Thread: The Libyan Crisis

NATO extends Libya mission for another three months | Reuters

"NATO agreed on Wednesday to a three-month extension of its air and sea campaign in Libya as the country's new rulers try to dislodge well-armed Gaddafi loyalists holding out in several towns.

The agreement to extend the mission, which NATO took full control of on March 31, was reached at a meeting of ambassadors of the 28 NATO states in Brussels, a NATO diplomat said.

It was the second three-month extension to the mission that has involved a campaign of air strikes and a naval mission to enforce a U.N. arms embargo."

I bet they can't wait to get their hands on their former leader...

Libya: Mass Grave Found Amid Fierce Fighting


A mass grave containing the bodies of more than 1,200 people has been found in Tripoli as intense fighting continues in Gaddafi's home town of Sirte.

The National Transitional Council (NTC) said the remains are believed to be that of the victims of the 1996 Abu Salim prison massacre.
Human rights groups have estimated Muammar Gaddafi's forces shot dead up to 2,000 inmates as they were protesting about conditions at the facility.
The uprising that toppled Colonel Gaddafi last month was ignited by protests linked to the Abu Salim tragedy.

In February, families of inmates killed demonstrated in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Medical official Dr Osman Abdul Jalil said they have begun the identifying process.
"We are dealing with more than 1,270 martyrs and must distinguish each one from the other for identification by comparing their DNA with family members," he said.
"It may take years to reach the truth."
The discovery comes as Nato planes hammered the city of Sirte where street battles between NTC forces and pro-Gaddafi fighters left dozens killed and many more wounded over the weekend.
Sky correspondent Alex Rossi, who is on the outskirts of Sirte, said doctors told him that eight people were killed and a further 164 injured in fighting on Saturday.
"Fighters loyal to the NTC tried to enter into Sirte and came under heavy fire from machine guns as well as snipers and rocket-propelled grenades," he said.
"There is a great deal of activity from the skies (on Sunday). Nato planes are pummelling the Gaddafi positions in the city.
"We are anticipating some more very fierce fighting over the next few days."
Nato confirmed it had targeted an ammunition storage facility, a command centre and two armed vehicles in the vicinity.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

^ well the good news is that America and EU can no longer pretend to be something else but ruthless invaders, like 95% of the world they keep trying to change

looks like we haven't evolved much since our colonial days, and we are back to the Napoleon regime

Give China a few years and then add them and Iran to your list Buddy...

Oh, here is a clue. When Imadinnerjacket does it, he will make Hitler look like a sock puppet.

Originally Posted by Carrabow

Originally Posted by Butterfly

^ well the good news is that America and EU can no longer pretend to be something else but ruthless invaders, like 95% of the world they keep trying to change

looks like we haven't evolved much since our colonial days, and we are back to the Napoleon regime

Give China a few years and then add them and Iran to your list Buddy...

Oh, here is a clue. When Imadinnerjacket does it, he will make Hitler look like a sock puppet.

When he does what? Do you have any idea how much shit is pointed in his direction? And his best troops are about as good as Saddam's blessed Republican Guard were. All the crap about Iran's missiles can be taken with a pinch of salt, they couldn't hit a cow's arse with a handful of rice and have little military value.

His airforce and navy are probably on a par with Thailand's.



What he can (and does) do is to fund and stir up trouble in every neighbouring country. Very difficult to prosecute because it's done through so many front organisations or porous borders.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Originally Posted by Carrabow

Originally Posted by Butterfly

^ well the good news is that America and EU can no longer pretend to be something else but ruthless invaders, like 95% of the world they keep trying to change

looks like we haven't evolved much since our colonial days, and we are back to the Napoleon regime

Give China a few years and then add them and Iran to your list Buddy...

Oh, here is a clue. When Imadinnerjacket does it, he will make Hitler look like a sock puppet.

When he does what? Do you have any idea how much shit is pointed in his direction? And his best troops are about as good as Saddam's blessed Republican Guard were. All the crap about Iran's missiles can be taken with a pinch of salt, they couldn't hit a cow's arse with a handful of rice and have little military value.

His airforce and navy are probably on a par with Thailand's.



What he can (and does) do is to fund and stir up trouble in every neighbouring country. Very difficult to prosecute because it's done through so many front organisations or porous borders.

Yes I do, I agree on beating the hornets nest with a stick as well. If the little sawed off bastard had it his way, there would be many countries in his cross hairs.

