Thread: The Libyan Crisis

Qaddafi and his team have surrendered according to AJ live

Tripoli has fallen

the looting and chaos can begin

another successful mission by NATO and the US coalition

Now the tribes can start exacting revenge on each other and fighting for control.

yes, but it's ok because the UN resolution says it was all for the protection of the civilians

wouldn't it be ironic if more civilians were killed thanks to NATO success ?

Originally Posted by Butterfly

another successful mission by NATO and the US coalition

First time for that, eh?

A Final Surge to Tripoli - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Taking Control of the City



Green Square Rebels seized control of the symbolic center of the city on Sunday night.

Bab al-Azizya The primary compound of Colonel Qaddafi was surrounded by rebels on Sunday night.

Rixos Hotel Rebels said they captured Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, one of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons, at the hotel.

Mitiga airport Rebels said they took control of the airport on Sunday afternoon.

Attacking From West and East



Mayah An elite brigade led by one of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons abandoned the city and its arm cache on Sunday.

Zawiyah Rebel took this strategic city on Saturday.

Misurata Rebels said they sent boats from the port city of Misurata to link up with fighters in the capital.

Zlitan Al Jazeera reported that this crucial barracks town fell early on Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/wo...er=rss&emc=rss

Beyond Tripoli’s Cheering, Fears of What’s Next


Bryan Denton for The New York Times
A rebel searched through ammunition at a supply warehouse on Tripoli's outskirts on Sunday.

By KAREEM FAHIM

Published: August 21, 2011

TRIPOLI, Libya — In the end, it was more of a Sunday drive than a final offensive.

From the first cautious ventures out of the hard-fought prize of Zawiyah, the rebels’ advance became a headlong rush into the heart of Tripoli and Green Square, the symbol of Qaddafi power. By nightfall, the rebels were in command of the square, the scene of so many manic, forced declarations of fealty to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Now, the portraits were ripped down, along with the green flags that marked his rule. Instead, cheering crowds waved rebel flags in the renamed Martyrs’ Square.

By 3 a.m., a wary quiet had taken hold. Rebel fighters secured the entrances to the square, as they staffed checkpoints across the capital. A few residents milled in the square, but most seemed cautious and guarded, peering from alleyways and avoiding the main roads. They were joyous but restrained, fearful of what comes next. The road from Zawiyah to Tripoli was jammed with hundreds of cars, many with fighters aboard, in what looked like a move to further secure the city.

After their easy advance, the rebels’ hold on Tripoli seemed evident but also tenuous. Bullets ricocheted here and there, and people traded stories of snipers, but none could be seen. Sounds of gunfights erupted sporadically but faded by the early morning.

All day long, the rebel fighters seemed amazed at the lightness of the resistance they met.

Gunfire cracked time and again on Sunday as rebels moved beyond Zawiyah, a city that had taken days of heavy fighting to win back from the Qaddafi forces. But each time, the fighters found it a temporary jolt rather than a protracted battle.

The first major test was the military base for the feared Khamis Brigade, a heavy armored unit commanded by one of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons, in the town of Mayah. The brigade is the keystone of the so-called ring of steel defense line about 17 miles west of Tripoli, and for months NATO forces had identified it as the main obstacle to an advance to the capital. Locals fear it: the Khamis Brigade’s troops do what they want, residents say, and get all the guns they want.

Here, the rebels expected to find the fight of their lives, and they moved cautiously.

But the base fell with surprising speed. Outside it were at least six badly burned bodies of Qaddafi fighters, possibly killed during NATO strikes.

Fighters cheered, waving their weapons in the air and picking up new ones in the miraculously free bazaar that the base had become. The more mechanically inclined began crawling through abandoned armored vehicles and antiaircraft guns to see if they were usable; some had not even been sabotaged by the troops that had left them behind.

The miles to Tripoli went quickly. Again, the rebels drove right in: no elite guardsmen to battle them from rooftops at the city limits, no tanks to block the avenue. A convoy met them, but it was of jubilant Tripoli residents who had heard they were coming, honking car horns and screaming and waving out their windows as the fighters went past.

In Gargaresh, an affluent neighborhood in western Tripoli, residents spilled into the streets — at first in disbelief, compulsively sharing the news; then in joy, hugging and cheering — as they received text messages saying that the rebels had entered the city.

“My country is free! God is great! My country is free!” screamed one Gargaresh resident, reached by telephone. He had to shout — the rhythmic roar of the crowd with him drowned out any quieter conversation.

