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May 6, 2024 03:48
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Saadi Gaddafi just gave an interview saying Sirte was ready to surrender peacefully, followed immediately by Saif al-Islam giving a phone interview saying there was 20,000 armed people in Sirte waiting to kill all the rebels.
Reuters is also reporting the Gaddafi Foreign Minister has been arrested
quote:Toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister, Abdelati Obeidi, has been arrested, Reuters news agency has reported.
He was said to have been arrested from his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli, on Tuesday.
Libyan fighers opposed to Gaddafi shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is Great" as they arrested him, the report said.
Abdallah al-Hijazi, a close associate of Gaddafi, was also arrested in Tripoli, National Transitional Council sources told Reuters.
Here's a couple of videos
CNN: War's forgotten Tripoli Zoo animals suffer, lacking food, water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZoBpAFbGaY
  Something from Syria for a change, bodies recovered in Homs EXTREMELY GRAPHIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJnKyKek4lg
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Aug 31, 2011 21:30
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Piers Scholfield of the BBC just tweeted some interesting stuff regarding Sirte:
quote:2 families arrived at rebel base from #Sirte with white flag flying. Misrata fighters turned them back, saying they had strict orders.
#Sirte resident told me conditions there terrible: no electricity, short on basic supplies - "like living in a prison" - people are afraid.
People of #Sirte are waiting for rebels to arrive, resident told me. Not many people support Gaddafi there, just his own tribe.
Misratan fighters under orders not to allow anyone into Misrata, for fear of fifth columnists. Say it will change after Saturday.
I also saw this tweet regarding the Nanny In Need appeal for the nanny burnt by boiling water poured over her head
quote:Wow! someone just pledged 10,000 dollars to #nannyinneed
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Aug 31, 2011 22:01
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- Gazpacho
- Jun 18, 2004
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by Fluffdaddy
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Slippery Tilde
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Saif al-Islam approaching peak hilarity:
quote:But Colonel Qaddafi’s fugitive son, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, threw a new if improbable taunt at the rebels even as they said they closed in on his father, vowing in an audio statement that loyalists would never surrender and insisting that “victory will be near.”
“Our leadership is fine,” he said in the statement broadcast on the Al-Rai channel and other Arab broadcasting outlets. “We are drinking tea and coffee.”
Seif al-Islam gave no indication in the statement of his whereabouts, and it was not clear if it had been prerecorded. But the statement itself raised the possibility of prolonged fighting and underscored the ability of the Qaddafis to frustrate the alliance of rebel forces that has become the effective government of Libya.
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Aug 31, 2011 23:56
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- Fill Baptismal
- Dec 15, 2008
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:
Is it wrong for me to consider her a very loathsome woman?
No, no it's not.
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Sep 1, 2011 00:05
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- Baddog
- May 12, 2001
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quote:Three weeks earlier, on August 8, she entered Libya as the guest of her ‘boyfriend’ Mutassim, Gadaffi’s fifth son. She describes him as friendly, a playboy who would spend a fortune in a weekend and who had ‘nothing to do with the war’. She had been to Tripoli before, taking some girlfriends with her. Lavish presents made up for any inconvenience. Sometimes things went wrong. Last February, Mutassim pulled one of the girlfriends into a room and raped her. The woman is now accusing Talitha of people smuggling. She shrugs her shoulders. ‘Everything is crooked here’, she says when asked to comment.
This is dirty as hell.
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Sep 1, 2011 00:35
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- farraday
- Jan 10, 2007
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Lower those eyebrows, young man. And the other one.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0831/Libyan-rebels-reject-UN-proposal-for-peacekeepers
With the NTC outright rejecting a role for UN peacekeepers, the relationship between the Transitional government and the UN (in the next six months) will be a flag for anyone projecting Western seizure of Libyan assets.
Between this and telling people to gently caress off about sending al Megrahi back to Scotland, it seems clear they are definitely willing to establish sovereign boundaries.
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Sep 1, 2011 01:21
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- Aromatic Stretch
- Nov 4, 2009
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:
Is it wrong for me to consider her a very loathsome woman?
I don't think so, she seems horrible.
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Sep 1, 2011 02:27
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- dj_clawson
- Jan 12, 2004
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We are all sinners in the eyes of these popsicle sticks.
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Fangz posted:
Drinking 'tea *and* coffee'? How perfidious.
