and women and children who took to the streets in peaceful protests who faced down the tanks and endured the sniper's bullets. It was Libyan fighters, often out-gunned and out-numbered, who fought pitched battles town by town, block by block. It was Libyan activists in chatrooms and mosques who kept the revolution alive even after some of the world had given up hope. It was Libyan women and girls who hung flags and smuggled weapons to the front ... It was Libyan blood that was spilled and Libya's sons and daughters who gave their lives. It was Libyans who pushed their dictator from power."


But he added that Nato's intervention showed what the international community could achieve when it was united. "Our international coalition stopped the regime in its tracks and saved countless lives and gave the Libyan people the time and the space to prevail ... This is how the international community should work in the 20th century."


Obama confirmed that the US embassy is to be reopened in Tripoli.


He also called for reconciliation in the new Libya. "As Libyans rightly seek justice for past crimes, let it be done in a spirit of reconciliation and not reprisals and violence."


On Islamic extremism, Obama said: "As Libyans draw strength from their faith - a religion rooted in peace and tolerance let there be a rejection of violent extremism which offers only death and destruction."


Obama urged the new Libyan government to involve women at all levels. "We know that the nations that uphold the human rights of all people, especially their women, are ultimately more successful and more prosperous."


On Libya's oil lucrative industry, Obama said this: "We intend to build new partnerships to unleash Libya's extraordinary potential."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/20/yemen-libya-middle-east-live-updates#block-25

[pinboy3niner]

61. African Union, South Africa recognise Libya's NTC

Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:37pm GMT


By Ed Cropley

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The African Union (AU) recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's de facto government on Tuesday, removing another piece of diplomatic support for ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The pan-African body, which has frequently been criticised for its ponderous reaction to events on its doorstep, said in a statement it was ready to support the NTC in its efforts to build an inclusive government.

...


South Africa, the continent's pre-eminent economic power which has a major say in AU policy, said on Tuesday it would also recognise the NTC, ending a long-standing relationship with the ousted leader.

"The South African government, hereby announces that it recognizes the NTC as the representative of the Libyan people as they form an all-inclusive transitional government that will occupy the Libyan seat at the African Union," the International Relations and Cooperation Department said in a statement.

...


The AU's switch is likely to bring a modicum of pressure to bear on leaders such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, who expelled Libya's ambassador at the end of August after the envoy switched allegiance from Gaddafi to the NTC.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KK3HM20110920?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

62. Libyan graffiti artists make fun of Gadhafi

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/6YPPgWYH1144YClv96qoKg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/
Photo By AP/Francois Mori (20 more photos at link)

By FRANCOIS MORI - Associated Press | AP – 4 hrs ago.


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan graffiti artists are taking advantage of newfound freedom to make fun of ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi on the streets of Tripoli.

For 42 years, the authoritarian leader banned writing or drawing on public walls. Artists are now expressing themselves throughout the capital of 2 million people, and their favorite topic is Gadhafi and other former members of his regime on storefronts and office buildings.

One picture mocks Gadhafi's habit of calling himself the king of kings of Africa by calling him the "monkey of monkeys of Africa."

Another shows the longtime leader's public relations officer Youssef Shakhir with a rat's tail and holding prayer beads, because people said he always held them in appearances.

Gadhafi, who remains on the run after revolutionary forces swept into Tripoli on Aug. 21, also is shown with his trademark curly hair, but the mural calls it "barbed wire hair" instead of using his popular nickname "frizzhead."

Full 21-photo gallery:
http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-graffiti-artists-fun-gadhafi-181053083.html

[pinboy3niner]

63. Head of Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera resigns

Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:47pm GMT


DUBAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The head of Arab TV channel Al Jazeera said on Tuesday he was leaving the network, but gave no reason for his departure at a time when the station's coverage has played an important role in unprecedented protest movements rocking the Arab world.

...


Sheikh Ahmad bin Jasem al-Thani, a member of Qatar's ruling family who is a member of a top body at state-run Qatargas, was named to replace Khanfar, an Al Jazeera statement said.