He and his neighbors had spent weeks inside their houses, he said, trying to keep trips outside as infrequent as possible because they feared Colonel Qaddafi’s security forces. But on Sunday night, they all reunited in a triumphant block party that lasted all night.

“They went in such a big hurry,” said Majid el-Haif, 32, a resident of the Ziyahiya neighborhood who was in the street with his neighbors to celebrate the quick retreat of pro-Qaddafi forces. “It was so smooth!”

Welcome Al-Qaeda !

What are all those petty dictators and thugs that populate the African union going to do now that the Colonel's funding is going to be cut off. The only reason they were supportive was that he bankrolled the fuckers. Those who are likely going to be the new Libyan government are pretty pissed off at the AU. Makes you wonder if it will even survive the fall of Q.

Libya Live Blog | Al Jazeera Blogs

11 min 12 sec ago

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reporting from Tripoli says:

We pulled back a couple of kilometres because the area is still dangerous. There are still pockets of resistance particularly from the Bab al-Azizia area.The biggest challenge the opposition fighters are facing at the moment are snipers and the presence of snipers and Gaddafi sleeper cells. The streets which were full of people celebrating the end of Gaddafi's rule are now deserted due to fear.

22 min 12 sec ago

The European Union is actively planning for a Libya without Muammar Gaddafi following the rapid advance of rebel forces over the weekend and urged the Libyan leader to leave "without further delay".

"We seem to be witnessing the last moments of the Gaddafi regime and we call on Gaddafi to step down without further delay and avoid further bloodshed," Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said.

32 min 12 sec ago

Live from Johannesburg, South Africa's foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said:

"The whereabouts of Colonel Gaddafi we don't know, we assume he is still in Libya. Should we start speculating that he wants to come to South Africa, no we will not. Maybe you know something I don't know, because there is absolutely nothing I know."

53 min 12 sec ago

An opposition fighter has told Al Jazeera up to 20 per cent of Tripoli is still under Muammar Gaddafi's control and fighting continues in pockets of the capital.

59 min 12 sec ago

There have been reports that the Gaddafi camp is in talks with South Africa over where Gaddafi will take refuge.

Sources have cited Zimbabwe or Angola as top options.

Tarik Yousef from the Dubai School of Governance told Al Jazeera, "I am of the mind that Gaddafi would want to go to South Africa."

1 hour 43 min ago

Mahmoud Jibril is a senior member of the opposition the National Transitional Council.

He called on rebel fighters and Libyans to show restraint and compassion when dealing with captured Gaddafi loyalists.

"I call on your conscience, responsibility, to come to the fore to prevent you from taking any vengeance in these happy moments, or damaging property, or mistreating foreigners or prisoners."

View Jibril's address on Al Jazeera here.



1 hour 51 min ago

World leaders have weighed in on events in Tripoli with almost unanimous calls for Gaddafi to give up and end the bloodshed.

"Tonight, the momentum against the Gaddafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant," said US President Barack Obama.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said "the end is near for Gaddafi".

Meanwhile, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, a longtime critic of the NATO campaign in Libya, still opposed the international effort:

"Today we are seeing images of how the democratic European governments - well some of them are (democratic), we know who they are - are practically demolishing Tripoli with their bombs and the supposedly democratic government of the United States, because they feel like it."

2 hours 2 min ago

A reminder of how things change: This picture was taken at the 2010 "Arab African Summit" in Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown. The four leaders in front: Tunisia's Ben Ali, Yemen's Saleh, Libya's Gaddafi and Egypt's Mubarak.

Ben Ali has fled and been tried in absentia, Saleh has been seriously injured in an attack on his compound and is recuperating in Saudi Arabia, Mubarak faces the death penalty in his own country, and Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unknown:


Tags arab african summit, ben ali, Gaddafi, mubarak, saleh

2 hours 14 min ago

Here's our latest update on Saif al-Islam and Mohammad Gaddafi, two of the leader's sons. Both have been arrested by rebels.

In an interview with Al Jazeera after he surrendered, Mohammad expressed his "sadness" at the fighting in Libya. The interview was interrupted by gunfire.

"What's happening in Libya is very upsetting. The killing between brothers, between Muslims, is something that saddens me," he said, shortly before gunfire rang out in the background.

absolutely fucking amazing,

when 911 part deux happens, it will be hard to find excuses for the west abuses

They should shoot the sons sooner rather than later

Originally Posted by Pol the Pot

They should shoot the sons sooner rather than later

Obama, Cameroon or Sarkozy to true, the world would be a happier place without them. Or if are you suggesting a lynch mob hanging, how civilised you are?