If this were the early 1700's they would really be living it up.
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Sep 1, 2011 03:08
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- Cacatua
- Jan 17, 2006
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:
Is it wrong for me to consider her a very loathsome woman?
Considering that she was all chummy with a man who raped one of her friends? No, not at all.
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Sep 1, 2011 04:31
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- Lascivious Sloth
- Apr 26, 2008
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by sebmojo
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Russia
quote:Russia recognised the NationalTransitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate authorities on Thursday, moving to increase its influence in postwar reconstruction and protect its economic interests in the oil-producing North African nation.
"The Russian Federation recognises the National Transitional Council as the current authorities and takes note of its declared reform programme, which calls for the development of a new constitution, the holding of general elections and the formation of a government," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. - Reuters
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Sep 1, 2011 07:49
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- Sir John Falstaff
- Apr 13, 2010
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Back to Syria again:
quote:
A man claiming to be the top legal official in the central Syrian city of Hama has announced that he has resigned in protest at the crimes against humanity committed by security forces.
In a video statement, Hama governorate attorney-general Adnan Bakkour said he had evidence of more than 70 executions and hundreds of cases of torture.
It is not clear when he was filmed.
On Monday, the Syrian state news agency said Mr Bakkour had been kidnapped by gunmen while on his way to work.
It quoted the Hama Police Command as saying the attorney-general, his driver and a bodyguard had been abducted in the village of Karnaz.
There had been no other reports about Mr Bakkour since then.
In his statement, which was posted online on Wednesday, he said he was resigning because of the "al-Assad regime and his gangs".
Mr Bakkour gave the reasons for his decision as:
The killing of 72 prisoners in Hama's central prison on 31 July 2011, including peaceful protesters and political activists
The burying of more than 420 victims in mass graves in public parks by security forces personnel and the pro-regime shabiha militia; he said he was told to report that the victims were killed by armed gangs
The arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters; he said there were approximately 10,000 prisoners in total
The torture of prisoners at branches of the security services; he said approximately 320 people had died under torture
The demolition by the army of homes with people still inside in his district of Hama, al-Hadima
Mr Bakkour said he would make documents supporting his allegations available later, but in the meantime would name "criminals" who he said had massacred unarmed protesters.
They included the local heads of the interior ministry, police, military intelligence, air force intelligence, and the General Security Directorate. He also accused several named officers of torture.
The publication of the video came as troops backed by tanks raided houses in Hama searching for activists behind the protests calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, residents said.
On Tuesday, at least seven people were shot dead by security forces as thousands took part in impromptu demonstrations nationwide after prayers marking the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Activists said six were killed in the southern governorate of Deraa, including three in the town of al-Harra.
Later, the human rights group, Amnesty International, published details of 88 people it believed had died in police detention. It included videos of corpses with signs of beatings, burns, electric shocks and other abuse.
The UN has said more than 2,200 people have been killed since pro-democracy demonstrations began in mid-March. Syria's government has blamed "armed criminal gangs" for much of the unrest.
Access to Syria has been severely restricted for international journalists and it is rarely possible to verify accounts by witnesses and activists.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14738385
A fascinating story, particularly due to how little anyone appears to know about what is going on there--they don't even appear to know for sure whether the man in the video was really the top legal official in Hama, much less when, where, or by whom he was filmed, or where he might be now.
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Sep 1, 2011 08:33
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Here's a tweet roundup for the last 12 hours or so
Derek Stoffel of CBC in Tripoli
quote:Are these Gadhafi's Gucci's? Locals say these shoes recovered from G's Tripoli compound after stormed by rebels. http://t.co/fflR2Ig
Items moved to grounds of Islamic Museum in #Tripoli from Gadhafi compound include this exercise machine. #Libya http://t.co/xtFYTJt
Was at the Islamic Museum (renovations stopped by revolution) when locals showed us a whole pile of what they say are Gadhafi's belongings.
Gold embossed tea set. Kitchen appliances. Bikes. Robes and clothing. Museum holding onto a piece of Libyan history, locals say.
Tom Rayner of Sky News of Tripoli this morning
quote:For the 2nd night running the amount of celebratory gunfire in Tripoli has dramatically reduced - warnings from Imams clearly being heeded.
Heading out shortly to chase up a few leads on further mass graves, then potentially we're back out into the desert..