...


Al Jazeera, owned by the Qatari government, aired round-the-clock coverage of uprisings that brought down veteran rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya this year, and the station promotes itself as a democratic voice in the region.

Critics say it is more timid in covering events closer to its Gulf home, and the cameras of its main Arabic channel were notably absent during a month of similar protests in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain which the government crushed in mid-March.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KK4GP20110920?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

64. Did Al Jazeera head resign because of Wikileaks?

Matthew Weaver posted at The Guardian's Live Blog:


One of the most powerful men in the Arab media Wadah Khanfar, director general of al-Jazeera, has resigned after WikiLeaks released a cable alleging that he had agreed to remove what the US saw as disturbing content from the network's website.

Khanfar's resignation letter made no mention of the WikiLeaks disclosure. In a letter published, by Foreign Policy magazine Khanfar said he had been planning to stand down for some time.

The October 2005 cable records a meeting between Khanfar and a officials at the US embassy in Doha. A summary of the meeting says:

Khanfar said the most recent website piece of concern to the USG has been toned down and that he would have it removed over the subsequent two or three days.

In a post written before Khanfar's resignation Foreign Policy details how the cable had been latched onto by some as proof of al-Jazeera bowing to US pressure. But it claims the cable tells a different story.

Khanfar could not be reached for comment, and Al Jazeera has made no official response to the latest claims, but a source at the channel told Foreign Policy that these sorts of meeting between high-level Al Jazeera management and U.S. officials are standard practice, and continue today. Elaborating, he said that representatives of numerous diplomatic missions regularly bring lists of complaints to Al Jazeera, but that doesn't mean they are heeded or given undue weight.

The controversial cable actually backs up this comment to a certain extent, detailing Khanfar arguing with some points made in the US government report presented to him by the embassy representative.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/20/yemen-libya-middle-east-live-updates#block-19

[pinboy3niner]

65. Interim Libya PM expects new gov't in 7-10 days

Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:59pm GMT

NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - ....

"I'm not bothered by (the) time ... to bring about national consensus," he said at a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. "I expect a government to be formed in the next week to 10 days."

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFS1E78J22K20110920

[pinboy3niner]

66. Q&A: Top NTC commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj

Source: Al Jazeera

Former prisoner of Gaddafi, arrested by the CIA in 2004, is now one of the most powerful men in the new Libya.

David Poort Last Modified: 20 Sep 2011 21:15


Tripoli, Libya - Sitting in a lavish apartment in the wing of a 5-star Tripoli hotel once inhabited by Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif, Abdel Hakim Belhadj looked a bit out of place in his drab, beige and brown military fatigues.

(Then) again, incongruities of this sort are becoming common for the 45-year-old revolutionary who emerged from the darkest of Gaddafi's torture chambers to become the leader of Tripoli's Military Council, and, by some accounts, the most powerful man in the new Libya.

...


DP: Western countries have voiced concern about Islamist elements within the revolutionary forces.


Belhadj: Regarding the Islamist elements among the revolutionaries, I can only say that Libya is an Islamic country and that all our traditions and behaviour is built on Islam. Libyans are generally moderate Muslims, with moderate ways of practice and understandings of religion.

You can find some extreme elements that are different from the mainstream, but this does not in any way represent the majority of the Libyan people. I would like to remind you again that the Islamic elements in the revolution are not considered to be a danger to our country or to our neighbours.

...


DP: What will be your role in the new Libya when the fighting is over?


Belhadj: I'll be what the Libyan people will ask me to be. My future role is still to be decided upon in the coming period. I don't care whether my role will be political or military. At this time, we are still fighting a war for liberty that was forced upon us by the previous government. We did not choose to wear this uniform and carry these weapons.