BBC news crew supposedly driving into the centre of Tripoli behind the "victorious terrorist column" come under attack and ran with their tails between their legs, not quite accomplished yet.

Originally Posted by OhOh

BBC news crew supposedly driving into the centre of Tripoli behind the "victorious terrorist column" come under attack and ran with their tails between their legs, not quite accomplished yet.

Now that is just silly...WTF would you expect them to do if they were fired on...stand up and wait to be shot like the bad guys in the movies?

Of course they would run for cover....and no, it's not quite over yet, but getting pretty damn close. If it all ends without a massacre, mass rape or looting, you are going to be terribly disappointed. The pro-Quadaffi anti-western propagands opportunities are starting to dry up a bit, don't you think.

You really should stop spending so much energy defending lost causes.....

Love Q's last speech BTW....right up to his usual standard...

Originally Posted by koman

Now that is just silly

The reporting that Tripoli, by the BBC, has "fallen" is the "silly" propoganda.

Originally Posted by koman

If it all ends without a massacre, mass rape or looting, you are going to be terribly disappointed

The massacre has been going on for the past few months, sponsored, assisted, planned and executed by the Libyan Contact group.

Originally Posted by koman

defending lost causes

The cause of legality, freedom of action and allowing the population of a country to decide it's own destiny is not something the Libyan Contact group has a track record for themselves let alone imposing thier "flavour" onto a sovereign state. But hey lets all sign up for the wild west posse/hanging as advocated by them.

BBC News - Libya conflict: Rebels tighten grip on Tripoli

22 August 2011 Last updated at 14:01 GMT

Libya conflict: Fighting rages near Gaddafi compound


Click to play
Tripoli resident: "We cannot feel victory until we see Gaddafi captured"

Heavy fighting is taking place in Tripoli around the compound of embattled Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, after rebels seized control of much of the city on Sunday.

Jubilant crowds gathered in central Green Square, previously the scene of nightly pro-Gaddafi demonstrations.

Later, state TV went off the air as rebels claimed to have taken control of the broadcaster.

And Egypt said it would recognise the rebels as the legitimate government.

Meanwhile, rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), said he had no idea where Col Gaddafi might be.

He told a news conference on Monday afternoon that areas around the colonel's Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli were not yet under rebel control.

"We have no knowledge of Gaddafi being there, or whether he is still in or outside Libya," he said.

But Mr Abdul Jalil reiterated earlier claims that the rebels have captured Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam.

A rebel spokesman earlier said pro-Gaddafi forces still controlled 15-20% of Tripoli.

He said tanks emerged from Bab al-Azizia early on Monday morning and began firing.

Witnesses say there has been sustained gunfire in the area.

Western leaders have welcomed the rebel advance and urged Col Gaddafi to go.

China has said it will co-operate with whichever government the Libyan people choose.



Flags torn down

The BBC's Tripoli correspondent, Rana Jawad, who has been unable to report openly since March, says people in her neighbourhood in eastern Tripoli were woken by the imam at the local mosque singing the national anthem of the pre-Gaddafi monarchy.

She says there is a sense that the end is near, and that the rebels have achieved what they wanted.

In Green Square - which is to return to its pre-Gaddafi name of Martyrs' Square - rebel supporters tore down the green flags of the Libyan government and trampled on portraits of Colonel Gaddafi.

"The momentum against the Gaddafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant," said US President Barack Obama in a statement.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said it was clear that "the end is near for Gaddafi".

Mr Cameron said the Libyan leader had "committed appalling crimes against the people of Libya and he must go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people".

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is negotiating the transfer of Saif al-Islam on charges of war crimes. The court is also seeking the arrest of Col Gaddafi and the head of the Libyan intelligence service, Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Another of Col Gaddafi's sons, Muhammad, was speaking on the phone to al-Jazeera TV when he said the rebels were surrounding his home. Gunfire was heard before the line cut off.

TV footage showed Libyans kneeling and kissing the ground in gratitude for what some called a "blessed day".

The NTC announced earlier that it would move its centre of operations to Tripoli from Benghazi, which has been in rebel hands since the early days of the uprising.

France says Mr Abdul Jalil is expected to travel to Paris next week for a meeting of the international "contact group" of countries involved in stabilising Libya.

'Armed gangs'

A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Col Gaddafi could still be in Bab al-Azizia. He has not been seen in public since May, although he has broadcast audio messages from undisclosed locations.

In an audio message broadcast late on Sunday, the Libyan leader urged residents to "save Tripoli" from the rebels.