Originally Posted by Carrabow

Yes I do, I agree on beating the hornets nest with a stick as well. If the little sawed off bastard had it his way, there would be many countries in his cross hairs.

He hasn't got the kit, and if he uses what he has, the response would be fairly cataclysmic. He's already in quite a few crosshairs himself.

Does this still count as a crisis?

27 September 2011 Last updated at 11:05 GMT Libya: Fierce fighting in Gaddafi stronghold Sirte


Anti-Gaddafi forces breached the stronghold of Sirte for the first time on Monday
There has been heavy fighting in the Libyan city of Sirte, where hundreds of armed supporters of the new government continue to face strong resistance from forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi. A BBC correspondent on the outskirts of the city says the two sides have been exchanging machinegun fire, rockets and artillery shells.
Many thousands of civilians remain in Sirte, east of the capital, Tripoli.
Humanitarian agencies have expressed concern about the conditions they face.
Sirte remains one of the final strongholds of supporters of the beleaguered colonel, with Bani Walid 250km (155 miles) to the west the only other major city holding out.
Snipers Hundreds of National Transitional Council (NTC) troops are inside Sirte, but snipers were holding off an advance into the centre of the city, news agency Reuters reported.
For a second day, anti-Gaddafi forces were pinned down at a roundabout about 2km (1.5 miles) from the city centre, it said.
"Gaddafi forces have placed a lot of snipers around the roundabout and it is not easy for us to advance forward until we get rid of the snipers," Ahmed Saleh, an NTC fighter there, told Reuters.
The agency said explosions of artillery rounds and exchanges of small arms fire could be heard, and Nato warplanes were flying overhead.
There have also been clashes at the port.
Humanitarian agencies warn civilians inside Sirte and Bani Walid have appealed for help, saying medical supplies and food are running short.
Once the fighting gets underway and both sides establish front lines, there will be a good indication of whether Sirte will fall quickly or whether it will descend into dangerous urban warfare which would kill and injure many civilians and soldiers, says the BBC's Alastair Leithead in the city.
The fire power and determination of the new Libyan government's army will take Col Gaddafi's home town, he says, but with propaganda saying the rebels want revenge, those defending Sirte may fight to the death thinking they have nothing to lose.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Humanitarian agencies warn civilians inside Sirte and Bani Walid have appealed for help, saying medical supplies and food are running short.

Trouble is that the crusader coalition "humanitarian aid" usually comes with a high explosive warhead.

Ruined Libya town shows danger of post-war vendetta | Reuters

"(Reuters) - Cast out of his home and with nowhere left to flee, Aboulharef al-Tawarghy laughs when he thinks of the Libyan fighters who toppled Muammar Gaddafi calling for freedom and justice.

"Their words are just ink on paper. I haven't seen any action," the 29-year-old electronics dealer said as he sat near a mosque in the embattled city of Sirte, where scores of men, women and children who fled their home town of Tawargha have found a precarious refuge.

The families could not go home, they said, out of fear of reprisal attacks by anti-Gaddafi fighters from nearby Misrata who have accused them of harbouring the ousted leader's troops and committing atrocities during a brutal, months-long siege.

Tawargha, once home to thousands of people, is now almost entirely deserted, its windows smashed, its stores looted and its walls speckled with gunfire. Its inhabitants have scattered across Libya, many to cities such as Benghazi and Tripoli.

The fate of the town, about 40 km (25 miles) from Misrata, has posed a disquieting challenge for Libya's new leaders in the interim National Transitional Council NTC.L as they try to reunify the war-scarred country and impose the rule of law.

Adding to the issue's sensitivity, Tawargha's residents are overwhelmingly black, a legacy of the town's history as a transit point in the 19th-century slave trade, locals say.

Many young fighters have treated dark-skinned people with suspicion during the revolt because of reports Gaddafi hired mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa, but the feud between Tawargha and Misrata appears to be about more than just race.

The NTC's handling of the crisis will test its ability to rein in Libya's many largely independent militias and prevent reprisals that could fuel bloodshed and recrimination.

"Those who committed crimes should be brought to justice, but it's important not to generalise," NTC spokesman Jalal al-Gallal said, adding that the council favoured the return of Tawargha's residents, but that this would take time.

"At the moment it's a very, very sensitive topic," Gallal said. "The Misratans are still simmering."

REPRISALS

The derogatory graffiti covering Tawargha's walls makes it clear where many local fighters stand on the question of return.