Our main challenge is to build our dream, a civilised country where every civilian can get all of his civil rights. To achieve this, we need all Libyan people to participate. We do not know how long this battle will continue but I don't think this will be over by the end of this month.


http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/09/2011920155237218813.html

[pinboy3niner]

67. Libya's National Transitional Council: 'Our flags are waving in Sabha' - video (1:09)

Source: Reuters via The Guardian

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 September 2011

A spokesman for Libya's National Transitional Council has suggested NTC forces are close to capturing the southern desert town of Sabha. But forces loyal to fugitive leader Muammar Gaddafi are proving more difficult to dislodge from the southern city of Bani Walid, where Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam has been spotted (1:09)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/sep/20/libya-national-transitional-council-sabha-video

[pinboy3niner]

68. @bencnn: #Sabha now: Scattered pockets of resistance, mostly in the Manshiya district

@bencnn

#Sabha now: Scattered pockets of resistance, mostly in the Manshiya district. Fires in various parts of town. Occasional gunfire. #Libya

9:52PM GMT Sep 20, 2011

[pinboy3niner]

69. PHOTO: First Avenue, New York City--at the United Nations...

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/fd2v8QGYPZaTFwd7XYX9aw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMDg7cT04NTt3PTQ1MA--/

The new flag of Libya waves in the wind at the United Nations
in New York September 20, 2011. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

[pinboy3niner]

72. Libya gets U.N. welcome, pledges of support

By Matt Spetalnick and Laura MacInnis | Reuters – 1 hour 26 minutes ago.


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Libya's new flag flew at the United Nations on Tuesday for the first time since Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow as U.S. President Barack Obama called for the last of the deposed leader's loyalists to stop fighting.

International leaders at a high-level U.N. conference on Libya congratulated Libyans -- and themselves -- for Gaddafi's removal by NATO-backed rebels in a seven-month-old conflict.

...


"Today, the Libyan people are writing a new chapter in the life of their nation," Obama said, announcing the return of the U.S. envoy to Tripoli. "We will stand with you in your struggle to realize the peace and prosperity that freedom can bring."

"Those still holding out must understand -- the old regime is over, and it is time to lay down your arms and join the new Libya," Obama said nearly a month after Gaddafi was driven from power with the help of a NATO-led bombing campaign.

...


http://sg.news.yahoo.com/libya-gets-u-n-welcome-pledges-support-211737335.html

[pinboy3niner]

70. Government forces enter Libya's Sabha, to cheers

From Ben Wedeman, CNN
September 20, 2011 -- Updated 2247 GMT (0647 HKT)


Sabha, Libya (CNN) -- Sabha -- a dusty city southwest of Tripoli -- has long been considered a staunch pro-Moammar Gadhafi stronghold, but many of its residents greeted fighters from the new government warmly as they rolled into the city Tuesday.


A CNN crew accompanying the National Transitional Council fighters witnessed a "fair amount" of people cheering for the new ruling forces. Fighting was reported in one neighborhood, al-Manshiya. Dr. Mohamad Altaib of Sabha central hospital reported some rebel fighters died from Gadhafi loyalist sniper fire there.

...


Many top officials of the old regime are thought to have passed through the city on their way to Niger but it would be tougher for them to do so now because the city is surrounded by NTC fighters.

...


Video (4:23) at link:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/20/world/africa/libya-sabha/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2

[pinboy3niner]

71. NTC claims humanitarian disaster in Gadhafi stronghold

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Gadhafi forces are leaving Bani Walid residents to starve, an NTC spokesman says

• NEW: The NTC rejects a suggestion that loyalists captured foreign mercenaries

• More than 20 of its fighters were killed Sunday in Sirte, the transitional government says

• Residents in southern Libyan towns celebrate freedom from Gadhafi

From Jill Dougherty and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, CNN
September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1245 GMT (2045 HKT)


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are creating a humanitarian disaster in Bani Walid, the National Transitional Council's military spokesman charged Monday.


Col. Ahmed Bani told reporters that Gadhafi forces are robbing food stores, leaving civilian residents to starve. He also charged that Gadhafi loyalists are shooting everyone trying to join the revolution, including men, women and children. "They are carrying out mass killings," Bani said.


"This proves they are trying to destroy the town before it is liberated," he added, calling the Gadhafi forces "criminals" and "killers."