Expecting large movement of technical fighting vehicles towards Bani Walid today - getting in place to react to TNC's saturday ultimatum
Jenan Moussa of Al Aan TV in Tripoli
quote:Head of #tripoli military council Belhaj confirms to me that #baniwalid and #sert are giving refugee to #gaddafi & family members.
Head of #tripoli military council Belhaj tells me in interview: #Saadi #gaddafi is considering surrender and it can happen any moment
Belhaj tells me in interview:If negotiations 2 enter #sert & #baniwalid peacefully are not fruitfull, we will use force.
Belhaj tells me as well: #saadi #gaddafi told us that #gaddafi is an old man and we all make mistakes.
Belhaj: #saadi asked that his dad #gaddafi doesn't stand trial.We said he'll b treated fairly, those who did mistakes will b tried
Here is my full interview with Abdul Hakim Belhaj, Head of #tripoli military council: http://bit.ly/pjT3w8 (arabic)
Piers Scholfield on the BBC in Misrata
quote:2 families arrived at rebel base from #Sirte with white flag flying. Misrata fighters turned them back, saying they had strict orders.
#Sirte resident told me conditions there terrible: no electricity, short on basic supplies - "like living in a prison" - people are afraid.
People of #Sirte are waiting for rebels to arrive, resident told me. Not many people support Gaddafi there, just his own tribe.
Misratan fighters under orders not to allow anyone into Misrata, for fear of fifth columnists. Say it will change after Saturday.
Frederik Pleitgen of CNN in Misrata
quote:Amid all the revolutionary graffiti in Tripoli, I've seen lots of the Amazigh (Berber) emblem painted by rebels from Amazigh areas
Andrew Simmons of AJE in Misrata
quote:Misrata at Eid: Some normality at first sight. But beneath it real worry about the likely fight for Sirte.
Spent part of Eid with fighters on the road to Sirte, taking their barbecue feast. Everyone I spoke to hoping GF will do a deal on Sirte.
Appears to me the majority of Misrata fighters feel there's been enough bloodshed already. They'll take orders but hope GF surrender.
Misrata fighters worried about civilian casualties with a move on Sirte. Say GF will be using human shields.
Earlier report on road to Sirte http://aje.me/nK3xXz Updated package now filed and will air on AJE through the night and maybe Thurs am.
Colleague Hoda Abdel-Hamid back in Libya, on frontline East of Sirte. Follow her! @HodaAH
Neal Mann of Sky News to the east of Sirte
quote:Very quiet day on the eastern front, rebels moving artillery forward but commanders say no attack on Sirte until at least Saturday
I've uploaded new photos to my gallery from Eastern Libya, you can see them here http://t.co/b5ATYRE
A medic exhumes the body of a pro-Gaddafi soldier who was buried in a road side grave after an air strike http://t.co/SICiJd6
And this morning
quote:Another hot day in Libya, friendly fire incident around the compound we were staying in last night provided a bit of excitement
Jonny Hallam of Sky News to the east of Sirte
quote:#FF on eastern front said they had found 10500 Plastic anti personnel mines in boxes in a Sidrah warehouse left my Pro-G.
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Sep 1, 2011 08:39
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Russia recognizes Libya's Transitional Council
quote:Russia recognized Libya's ruling interim council as the country's legitimate authority on Thursday, moving to increase its influence on postwar reconstruction and protect its economic interests in the oil-producing North African nation.
France unblocks Libya cash, "unaware" of oil deal
quote:France has approval to release 1.5 billion euros ($2.16 billion) of Libyan assets to help the country's interim ruling council rebuild the country, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Thursday.
The minister also said he was unaware of a reported deal between France and Libya's interim rulers that would grant the former access to a large share of Libya's oil.
Juppe, interviewed on RTL radio shortly before the start of an international conference on Libya in Paris, said the situation in Libya had largely stabilised and it was now time to help the interim rulers after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
France revealed on Wednesday that it had asked the United Nations Sanctions Committee to unfreeze 1.5 billion euros of a total 7.6 billion euros in assets parked in French banks.
"We have to help the National Transitional Council because the country is devastated, the humanitarian situation is difficult and there's a lack of water, electricity and fuel," Juppe said.
The French newspaper Liberation reported on Thursday that it had obtained a letter showing that the National Transitional Council had agreed in April to give France priority access to 35 percent of Libya's oil.