"Tawargha, you dogs, 3,000 km this way," reads one message spray-painted on a road sign, beside an arrow pointing south into the Sahara desert. "Formerly Tawargha," says another.

Many of Tawargha's erstwhile residents say they see little hope of returning home, partly because their dark skin makes them obvious targets for vengeful fighters in the area.

"It's about the colour of the skin. That's why they have problems with Tawargha," Samia Taher, a light-skinned Libyan woman born in Illinois who married into a Tawargha family, said as she rested near the mosque where families sheltered, a couple of km (miles) from the heart of Sirte, besieged by NTC forces.

She was interrupted by a burst of tank fire from a nearby hill. Women in brightly-coloured headscarves gasped and children flinched as the boom echoed through the lot, where mattresses and blankets were piled up and men rested in the shade.

"I just want to get the family out of here. We're in the middle of a battle here in Sirte," Taher, speaking in American-accented English, said of the struggle for Gaddafi's birthplace.

Many NTC fighters deny their feud with Tawargha is about race. But they are openly hostile toward the town, which they say supported Gaddafi in return for money and services.

Even before the war, Misrata residents disparaged Tawargha, calling its young people criminals and drug addicts, or accusing its menfolk of marrying often and working little.

Scorn turned to outright hostility after Gaddafi's forces assaulted Misrata with rockets, snipers and artillery to try to quash the uprising there in February, using Tawargha as a staging ground for a siege that killed more than 1,000 people.

With the help of NATO air strikes, anti-Gaddafi rebels were able to break the siege and take control of Tawargha. The charred husks of tanks, unexploded rockets and bullet casings on the outskirts of the town testify to the battle's ferocity.

Many in Misrata accuse men from Tawargha of looting homes and raping women in Misrata during the siege, claims that are impossible to confirm, but display the depth of their enmity.

As evidence, one resident offered a cell phone video he said was found on a slain Gaddafi soldier. It showed scores of black men in green military jackets with assault rifles marching down a tree-lined road he said led from Tawargha to Misrata.

NO RETURN IN SIGHT

Tawarghy and other residents admit that support for Gaddafi ran strong in their town, but are quick to add that this does not justify demonising and punishing an entire community.

Some of those who have taken refuge in cities along the Mediterranean coast say their homes in Tawargha have been burned and that relatives or neighbours have been abducted or attacked.

The group of about 135 sheltering near Sirte ricocheted for months from town to town in search of a haven, only to end up in the crossfire of one of the civil war's last battles.

"It's all very tragic. We lack security and safety, and we have to worry about food," Tawarghy -- the name he gave meaning one from Tawargha -- said. "All this and you're calling for freedom? What kind of freedom are you seeking?"

Gallal, the NTC spokesman, said he expected residents who had not committed crimes to return to their homes eventually.

"The other solution would be mass relocation of people. That's hardly an ideal solution. Things are tense at the moment, but I think in time they will fall into place," he said.

Any such restitution is sure to be complicated. Much of Tawargha is in ruins. The charred skeletons of cars, busted electronics and garbage cover the streets between bullet-scarred apartment blocks. Goats and camels wander amid the wreckage.

Green flags, a symbol of support for Gaddafi, still flutter over many buildings, more than a month after the deposed leader's forces were pushed out of the capital, Tripoli.

Despite NTC assurances, many in Misrata say it would only lead to more violence if Tawargha's residents were allowed to return, even if some were innocent. The crimes against Misrata were just too many and too heinous, they say.

"To avoid the recurrence of any future problems, we should separate the two groups," said a Misrata man named Saleh as he stood near a Tawargha apartment block being used as temporary shelter for non-Tawargha families fleeing fighting in Sirte.

"They should be compensated for their land and houses, and they should find a new area to live elsewhere."

A man standing nearby echoed that view. "Even if someone didn't do anything, his nephew or his cousin might have. Maybe 95 percent of people in Tawargha supported Gaddafi," he said. "It's better if they find somewhere else, far from Misrata.""

The slaughter of civilians, the bombing, shelling and misslie attacks on civilian occupied areas, by the crusader coalition and the TNC terrorists, areas continue.

The UNSC version of humanitarian aid. State sponsored ethnic cleansing and genocide supported by the crusader coalition.

I guess protecting civilians was not a high priority for the NATO attacks,

I guess when the dark skinned loyalist tribes were lording it over the rest, they weren't complaining so much.

Ok a bit sensationalised but there are certainly plenty of them gone missing, we can only hope that the Palestinians get some.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/nightm...ry?id=14610199

I wonder how long before a European or American passenger jet cops one?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I wonder how long before a European or American passenger jet cops one?