...


Asked to comment on assertions by Gadhafi spokesman Musa Ibrahim that loyalist forces in Bani Walid had captured a group of 17 mercenaries fighting for the NTC, including some British, Qatari, French and Asians, the spokesman dismissed the claim, saying, "Don't listen to him, he's from another planet."

...


"The injured revolutionaries in Sirte have all been hit with RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) fired from areas congested with civilians where Gadhafi loyalists are hiding," Adel Ghulaek, spokesman for the NTC in Misrata, said Monday. "Our men are not even firing back because they do not want to kill any innocent people. Two helicopters evacuated the injured fighters last night."

...


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/19/world/africa/libya-war/index.html?hpt=iaf_c1

[tabatha]

73. The Best and Worst Places for Women

http://www.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2011/09/20/best-and-worst-countries-for-women-the-full-list.html

Libya is 132 out of 165, behind Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and barely beating Niger, Mali, Sudan and Chad (#165)

[tabatha]

74. Op Ed: Libya’s revolution & wealth – a blessing or a curse?

I was 17 years old, when I felt I had no choice but to leave Libya and seek education and life abroad. Life in Tripoli was stifling. To survive let alone thrive you had to fall into line and sing the praises of “the brother leader” and his green book.

I remember when solders would march into our class room, file us in single lines, and escort us into the waiting buses to take us, under threats of giving us failing grades and beatings, to the mass demonstrations orchestrated by the regime. My friends and I were lucky to have managed to always run away. One time, we even managed to jump off the bus, as it was driving with soldiers on board. I also remember the arbitrary arrests and barbaric “revolutionary courts” on TV, passing summary judgments on “the traitors of the revolution”.

In this environment of “either you are one of us or against us”, anyone who wanted to be independent had a simple choice, become one of them, or leave the country. So in 1980, I arrived in Washington DC to attend college, and started my long life outside of Libya. When I began to speak out and write against the regime of Col. Gaddafi, my exile became mandatory. My parents, especially my Father, were threatened on several occasions, and many relatives and friends were pressured to call me to ask me to stop talking. This, of course, made any possibility of returning to my homeland, simply an act of suicide.

........

The greatest obstacle now, is the corruption and nepotism that served as the bloodlines keeping the former regime in control for 42 years. This is invisible to most outsiders, but every Libyan is very well aware of it. It implicates much of the private and public sectors, as well as the foreign companies that have learned how to side step anti-corruption laws in their countries through distorted sub-contracting and consulting arrangements. In the oil sector, hiring officials of the National Oil Company as consultants was almost routine, as well as sub-contracting companies owned by the sons and nephews of regime officials as service companies

I know of a number of examples of US and European firms that made under the table deals with members of the old regime with the help of Libyan businessmen, where the foreign firms hand out generous sub-contracts to favored businessmen and companies, in exchange for the contracts they received from the Libyan Government. Adding insult to injury, these contracts usually entailed over inflated prices charged to Libya’s coffers, with the understanding that much of that overprice, will be going to the pockets of the Libyan officials or companies owned by their relatives. Removing this cancer will be very difficult.

http://feb17.info/news/op-ed-libya%E2%80%99s-revolution-wealth-%E2%80%93-a-blessing-or-a-curse/

So much for the supposed after the war "booty" ---- it was there before the war. Hopefully, less after the war after removing corruption.

[al bupp]

75. Libya: Sub-Saharan migrants keep their heads down

From: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=93763#.TnlHMT9_-co.twitter">IRIN: humanitarian news and analysis a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs


Photo: Jeremy Relph/IRIN
Migrants have gathered in Sidi Bilal seeking security and support

SIDI BILAL, 20 September 2011 (IRIN) - In an abandoned port on the outskirts of Tripoli, a young woman timidly peeks out from behind the blanket that forms a wall in her improvised home. She is one of hundreds of migrants who have gathered in this makeshift camp since a popular uprising to overthrow dictator Muammar Gaddafi spread to the Libyan capital in August.

...