"How come you allow Tripoli, the capital, to be under occupation once again?" he asked. "The traitors are paving the way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli."

Libyan Information Minister Moussa Ibrahim told CNN that the Gaddafi government still had 65,000 loyal soldiers under its command.

However, some forces have surrendered to the rebels, including the special battalion charged with securing Tripoli.

Mr Abdul Jalil said early on Monday: "I warn you, there are still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli."

He told al-Jazeera television that he would resign if the rebels resorted to vengeance and score-settling.

A Tripoli resident who did not want to be named told the BBC World Service that rebel fighters were "breaking into people's houses, stealing everything".

"This will be a disaster for Libya and Nato," he said.

Mr Ibrahim said fighting in the city since noon (10:00 GMT) on Sunday had left 1,300 people dead and 5,000 wounded. There is no confirmation of the figures.

The Libyan information minister accused Nato of backing "armed gangs" with air power. He added that the Gaddafi government was prepared to negotiate directly with the NTC.

Analysis


David Loyn
BBC International Development Correspondent

The unity of the rebel forces will come under severe test in the coming days because of the imbalance of power in the country. All of the key military advances have come from forces in the west. But political power is in the hands of leaders from the east in the National Transition Council.

Libya's rebels have in their advance on Tripoli shown far better co-ordination than in the past, and their desire to put members of Gaddafi's family on trial shows restraint and not revenge.

Medical and food aid are the first priority. As soon as possible, western embassies in Tripoli will reopen, and stabilisation advisers, building on lessons learnt in Afghanistan, will assist in ensuring that government services continue.

A draft transition document has an ambitious timetable for a constitution to be drawn up within three months and elections held six months after that. The document also guarantees freedom and basic human rights under the law.

BBC News - Libya conflict: Where is Col Muammar Gaddafi?

22 August 2011 Last updated at 10:08 GMT

Libya conflict: Where is Col Muammar Gaddafi?


Col Gaddafi pledged to fight to the end - but from where?

As rebel troops enter the Libyan capital Tripoli - and crowds are seen celebrating the end of the old regime - one question remains: Where is Col Muammar Gaddafi?

The leader of Libya for 42 years was heard on Saturday night calling on "all Libyans to join this fight".

"I am in Tripoli," he told Libyan TV via phone link. "Go out, I am with you until the end," he urged people.

Audio broadcast messages have been his way of making his presence felt during the fierce fighting between rebels and government troops in recent months.

But he has not been seen in public since May and one of his last TV appearances was in mid-June when he was pictured playing chess with the World Chess Federation president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

If it is true, that he has remained in his compound in the Libyan capital, then it is possible his whereabouts will be confirmed within a few hours. Fierce fighting is currently being reported around his Bab al-Azizia residence.

Until then, speculation abounds over where he might be.

One of the most persistent rumours is that he left Tripoli a while ago and may have gone to his birthplace of Sirte, on the western coast, or his ancestral home of Sabha in the south.

Gone abroad?

When the BBC was taken on a government-guided visit to Sirte last month, they were treated to an early evening rally of several thousand people showing their support for Col Gaddafi.

However, there are rumours too that he may have fled the country.

South Africa - which has led mediation efforts by the African Union to seek a solution to the crisis - was forced on Monday to deny it had sent planes to Libya to help Col Gaddafi escape.

"The South African government would like to refute and dispel the rumours and claims that it has sent planes to Libya to fly Col Gaddafi and his family to an undisclosed location," Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told a news briefing.

Meanwhile, unnamed rebels have been quoted as saying that Col Gaddafi and some of his family are "near to the Algerian border".

Whatever the truth of his whereabouts, it is impossible to predict how this is going to end for the flamboyantly-dressed, maverick leader who has long liked to portray himself as the spiritual guide of the nation.

Ultimately, Qaddafi fell because his people didn't want him any more. It has become obvious in the last couple of weeks that was the case in Tripoli too, all along- they just had to keep their heads down to survive.

Lets just hope the new gov't is not going to be a disaster.

Gaddafi has been found dead dressed as a woman.

They will find rows and columns of spider holes in a walled compound. A line of rebels will advance, dropping tear gas down the spider holes. This will be followed by a row of rebels armed with wooden two-handed mallets. Let the 'Whack a Mole' begin!

The west could surely use that 144 tons of gold lying around!!

Damn!

Looks like the colonel's evil progeny were not caught!

Originally Posted by daveboy

Gaddafi has been found alive dressed as a woman.

fixed,