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Sep 1, 2011 09:11
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Sky News visits Tarhouna, southeast of Tripoli, which everyone seems to have forgotten about
quote:Tension As Support For Gaddafi Slips Away
Entering the towns and villages south of Tripoli is an unnerving experience; out here you are never absolutely certain who is in charge.
The rebel checkpoints on the front line warn it is too dangerous to go further. But in reality, on the outer fringes of this battlefield that now stretches over 100 miles from Tripoli, nobody is really certain what is going on.
A rebel commander on the road to Bani Walid said he was awaiting orders to either negotiate with the Gaddafi forces inside the city or to attack.
He said Nato was aware that the city was now a staging point for retreating government troops who may head north to Sirte or south to Sabha.
"I will do whatever they want. Attack or talk. Whatever I am ordered," said Colonel Abujella Ali al Hebshey.
n some towns the green flags of Gaddafi's regime still adorn buildings and fly as bunting over the streets into town. We drive by locals who stare at us with astonishment.
No foreigners have made it here, nobody from the battle for Tripoli has come to find out what is happening in these isolated communities.
But in the centre of Tarhuna people quickly surround our car, shaking our hands and waving the rebel flag.
What struck us all is that here, a town I have passed through many times while escorted by Gaddafi minders, is divided but seemingly at peace.
The two flags - the Gaddafi green and the revolutionary black, green and red - are flying side by side.
"We do not want to fight each other," one man told me.
"In reality everyone supports the revolution of February 17 but there are some who feel sad that they have lost the war. But 100% they can carry on like that. We are brothers there will be no problems," he said.
After all of the chaos of the past couple of weeks, finally I was standing in a community that says compromise is what is needed.
Perhaps the experience of Tarhuna can be replicated nationwide. If only this sense of fairness and understanding could be bottled; it should be sent to Sirte straight away.
Only a few weeks ago I walked through the centre of Sirte surrounded by Gaddafi supporters. The numbers were not huge but I think that actually reflected a city that calls their leaders their own.
The people seemed totally convinced that a stalemate had been reached and that a compromise, that included Gaddafi and his sons remaining as major players in the new Libya, would be negotiated.
Those days have long gone. Gaddafi and the fools who represent him still are finished.
Many of those who endured their threats and listened to their abject lies and perversion of facts can hardly wait for their day of reckoning before the appropriate authorities arrive. It won't be long.
On the outskirts of Tarhuna enthusiastic youths with a few more mature, gun-carrying rebels alongside, are tearing down the last signs of Gaddafi; replacing them with the new colours and new flags of the new regime.
For the first time in 42 years the start of Eid hasn't been dictated by Gaddafi himself and he is no longer in charge.
This country and these people will never forget this day.
Here's the latest NATO report
quote:Sorties conducted 31 AUGUST: 110
Strike sorties conducted 31 AUGUST: 34
Key Hits 31 AUGUST:
In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Command and Control Node, 5 Surface to Air Missile Transloaders, 1 Armed Vehicle, 1 Tank, 4 Surface to Air Missile Launchers, 1 Multiple Rocket Launcher.
In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Ammo Storage Facility, 1 Command and Control Node.
In the vicinity of Hun: 1 Radar, 1 Military Support Vehicle.
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Sep 1, 2011 09:33
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- Zedsdeadbaby
- Jun 14, 2008
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You have been called out, in the ways of old.
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http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/08/2011831151258728747.html
What a surprise, USA shows its true colours yet again.
quote:Al Jazeera news producer Jamal Elshayyal recently gained access to the Tripoli headquarter of Libya's intelligence agency. Among the documents scattered throughout the demolished building were secret files indicating that influential Americans advised Muammar Gaddafi since the beginning of the Libyan uprising. Here is his account of the discovery:
The destruction by NATO airstrikes of Libya's intelligence headquarters at the heart of Tripoli has transformed the once-feared building into a symbol of how Gaddafi's regime has been all but toppled.
Guarding the compound are dozens of armed rebel fighters, some of them told me their friends and families went missing as a direct result of "intelligence" gathered by those who worked in the building.
It's fair to assume that among the rubble and ransacked offices, are some of the darkest, deepest secrets of Gaddafi's regime. I'm looking for files entitled "Lockerbie" or "IRA", but the place is a mess.