Racism against blacks has a long history in Libya, but has been a particular problem for sub-Saharan migrants - nationals from countries like Chad, Niger, Sudan, Senegal, Mali and Nigeria - since the uprising began in February. Rebels who fought for Gaddafi’s ouster accused him of using black African mercenaries to help quell the uprising.

Since then, the rebels or their supporters - there's no chain of command or uniform to identify them absolutely - have arbitrarily arrested, robbed and/or beaten hundreds of migrants, according to testimonies from fleeing migrants, and reports by http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE19/025/2011/en">human rights organizations and journalists. Many migrants have had their money, mobile phones and passports taken.

...

Well before the outbreak of hostilities in Libya in February 2011, there were long-standing reports of Gaddafi’s use of Chadian soldiers, Tuareg warriors from northwest Africa, and other non-Libyan combatants, within the Libyan military, notably the Khamis Brigade, fronted by one of Gaddafi’s sons. There have also been reports of over 500 soldiers from the Western Saharan Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (POLISARIO) being detained by the NTC, accused of being mercenaries in the pay of Gaddafi. NTC supporters have persistently maintained that such elements played a leading role in checking the rebel advance, providing Gaddafi with a last line of defence.

Human rights campaigners and media commentators in sub-Saharan Africa have pointed out that incidents of extreme racism are nothing new in Libya. The testimonies of prisoners and fleeing migrants carry strong echoes of those who fled Libya in 2000 after over 130 people, mainly from West African countries, were killed in outbreaks of what appeared to be ethnically-motivated violence. Gaddafi’s administration was accused of being at best negligent, at worst complicit, while Gaddafi himself was denounced for preaching pan-African brotherhood abroad while presiding over racial pogroms at home.

There's much more in the piece which explains some of the complex history of Sub-Saharah migrants in Libya, as well as a http://www.irinnews.org/photo/Default.aspx?id=31">slide-show

[tabatha]

77. Thank you for the adult manner of reporting this problem.

There was a tweet by Clay Claiborne, that states it best:

#AJStream Some c in Libyan racism a chance to attack the revolution. I c in the revolution a chance to attack racism dailykos.com/story/2011/09/…

http://twitter.com/#!/clayclai

[tabatha]

76. After the cheering, Libyans wary but optimistic

Mike Taibbi / NBC News
Majdi Errabti, a 28-year-old Libyan trying to make his way in the post-Gadhafi world.
By Mike Taibbi, NBC News Correspondent

TRIPOLI – When Libya's rebel brigades roared into this capital city on Aug. 21, Majdi Errabti felt he had to be a part of the excitement.

"I told my mother, 'You cannot stop me from joining the fighting, because if I don't, it will be the shame of my life, and for the life of all my children.' She said she understood,” he said.

The 28-year-old Errabti grabbed a gun, but he never fired it. Instead, with rebel checkpoints already set up and the city clearly secure, Errabti left the fighters he'd joined and retreated in a mood of triumph to his neighborhood in Tripoli's Old City.
His excitement unabated, he went to his mosque, turned on the loudspeakers, and shouted into the microphone reserved for the call to prayer. "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar..." God is Great.

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/20/7860733-after-the-cheering-libyans-wary-but-optimistic

Nice video at the link.

[tabatha]

78. Panetta Begins Next-step Discussions with NATO Partners

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2011 – As Operation Unified Protector winds down in Libya, the Defense Department and its NATO partners have had early discussions about future roles in that embattled nation, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today.

Panetta briefed reporters here along with Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Our view is that this mission went well that the role that NATO performed there was the right one,” Panetta said.

Rebel forces that rose up against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi “have made significant progress,” the secretary added, although some elements of the regime continue to fight.

In the meantime, Panetta said, four military personnel arrived in Libya last week to help the State Department assess damage to the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.