Collateral damage!

In Tripoli Blacklist, Fears of Purge to Come - WSJ.com



"TRIPOLI—Young Libyan revolutionaries in recent weeks posted a blacklist of alleged collaborators with Col. Moammar Gadhafi's regime at the law college of the country's main university.

"Tried to use the media to abort the revolution," read an accusation against one professor. "Called the rebels 'rats' in lectures," was the charge against another.


Only one of the 13 blacklisted professors and lecturers, criminal-law authority Faiza al Basha, has dared to show up on campus since Tripoli fell to the rebels in late August. She was promptly chased away by an angry mob of protesters.

"She offended the revolution and must stay at home," says one of the protest organizers, Raef Jalal.

Libya's interim administration, the National Transitional Council, says that it wants to create an inclusive new Libya, promoting reconciliation rather than score-settling—and giving all Libyans not directly involved in the former regime's crimes a place under the sun.

This policy runs against the pent-up desire for a wholesale purge of Col. Gadhafi's erstwhile supporters among many young revolutionaries who battled regime loyalists on the front lines and now are unwilling to compromise."

Continues.....

Libya Storm on Sirte Failed TNC in Desperate Chaos | nsnbc



"Yesterday NATO and TNC Mercenaries initiated the yet heaviest assault on the strategically and economically important city of Sirte, advancing into the suburbs of the city. After heavy fighting the attack was grinded to a halt this morning. Though heavy fighting continued in other cities the fronts were relatively calm, which indicates that the TNC is running low on reserves. Is the all out assault a desperate attempt to register one victory before the NATO Meeting in two days, Intelligence close to the TNC reports that the Transitional National Counsel is in utter chaos. This morning at a press conference, Abdelhakim Belhadj “pleaded” to the population in Tripoli to help establish “stability, law and order” and give back their arms to the Tripoli Military Counsel. by Dr. Christof Lehmann

In two days, on 6 October, NATO leaders will meet to discuss how they are going to proceed with their modern, North African Vietnam. While the situation in Southern Libya is relatively stable, and heavy fighting continued inside Bengazi and other northern cities, as reported yesterday, the situation was relatively calm. In Bengazi, which is liberated with the exception of the city center where TNC Fighters are heavily entrenched, a group of Tribal Elders promised undying vengeance after reviewing video evidence of over 200 murders committed by the TNC´s Al Qaeda troops.

It seems as if the TNC had yesterday concentrated all available troops in the all out assault on Sirte. Under the cover of heavy and light artillery barrages from land and sea, as well as under the cover of air support, the TNC fighters were approaching towards forward positions, capturing some of the suburbs of Sirte, paying the price of heavy casualties. How volatile the situation is for the TNC fighters became clear when the rebel commander, who newly replaced another rebel commander who had fallen into an ambush, was killed by a special operation of the Libyan Military tonight. In spite of a heavy investment in manpower and material, this morning the assault on Sirte has grinded into a halt, and the attacking TNC troops have made themselves massively available as targets for special operations from Libyan Military, Tribal Militia and other Allied Forces from throughout North Africa.


French Blowback - French Mines Destroy 35 NATO Vehicles

According to a Russian Intelligence Operative who is observing the situation in Libya closely, yesterday warriors of the Tuareg tribe gave a demonstration of their special desert warfare skills. The Russian Intelligence source revealed to Stalinist Live Journal, that intercepted NATO communications revealed that two AV-8B Harrier II and two Eurofighter jets from the Italian Carrier Garibaldi Guiseppe were searching in vain for the cause of the destruction of 35 tanks and armored personnel carriers. The destruction of the targets with 5 minutes interval was interpreted as a sign of an attack from the air, though no radar nor infrared signatures could be found. A close inspection of the destroyed vehicles revealed the remains of French made anti tank mines, which according to the same intelligence source had been placed under the vehicles by Tuareg warriors, who are experts in desert stealth guerrilla warfare.

Tonight nsnbc received intelligence that what remains of the TNC after 90% of it´s members left remains in utter chaos. The Libyan Youth movement, which recently declared war on the TNC has begun an assassination campaign of persons cooperating with the TNC and Abdelhakim Belhadj´s Tripoli Military Counsel aka Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. Yesterday a judge, responsible for harsh sentences against captured military officers loyal to the legitimate Libyan Government was murdered in his home. The home of the judge is in one of the “safest” most heavily guarded districts of Tripoli, only a few hundred meters away from the Royal Danish Embassy.