I'm taken to the office of Abdullah Alsinnousi, head of Libya's intelligence service and one of the Gaddafi regime's most notorious and feared strong men.
Scattered on his desk are dozens of documents branded "top secret", but the rebels accompanying me aren't keen on me taking anything away. I find a folder titled "Moussa Al Sadr", who was the founder of the Amal movement, a Shia party in Lebanon, who went missing in Libya over 30 years ago. Within seconds, the folder is taken by my minder who said none of these documents can leave the compound.
In the room adjacent to Sinnousi's office is a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom kitted with a plush jacuzzi, an indication of the lush lifestyle led by the heads of the former regime. Sprawled on the bed a rebel fighter was taking an afternoon nap. The scene is almost surreal. "Gosh, how times change," I whispered.
Communication with US officials
I managed to smuggle away some documents, among them some that indicate the Gaddafi regime, despite its constant anti-American rhetoric – maintained direct communications with influential figures in the US.
I found what appeared to be the minutes of a meeting between senior Libyan officials – Abubakr Alzleitny and Mohammed Ahmed Ismail – and David Welch, former assistant secretary of state under George W Bush. Welch was the man who brokered the deal to restore diplomatic relations between the US and Libya in 2008.
Papers and files were strewn about the offices of Libya's intelligence agency [Evan Hill/Al Jazeera]
Welch now works for Bechtel, a multinational American company with billion-dollar construction deals across the Middle East. The documents record that, on August 2, 2011, David Welch met with Gaddafi's officials at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo, just a few blocks from the US embassy.
During that meeting Welch advised Gaddafi's team on how to win the propaganda war, suggesting several "confidence-building measures", according to the documents. The documents appear to indicate that an influential US political personality was advising Gaddafi on how to beat the US and NATO.
Minutes of this meeting record his advice on how to undermine Libya's rebel movement, with the potential assistance of foreign intelligence agencies, including Israel.
The documents read: "Any information related to al-Qaeda or other terrorist extremist organisations should be found and given to the American administration but only via the intelligence agencies of either Israel, Egypt, Morroco, or Jordan… America will listen to them… It's better to receive this information as if it originated from those countries...".
The papers also document Welch advising the Gaddafi's regime to take advantage of the current unrest in Syria. The documents held this passage: "The importance of taking advantage of the Syrian situation particularly regarding the double-standard policy adopted by Washington… the Syrians were never your friends and you would loose nothing from exploiting the situation there in order to embarrass the West."
'Encouragement to Gaddafi'
Despite this apparent encouragement to Gaddafi to pursue a propaganda campaign at the expense of Syria, the documents claim Welch attacked Qatar, describing Doha's actions as "cynical" and an attempt to divert attention from the unrest in Bahrain.
The documents allege that Welch went on to propose the following solution to the crisis which he said many would support in the US administration: "[Gaddafi] should step aside" but "not necessarily relinquish all his powers".
This advice is a clear contradiction of public demands from the White House that Gaddafi must be removed.
According to the document, as the meeting closed, Welch promised: "To convey everything to the American administration, the congress and other influential figures."
In one of the high-ranking officer's offices, several old portraits of Gaddafi sat on the floor [Evan Hill/Al Jazeera]
It appears Welch was not the only prominent American giving help to Gaddafi as NATO and the rebel army were locked in battle with his regime.
On the floor of the intelligence chief's office lay an envelope addressed to Gaddafi's son Saif Al-Islam. Inside, I found what appears to be a summary of a conversation between US congressman Denis Kucinich, who publicly opposed US policy on Libya, and an intermediary for the Libyan leader's son.
It details a request by the congressman for information he needed to lobby US lawmakers to suspend their support for the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) and to put an end to NATO airstrikes.
According to the document, Kucinich wanted evidence of corruption within the NTC and, like Welch, any possible links within rebel ranks to al-Qaeda.
The document also lists specific information needed to defend Saif Al-Islam, who is currently on the International Criminal Court's most-wanted list.
Scattered across the headquarters were smashed frames holding "the brother leader's" pictures, powerful images which depict Gaddafi's sudden fall from grace.
It took six months to topple Gaddafi's regime, but the colonel did rule for over forty years. During his reign thousands of people went missing, planes were blown up, and billion-dollar deals were struck in the most dubious of circumstances.
Finding out the true story behind all this will take a long time, and even then there are some things that will never be known.