“Within the last few days, we've deployed another 12,” the secretary said, to try to reopen the embassy “within the next few weeks. But that’s it. We have not and do not intend to put any combat forces on the ground.”

http://ht.ly/6AcRt

[pinboy3niner]

79. Canada to extend Libya mission by three months, Harper says after UN speech

By Mike Blanchfield | The Canadian Press – 41 minutes ago


UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. - The Harper government will ask Parliament to extend Canada's military mission in Libya for three more months.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed confidence that would be enough time to neutralize the threat posed by ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who remains at large.

Harper confirmed the plan Tuesday after telling the United Nations that Canada will stay the course in rebuilding a post-Gadhafi Libya. Canada's second three-month commitment expires next week.

"We will participate in the mission until armed threats from Gadhafi forces are eliminated from the country," Harper said.

"We will ask Parliament to extend the mission by three months, but I'm going to be frank with you in saying I'm pretty optimistic we'll achieve our objectives well before that timeline."

...


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/harper-meeting-un-secretary-general-nato-allies-aid-134306117.html

[pinboy3niner]

80. VIDEO: Treasures survive Libya conflict (2:00)

20 September 2011 Last updated at 23:09 ET

During the fighting in Libya, there was concern over the fate of the country's historical treasures.

Most seem to have survived intact, including the jewel in the crown, Leptis Magna, the ancient Roman city on the Mediterranean.

The BBC went to visit and was shown around by a man who has lived there his whole life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14998085

[pinboy3niner]

81. The house that Moammar built--Inside a Gaddafi compound in Tripoli

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Sep 20, 2011

Muammar Gaddafi, the toppled Libyan leader, left behind numerous houses and compounds in Tripoli, Libya's capital, after being ousted from the city by a popular uprising.

In this Al Jazeera exclusive, Sue Turton explores the insides of a hidden compound once owned by Gaddafi in Tripoli (2:12):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuAYeZE-b2U&feature=player_embedded

[pinboy3niner]

82. Documents found in Libya show SA sent sniper rifles

Source: Daily News (South Africa)

September 21 2011 at 08:00am

Deon de Lange


South Africa once again finds itself front and centre in an arms deal controversy after Human Rights Watch discovered a document in Tripoli that appears to confirm that sniper rifles were exported to Libya in apparent contravention of our arms trading regime.

The “delivery note” is addressed to one General Gaser Ben Gasher of the “purchase department” – assumed to be that of the Libyan armed forces – and provides the first proof that Midrand-based weapons maker Truvelo Manufacturers sold sniper rifles to Libya in 2009.

South African authorities have repeatedly denied that any weapons were exported to that country in 2009.

A “packing list” describes the delivery – just one of 28 boxes destined for Tripoli – as containing 5 Truvelo Sniper Rifles, 5 magazines, 5 carrying cases, 5 carrying bags and associated cleaning kits, an operator’s manual and a “telescope booklet”. Delivery of this batch took place at Tripoli International Airport on December 3, 2009, according to the document.

...


In 2009, while South African companies were arming Gaddafi, international human rights group Freedom House ranked Libya along with Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Burma and Uzbekistan as the “worst of the worst” human rights offenders.


http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/documents-found-in-libya-show-sa-sent-sniper-rifles-1.1141669

[pinboy3niner]

83. Truce holds as Yemen protesters bury their dead

AFP – 16 mins ago.


A tenuous truce held in Yemen's capital but tensions still ran high early Wednesday following three days of clashes between rival troops and attacks on anti-regime protesters that left dozens dead.

Government security forces were heavily deployed as protesters prepared to bury those killed in the worst outbreak of violence in Sanaa in months, but the streets were quiet, an AFP correspondent said .

Late Tuesday, the Yemeni defence ministry declared a ceasefire on orders of Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi. The opposition forces, headed by dissident General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, complied.

The truce came after the three bloodiest days since mass anti-government protests calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign erupted in January.

