This rebel made out like a bandit, scoring Muammar Gaddafi’s hat during a raid of the likely-soon-to-be-deposed leader’s compound. A pretty good memento, if you ask us. The interview gets bittersweet midway through, when the rebel starts recounting the deaths of his friends. The whole thing is worth watching, if only to hear a first-hand account of the rebel experience. source
We are expecting to capture Gaddafi in the next few hours and maybe to catch his high officials. This is the end of the regime and with the fall of Tripoli I think all the other cities will follow and all his supporters will give up.Libyan ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi - who has defected from the regime - to the BBC. Hopes are running very high surrounding this push right now. (via thepoliticalnotebook)
The rebels in Libya might have acted too soon. While they are converging on Tripoli now, they aren’t certain as to how much support Gaddafi still has there — and it might end up being really bad for them. They have another disadvantage too. The fighting in Tripoli is urban warfare, which is extremely difficult and grueling for soldiers, who face a much-stronger Gaddafi force. But don’t count them out, here’s what the rebels do have going for them:
All operations are carried out in a very vigilant way. … The ambition and precision of our strikes has not changed. The facts speak for themselves.NATO spokesperson Carmen Romero • Defending the organization from withering criticism by Libyan rebels that the airstrikes have weakened in recent days. “NATO is not doing their job, the airstrikes are late and never on time. NATO is not helping us. Gahdafi still gets ammunition and supplies to his forces, that’s why he is pushing us back,” said current rebel and former Gaddafi official Pvt. Mohammed Abdullah. “We don’t know what he would be able to do if there are no airstrikes.” Ouch. That’s harsh. source (via • follow)
Ground gained by Gaddafi: The Libyan rebellion is retreating in the face of heavy artillery and tank fire, as Muammar Gaddafi’s forces have retaken Breja. The rebels are heading back to Ajdabiya, which was where they were situated before the start of the NATO air strikes. As the international community mulls whether to actively provide arms to the rebel movement, Gaddafi’s ground attack seems to be prevailing despite being the lack of aerial support. That said, this conflict is nothing if not fluid, so it’s wise to stay abreast of new information. source
explosions heard in libyan capitol: For the first time since the Libyan rebellion began against Muammar Gaddafi, a series of explosions were heard in Tripoli during daylight hours. Reporting indicates there were three loud blasts, over the course of about twenty minutes. This comes amidst generally dire news for the Libyan rebellion, to say nothing of the citizenry; a witness tells CNN that a large scale butchery has gone on in Misrata, with Gaddafi’s forces killing civilians and driving them from their homes in a bid to claim control. source
Gaddafi’s advisors may be cracking: A U.S. intelligence official, as reported by CNN, has suggested that advisors and aides to Muammar Gaddafi may be losing some of their resolve, as NATO airstrikes continue against the dictator’s forces. The official suggests that the perception that rebel forces are beginning to close in on Tripoli, following battles in Sirte and their victory in Ajdabiya, is going to increase pressure on those around Gaddafi who are averse to going down with the ship. As the battles continue, the possibility of Gaddafi’s people turning on him remains a tantalizing hope to end the violence in Libya. source
Close call for NBC’s Richard Engel: Engel, a truly fantastic foreign correspondent (and NBC’s chief correspondent in the Middle East) is on the ground in Libya, covering the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. While interviewing rebel forces, an artillery strike hit that sent Engel scrambling for cover behind a tiny cement wall, a harrowingly close call. Not to be overlooked is the sight Engel was describing as the explosion hit; a rebel fighter who was carrying a plastic toy gun around, presumably to try to trick enemies into thinking he’s lethally armed, a toy gun he amazingly darts out of cover to try to retrieve during the strike. source
Thankfully we are now the victorious ones. The strangulation of the Gaddafi regime means we will soon see the fruits of the revolution. The time is coming soon when the regime will end.Abed al-Hafeez Ghoga, official for Libyan rebel’s “National Council” • On the international intervention in Libya, and the weakening of the Gaddafi military. The international coalition that has imposed a no-fly zone over Libya has done so in a relatively quick and successful manner (the range is expected to reach 1000 kilometers soon). Rebel forces pushed out of their Benghazi stronghold in the wake of the strikes, which have neutralized Gaddafi’s air capabilities. The question is, will the pro-Gaddafi combat forces begin to give up the fight in the face of an international military front? If the keystone cracks, so to speak, Gaddafi’s house could come down. source (via • follow)
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» With expected urgency: Reports out of Libya have suggested that rebel forces are significantly over-matched against the military forces still loyal to dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and this article suggests that by the time the international community makes its move, he may already have reasserted control. It’s hard to topple a strongman who, for all his incoherence, viciousness and bombast, still has enough military willing to shoot and bomb their fellow countrymen. France has lauded the Arab League’s request of the U.N Security Council in support of a no-fly zone, and hopes it will lead to expedient action.
Libya may be in for a long haul: As the conflict drags on, battles to establish and maintain front lines are becoming increasingly chaotic and difficult for the Libyan rebels to manage, spread as they are across a broad swath of the country’s east. And based on the unstable, defiant personality dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s been flashing, this has the look of a protracted, bloody civil war unless something critical soon breaks. source
It doesn’t matter that I don’t have a gun, because some of my friends do. I will just stand here with my people and die with my people.Mohamed Abdrurrazeg, a Libyan rebel • On the desperate struggle between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces taking place in Ajdabiya and Benghazi, and to varying extents, across the nation. Rebel leadership is reported as hoping for international military intervention against the brutal regime. Whether that desire will be met remains to be seen, but this much seems certain – the international community has rendered Gaddafi basically impotent as a functioning ruler through the condemnations that have been issued. If his forces begin to decisively put down the rebels, could the risk of his continued presence will spur military action? source (via • follow)
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