A spokesperson for the US state department said that David Welch is "a private citizen" who was on a "private trip" and that he did not carry "any messages from the US government". Welch has not responded to Al Jazeera's requests for comment.
Dennis Kucinich issued a statement to the Atlantic Wire stating: "Al Jazeera found a document written by a Libyan bureaucrat to other Libyan bureaucrats. All it proves is that the Libyans were reading the Washington Post... I can't help what the Libyans put in their files... Any implication I was doing anything other than trying to bring an end to an unauthorised war is fiction."
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Sep 1, 2011 09:42
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Hoda Abdel-Hamid has been tweeting about the negotiations with Sirte
quote:meeting between TNC defence min and #Sirte tribal leaders ongoing now. will update later
talks with tribal leaders stalled. delegation came back, hoping they will happen at some point today
#TNC def. min says he does not believe G or his sons are in #Sirte.
quote:Libya's new leaders believe Gaddafi is hiding in Bani Walid, according to Reuters, but the sourcing still appears sketchy.
quote: Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to be in the desert town of Bani Walid, about 150 (95 miles) southeast of Tripoli, a top military commander of Libya's interim council said on Thursday.
Abdel Majid, the coordinator of the Tripoli military operations room, told Reuters "someone we trust" had said Gaddafi had gone there with his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi three days after Tripoli fell last week.
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Sep 1, 2011 10:32
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- Zedsdeadbaby
- Jun 14, 2008
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You have been called out, in the ways of old.
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zalderach posted:
^^^ One idiot Congressman and a former Bush Jr. cronie is not the USA.
So you're saying the USA cannot control their politicians' interactions with rogue states and dictators and allows them to be propped up? Fantastic.
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Sep 1, 2011 11:27
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- Nenonen
- Oct 22, 2009
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Can't post for 11 hours!
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Zedsdeadbaby posted:
So you're saying the USA cannot control their politicians' interactions with rogue states and dictators and allows them to be propped up? Fantastic.
How would you suggest the government of a liberal country might 'control' their citizens from meeting whomever they want? It's none of the government's business. Only countries like North Korea work that way.
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Sep 1, 2011 11:38
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- Goatse James Bond
- Mar 28, 2010
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If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead
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I'm not sure I see the systemic problem with Kucinich's visit - he's taking his reliable anti-war stance a little far and is a bit of a doofus for listening to the Gaddafi regime, but I see no compelling reason for legislators to not make up their own minds on any given conflict.
Providing direct aid and comfort to a regime on the opposite end of an armed conflict is something else entirely, and while it would be nice for Welch's reputation to suffer, I am not going to hold my breath.
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Sep 1, 2011 11:39
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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quote:Black Libyans facing reprisal attacks for their perceived role as mercenary fighters, need protection, an EU humanitarian team in Tripoli has warned.
In a briefing on the team's work, the EU's humanitarian office, said the team had identified civil protection for this group and others as a key priority.
It said:
quote: Protection of the civilian population (a major concern is the Sub Saharan African population) and ex-combatants, as abuses by both parties to the conflict are being reported and evidence of mass killings is being discovered;
On Wednesday Amnesty warned that black Libyans were in danger of abuse after its team witnessed black Libyans being targeted in Tripoli.
The EU team also expressed growing alarm about water supplies.
quote:Much of Tripoli's water supply has been disrupted. The damaged installations are awaiting the safe passage of engineers. 30 wells have reopened allowing a limited amount of water to get into the distribution system. Bottled water is still available in Tripoli, but becoming increasingly expensive. It is reported that many houses in the city still have private wells. Some water trucking is already taking place from the wells in and around Tripoli.
The water supply situation is still of major concern to the international humanitarian community, and we are ready to intervene on a short notice if the situation does not improve. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has launched a pre-alert, asking Member States to indicate whether they can provide water tankers or bottled water in case the water crisis deteriorates and further needs are confirmed.
quote:Algeria's foreign minister says his government is certain that al-Qaeda's north African branch has obtained weapons on the black market that has flourished during the civil war in neighboring Libya.
Mourad Medelci says that countries across north Africa have seen proof "on the ground" that al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the instability in Libya to procure new weapons with which to expand its activities.
"It's not just a worry or a feeling, it's a certainty," Medelci said in an interview on French radio station Europe 1.