At least 76 people, mostly unarmed protesters, were killed and hundreds wounded since Sunday as security forces used live fire, including heavy calibre machine guns, to disperse the crowds, which according to some estimates topped 150,000.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/truce-holds-yemen-protesters-bury-dead-071855785.html

[pinboy3niner]

84. NTC: Libyan fighters are in complete control of Qaddafi bastion Sabha: AFP #alarabiya

From latestbreakingnews.com:

@AlArabiya_Eng

Officials at the National Transitional Council say that the Libyan fighters are in complete control of Qaddafi bastion Sabha: AFP #alarabiya

7:53AM GMT Sep 21, 2011

[pinboy3niner]

85. Gaddafi bastion Sabha falls to interim forces - NTC

Reuters – 8 minutes ago


TRIPOLI (Reuters) - One of the last three main bastions of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya has been largely taken over by forces of the provisional government a month after he was toppled, an official said on Wednesday.

Sabha -- deep in the North African state's Sahara desert -- has been holding out along with Bani Walid and Gaddafi's hometown Sirte since the fall of the capital Tripoli on August 23.

"We control most of Sabha apart from the al-Manshiya district. This is still resisting, but it will fall," National Transitional Council military spokesman Ahmed Bani told Reuters.

NTC fighters occupied the centre of Sabha on Wednesday after taking the airport and a fort the day before, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing one of its correspondents in the town.

...


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/gaddafi-bastion-sabha-falls-interim-forces-ntc-082543586.html

[pinboy3niner]

86. NATO airstrikes conducted Tuesday, September 20

Key Hits 20 SEPTEMBER:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 2 Military Ammunition/Storage Facilities, 1 Command and Control Node, 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility, 6 Air Missile Systems, 1 Tank.


In the vicinity of Waddan/Hun: 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility, 4 Anti Aircraft Guns, 1 Armed Vehicle.


...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements**: 1342 (air, ground, maritime)


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 20 SEPTEMBER: 0


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 20 SEPTEMBER: 33


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110921_110921-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

87. Suspect in murder of Yvonne Fletcher will stand trial for murder

The last remaining suspect in the 1984 shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher will stand trial for her murder if he is caught in Libya, and could even be extradited to Britain, the country’s new government has confirmed.


By Martin Evans

9:02AM BST 21 Sep 2011


Matouk Mohamed Matouk is currently on the run and thought to be in hiding in Tripoli, where he is wanted for crimes against the Libyan people.


But former police officer, John Murray, who was with WPC Fletcher when she was shot dead outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984, said he has now received assurances from the National Transitional Council in Tripoli (NTC), that if he is caught he will also stand trial for her murder.

...


Although there is currently no agreement that allows Libyans to be extradited to Britain, Mr Murray said the NTC had confirmed it was possible Matouk could be tried in the UK.

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8778289/Suspect-in-murder-of-Yvonne-Fletcher-will-stand-trial-for-murder.html

[pinboy3niner]

93. Fletcher friend's 27-year quest for justice

Source: BBC

21 September 2011 Last updated at 06:42 ET

By Allan Little
BBC News, in Libya


For John Murray finding the killer of PC Yvonne Fletcher has been a lifetime's preoccupation.

He was standing a few feet from his friend and colleague in St James Square London, on 17 April 1984, when, without warning, a gunman opened fire from inside the Libyan embassy, spraying a crowd of peaceful anti-Gaddafi demonstrators with bullets.

"At first I thought someone had let off a firecracker, and that Yvonne had tripped and fallen over," he said.

She had been shot in the abdomen. More than a dozen anti-Gaddafi demonstrators had also been injured.

"In the ambulance on the way to hospital I told her I'd find the people who did this and make sure they were brought to justice. Yvonne was 25 years old, five-foot-nothing, a little bubbly bundle of energy. When the surgeon told me she'd died, I just broke down."

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14999534

[pinboy3niner]

88. Wadah Khanfar denies resignation as Al Jazeera head connected to WikiLeaks disclosure

Matthew Weaver posts at The Guardian's Live Blog:

Wadah Khanfar has denied that his resignation as head of al-Jazeera was connected to WikiLeaks disclosures suggesting he changed the network's coverage of the Iraq war in response to pressure from the US.

Speaking on the network today he admitted that mistakes had been made, but he insisted that al-Jazeera has remained independent from any government.