At a press conference this morning, Abdelhakim Belhadj was pleading to the residents of Tripoli to surrender their weapons so the Tripoli Military Counsel aka Libyan Islamic Fighting Group could establish “law and order” as the basis for taking steps towards building democratic institutions. Desperate words, considering that it is not long ago that the TNC promised ” Democracy Within 20 Month´s “. With overwhelming likelihood his words will also be in vain, considering the precedence of “law and order” a la Belhadj the population has experienced. With over 90 % of the Libyan people opposed to the illegal occupation of their country, and increased military support from throughout Northern Africa, the best chance for establishing law and order would be for Belhadj, Jalil, Jibril and NATO to leave Libya. As to Syria, the establishment and massive backing up of the Syrian National Counsel after the last months of insurgency, sanctions and NATO backed unconventional warfare must raise red flags about where NATO´s next attacks are planned."

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi breaks silence as Nato says end is in sight - Telegraph

Video: Gaddafi urges Libyans to 'march in their millions' - Telegraph

"Gaddafi used his usual method of communication, Syrian-based station Arrai TV, to warn leaders of the developing world who recognised Libya's National Transitional Council that ousted him with the aid of Nato firepower would suffer a similar fare.

"If the power of (international) fleets give legitimacy, then let the rulers in the Third World be ready," he said in the audio recording, in an apparent reference to Nato's military support for NTC forces.

"To those who recognise this council, be ready for the creation of transitional councils imposed by the power of fleets to replace you one by one from now on," he said.

His latest tirade, the first since September 20, came as Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato Secretary General, said the end of the seven month-long bombing campaign was in sight.
Mr Rasmussen said fighters who remained loyal to the ousted Libyan dictator were now fighting for a lost cause.

He spoke at a summit of Nato defence ministers as forces from Libya's interim government intensified a bombardment on the city of Sirte and moved up tanks for their assault on the loyalist stronghold.
"It is clear that the end is in sight. Gaddafi's forces are fighting for a lost cause. The threat to civilians is fading away," he said. "The recent positive developments in Libya are irreversible.
"For now, our mission is not yet over. But I expect the time to end our mission will come soon." Nato aircraft, including jets from the RAF, have flown 9,300 sorties since the campaign began in late March.
Any decision on exactly when to stop bombing would depend on the progress of rebel forces against Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte, officials said.
Leon Panetta, US Defence Secretary, said: "There are some important guidelines to look at: one, what happens in Sirte. Number two, does the regime maintain the capability to attack civilians? Number three, does Gaddafi maintain any kind of command capability? Number four, what is the state of the opposition forces to be able to provide security?"
Revolutionary brigades have surrounded the coastal city for weeks, but made slow progress against the defenders.On Thursday they brought up tanks from the east as they continued to rain rockets, mortars and artillery into the city centre.

Doctors and residents fleeing the city have described a humanitarian crisis for those still trapped and accuse the besieging forces of indiscriminate barrage"

I wonder what kind of mental state he is in right now?

he might be back sooner than we thought

I wonder what BHL think of his idea to push for an attack now

Discord Riddles Libyan Factions
Unity among Libya's former rebels is disintegrating, as regional rivalries between fighters from the Western Mountains and Tripoli have come close to exploding into warfare in the capital.

The Russian Intelligence source revealed to Stalinist Live Journal

Oh, that's where you're coming from.

Well, no revolution without bloodshed. That's the price of freedom.

It is one source of "information" with a viewpoint which could be useful.

Originally Posted by Pol the Pot

The Russian Intelligence source revealed to Stalinist Live Journal

Oh, that's where you're coming from.

Well, no revolution without bloodshed. That's the price of freedom.

Contrair Mon Frair,

Most think it is handed to them on a silver platter

Step by step, fighters root out loyalists in Gaddafi’s stronghold

Whereabouts of the Libyan dictator still unknown as revolutionaries tighten their grip on Sirte
By Portia Walker in Sirte

Sunday, 9 October 2011

EPA
A Libyan rebel passes a vehicle destroyed by pro-Gaddafi fighters in the battle