Medelci is in Paris to participate in an international conference seeking to map Libya's future.
The diplomat said that Libya is "vulnerable" during its transition to al-Qaeda members taking refuge within its borders. - Reuters
quote:Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to be in the desert town of Bani Walid, about 150km southeast of Tripoli, a top military commander of Libya's interim council said on Thursday.
Abdel Majid, the coordinator of the Tripoli military operations room, told Reuters "someone we trust" had said Gaddafi had gone there with his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi three days after Tripoli fell last week. - Reuters
quote:Reuters has more on the surrender negotiations with Saadi Gaddafi.
quote: The head of Tripoli's military council, Abdul Hakim Belhadj, told Reuters he had spoken to Saadi by telephone and had promised him decent treatment if he surrenders.
"We want to spare bloodletting, therefore negotiation and surrender is preferable," Belhadj said. "If this does not happen there is no other way except a military solution."
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Sep 1, 2011 11:49
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News just posted a great blog update that details life in Tripoli at the moment, well worth a read if you want to see how things are changing on the ground
quote:High Velocity Celebration - Tripoli After Gaddafi
It’s all about cohesion really, which you can’t buy, measure or pump from a tank, but if a city has it then, well, you feel you can do anything.
And that is Tripoli just now. Imagine: The Colonel turfed out right in the final days of Ramadan leading to the feast and dancing of the Eid festival, which under the old regime you couldn’t even celebrate on the streets let alone in Green Square, now Martyrs’ Square.
It’s the equivalent of winning the war and still, just, having a day or so to finish Christmas shopping in time for the big day.
No wonder the revolutionaries feel they’ve God on their side – some timing!
And so to life here in this atmosphere. For now, a street party must have those peculiar ingredients of no alcohol (obviously); as many large drums as you can lay hands on, and guns, lots of guns.
High-velocity celebration
Deafening Kalashnikovs last night with 10,000 gathered for Eid in Martyrs’ Square. Show-offs set the catch to auto and fire blasts. Big show-offs bring their Toyota pick-ups with anti-aircraft guns welded to the flatbeds. It’s friendly beyond belief and as with any good party, only a few people get shot. And even then only accidentally.
One lad, standing near us last night took a stray round in the back; no hard feelings it seemed, as he lost consciousness, and they do bring along plenty of ambulances to deal with the by-product of high-velocity celebration. Already enough shops are open to make sure that you’ve got that new set of outfits in time for Eid, for all the family. Or that the lads on the roadblocks can have silver trays of cakes to offer drivers they flag down, these days more for a chat than a search.
Most roadblocks have gone anyhow, there being little perceived threat to check for. In any case the NTC’s putting it out over the mobile phone network, that if you hand in your AK 47 you get a wadge of cash – they’ve more than $5m set aside for just this.
Profiteering
There’s even water – of sorts. They tanker it in to various districts which means most of us have it for 3 or 4 hours each day. Given you run a bath to store some up for flushing the loo etc, it’s all pretty manageable. It’s a tad brown. But, caught more than once without bottle water, I’ve drunk it with no discernible illness.
There’s even a little bread appearing here and there, though as with petrol stations you need to set aside the morning, bring a good book, and settle in for a long, long wait. At some forecourts long lines of cars snake off down the road simply left by the owners until word gets out that the pumps are running.
Life is not so easy at the banks where I’ve seen lots of fed-up punters beseiging the banks for cash. ATMs won’t work and plastic? Well that scarcely works these days in some EU countries like Greece. So Libya? Forget the idea.
Of course there’s war profiteering and those who run the Radisson and Corinthia Hotels must be laughing all the way to the bank. A stay at the Radisson, with no food or water for much of last week, will set you back hundreds of dollars per night. You get a room that may or may not lock; will rarely be cleaned and for a while was in direct line of fire.
At the Corinthia they do have food but will charge you at least $60 for a plate of rice and a bit of meat. Ask for a bottle of water or can of Pepsi and you’re at $70+ a head. Talk about incentivising doing a runner.
Although if you did, you might, just possibly, run into a policeman. A what? Yes I know- weird idea but someone out in uniform to enforce what they call, the law. We saw a couple yesterday in a patrol car, for the first time in Tripoli. In fact for me it was for the first time in Libya. How far their writ runs isn’t clear. But they are coming out and the gunmen are going indoors it seems. Britain recently cleared over a billion Libyan dinars to pay such public employees.