"Yes sometimes we did make some mistakes ... most of the pressure was political, and when it was political we don't respond to it. We have never had any relationship with any government in the world that could dictate what to do."

He pointed out that his name was mentioned several times in the cables disclosed by WikiLeaks, but only one was being focused on. "If you look at how the Americans view me through WikiLeaks - the Americans always used to be sceptical about al-Jazeera. Someone has picked out one document related to one incident, and this incident was dealt with professionally from our side. If the whole scope of the documents can be put on the table, I think people can understand much better."

Khanfar also insisted that al-Jazeera will remain independent under its new management.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/21/yemen-libya-middle-east-unrest-live-updates#block-4

[pinboy3niner]

89. Libya central bank has enough funds for six months - finance official

Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:37am GMT


DUBAI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Libya's central bank has enough money to cover state spending for up to six months and has no urgent need to resort to bridge loans, a finance official said on Wednesday.

Wafik Shater, a finance official in the National Transitional Council's (NTC's) stabilisation team, said the central bank had "several billion Libyan dinars". One billion Libyan dinars is worth about $820 million.

"We're confident the money is sufficient for six months," Shater told reporters in Dubai. "We're in better shape than we anticipated initially.

"I am talking about actual funds in the account for the state which are enough to cover needs for the next three months and possibly six months," he said, adding the NTC was planning to restart the stock market soon.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7KL12K20110921

[pinboy3niner]

90. Two French journalists have been wounded in the past five days in Libya

Source: Reporters Without Borders

At least two French journalists have been wounded in the past five days in Libya.

Mohamed Ballout, a journalist with dual French and Lebanese nationality working for the BBC, was injured in the chest in Bani Walid on 16 September by a shot fired by a pro-Gaddafi sniper. He was flown to Malta in stable condition and was transferred yesterday to Percy military hospital in the Paris suburb of Clamart to be operated on.

Jean-Paul Mari of Le Nouvel Observateur, who was with Ballout, wrote : “A round fired by a pro-Gaddafi sniper killed one man, passed through the body of another man and hit Mohammed under the arm, in a gap in his bullet-proof vest, piercing his lung and lodging in the middle of his chest. It is still there, as long as a finger and visible in the X-ray. It is a bullet from a Dragunof, a very powerful, large-calibre Russian precision rifle.”

French freelance photographer Olivier Strapil was seriously injured in the face, arms and legs by shrapnel from an exploding shell during fighting between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces on 17 September in Syrte. After undergoing an operation he was flown back to France.


http://en.rsf.org/libya-convictions-in-muscat-cameraman-on-21-09-2011,41029.html

[pinboy3niner]

91. NTC's 'Desert Shield Brigade' captured 150 loyalist fighters in battle for Sabha

AFP correspondent Hassan El-Fekih reports:

"Sabha is totally under the control of the revolutionaries," said Mohammed Wardugu, the Benghazi spokesman of the "Desert Shield Brigade" that is fighting in the region.

The battle for Sabha, a city of 100,000 inhabitants in an area dominated by the Kadhafi clan, first broke out on June 12 after two days of anti-regime protests in the sprawling oasis.

On Tuesday, Wardugu said the NTC forces had taken control of the airport and a garrison in Sabha and forced 300 Kadhafi mercenaries to flee before capturing 150 of his loyalist fighters.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/libya-announce-govt-seven-10-days-040253484.html

[CJvR]

94. Wonderful...

...if accurate.

The Rebels have been a bit optimistic before but if it is indeed accurate it will be a major step in demolishing any Gaddafi hope of a southern redoubt.

[pinboy3niner]

92. Yemen: There are several reports that the ceasefire in Sana'a is breaking down

The Guardian's Matthew Weaver is compiling reports of gunfire and shelling from several journalist sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/21/yemen-libya-middle-east-unrest-live-updates#block-10

AJE Live Stream is reporting the same.

[joshcryer]

95. Week 31 part 4 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1976082

[pinboy3niner]

96. Oops, wrong place :)