Provisional government fighters appeared to have Gaddafi forces pinned down last night in the centre of Sirte, the last Libyan city still holding out against the rebel army. "Sirte is finished!", shouted fighters in their pick-up trucks on the eastern edge of the city on Saturday afternoon, and Abu Abdul Rahman, one of the commanders on the eastern side of the city, said: "Step by step, room by room, house by house, the game is over for Gaddafi."
The anti-Gaddafi forces began a major assault on the besieged city at dawn on Friday and heavy fighting continued into Saturday evening. Fighters on the east and western edges of the city are pushing forward at five separate places in a chaotic but sustained advance. National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters now control many areas on the edges of Sirte and are holding a tightening perimeter around the city as the advance parties push further in.
Sirte has proven difficult to capture. An unknown number of pro-Gaddafi forces are holed up in high-rise buildings at the centre of the city, from where they shoot at approaching fighters and launch rockets and mortar fire.
"There is a very vicious battle now in Sirte," NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil told reporters in Tripoli, where he was meeting defence ministers from Britain and Italy. "Today our fighters are dealing with the snipers that are taking positions and hiding in the city of Sirte."
Taking Sirte would bring Libya's new rulers closer to their goal of establishing control of the entire country almost two months after they seized the capital, but they are also under pressure to spare the civilians trapped inside.
The NTC forces have thrust Gaddafi loyalists back from defensive positions well outside Sirte, and are now contesting control of the centre of the Mediterranean coastal city in often chaotic battles. A prolonged struggle to capture the few remaining pro-Gaddafi loyalists has sidetracked NTC efforts to set up effective government over the sprawling North African country and rebuild the oil production vital to its economy.
The revolutionary force grouped around Sirte is a motley mix of defected army units, inexperienced volunteer militias and brigades hardened by their experience during the siege of Misrata.
One of these groups pushing forward on Saturday was the Ali Hassan Jabr brigade, a few dozen men from cities in the east of the country. The men gathered a mile from the large complex of buildings housing the city's university, from where they blasted at the city with heavy artillery. At the vanguard of the fighting, a group moved on the university.
The men inched forward on foot, marking their progress by planting rebel flags on the ground they took. "We're looking for Gaddafi by foot," one said, as they edged closer, moving from house to house and then jogging through open scrubland, dodging behind sand banks as bullets from Gaddafi's snipers raised plumes of dust around them.
Several times they came under fire from their own side, caught in the crossfire as the revolutionaries' encirclement of the city tightened.
Fighters had to be restrained from firing on their own positions in bouts of unregulated enthusiasm. Anti-aircraft guns mounted in the back of pick-up trucks swerved dangerously into the line of their own side.
These men were civilians before the war. One said that he worked as a shepherd, another was a shop- keeper, a third an electrical engineer. By mid-afternoon this ragged assortment had reached the university complex and raised their flags on top of the buildings there.
Inside the university grounds they connected with a larger unit from Benghazi and steamed forward across an unfinished stadium where they were met with a crossfire of missiles from Misratan forces advancing from the west. One man sprinted down the road along the university gate wielding a sword and shouting: "Where is Gaddafi? Where is that dog?"
Where indeed. Months after his fall, the old dictator is still on the run.

Libyan rebels 'torturing suspected gaddafi mercenaries' - Telegraph



"The mercenaries are being held by armed militias without warrants and are routinely beaten to force them to confess to pro-Gaddafi crimes, according to a report released on Wednesday by Amnesty International. Rebels have reportedly established unofficial detention facilities that are run by local councils, local military council or armed brigades. The centres, seen by Amnesty, are equipped with torture devices such as ropes, sticks and rubber hoses.
"The authorities cannot simply allow this to carry on because they are in a 'transitional' phase. These people must be allowed to defend themselves properly or be released," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty regional deputy director.
"Arbitrary arrest and torture were a hallmark of Colonel al-Gaddafi's rule. There is a real risk that without firm and immediate action, some patterns of the past might be repeated."
Gaddafi regularly employed mercenaries to help defend him during his reign and reportedly recruited hundreds of fighters from Niger and Mali as protests against his dictatorship began in February.

However, Amnesty states innocent black Africans in Libya are now risk of arbitrary arrest, effectively being "abducted from their homes".

In a further blow to the new administration, al-Qaeda's new leader called on Libya's rebels to protect their gains against "Western plots", fuelling fears that al-Qaeda and its affiliates could seek to exploit a power vacuum in the region.
Ayman al-Zawahri claimed in an internet video posting that Nato will demand the rebels give up their Islamic faith as the country sets up a new government.
"They want the nonreligious and the atheists who don't accept Sharia to rule the Islamic world," he said."

Ethnic cleansing carried out by the TNC terrorists and directed/supported by the crusader coalition.