Learning lessons from Iraq
Rebels are already directly paying squadrons of Malian foreign workers to get the battered airport up and running as soon as…
The smart money says Qatar’s airline will want to be first in, that state having bankrolled so much of the revolutionary war. Word is, Libya’s airline simply gave its pilots leave of absence to fight, but it must be expecting them back in the cockpits in the coming weeks. Sure, there are a few burned out Airbuses out on the tarmac but the runway, they tell me, is good to go.
And as the National Transitional Council announcements have said on the mobile phone network only those with blood on their hands need face justice.
The average cop, civil servant and so forth from the Gaddafi regime is welcome back at their desks. True, the desk might well have been pulverised by a Nato 1000lb bomb along with the entire department building – but the point is that the NTC says it is learning from the mistakes of Iraq; sweep away the entire system and you further destroy the country.
Welcome the bureaucrats back (when the bureau’s rebuilt) and you’ve got the know-how. Plus a bunch of public employees appreciative of the fact they still have jobs, rather than being strung up from the nearest lamp-post. Public-service political impartiality gearing up for action in Tripoli, of all places. Well, insha’Allah.
Of course the hard bit’s yet to come in this city, perhaps inadvertently summed up in my favourite piece of second-language grafitti here:
“Libya! Freedoom!”
But, for now it is the Eid holiday. A pause. A time to try and drink in what has happened across this city, where another simple grafitti slogan captures the mood, the practicality, the possibility of the new reality:
“I love this year – 2011″
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Sep 1, 2011 12:20
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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A few odd tweets from different areas of Libya
Derek Stoffel of CBC in Tripoli
quote:Here in #Tripoli, huge shipment of drinking water has arrived. Being distributed to homes today. Eid celebrations continue. Somewhat quiet.
Neal Mann of Sky News, east of Sirte
quote:Near the rebel front lines again, rebels firing artillery - not quite a ceasefire...
A reminder that you can see all the stills I'm filing from #Libya here http://t.co/su2f09y
Apologies for lack of tweets, I'm tweeting via a Bgan so can only do it when it's fired up...
Paul Danahar of the BBC in Tripoli
quote:"We are free for ever" scrawled in big black letters on a checkpoint in #Libya Just about sums the mood of the place up
Have to admire ingenuity of local #Libya checkpoints. Seen chicanes made of spent artillery shells, sofas, shot up cars & washing machines..
Written at ancient ruins of Sabratha: Locals formed armed guards so their history not left at mercy of art thieves in way #Iraq was.
It's good to see that the predicted humanitarian disaster that some people thought would happen in Tripoli is seeming less and less likely each day that passes. Tripoli seems to be quieter and more secure as time goes on, and some of the lessons from Iraq are clearly being learnt and put to good use.
[edit] Our Lizzie is back!
quote:In the last few hours Lizzie Phelan has contacted Global Civilians for Peace to announce she is now safely back in the UK but is heartbroken to have left Libya under the circumstances. She said a Western-backed genocide is taking place in Libya and there are now no longer any independent journalists in Libya covering the story. It is therefore vital that the people who support the campaign, increase their efforts in spreading the truth of the Libyan conflict as far and wide as possible. She expressed thanks to all those who were concerned for her safety but said it is of most importance to fight for truth and justice on behalf of the Libyan people.
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Sep 1, 2011 12:50
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Gaddafi has been up to some Bond villian level stuff under Libya
quote:Speculation about the whereabouts of Gaddafi and how he got out of Tripoli has begun to focus on an underground network of water tunnels.
The German newspaper Sued Deutsche, carried this report, translated by Wrold Crunch.
quote: This gigantic system of tunnels linking different parts of the country are part of a €17bn project called the 'Great Man-Made River' that Gaddafi ordered built in 1984. What it does – in high concrete tubes -- is carrying fossil water beneath the desert to Tripoli and Benghazi. European and Korean engineers were involved in the construction that Gaddafi likes to portray as one of the modern wonders of the world.
However, the American secret services have long suspected that the installation, which also purifies water, has some sort of military purpose. They do not exclude that Gaddafi has some tanks and rockets stashed there, away from the reach of the destruction by NATO bombs.
So perhaps right now, Gaddafi is tucked somewhere along his artificial underground river. After all, Iraq's Saddam Hussein was found in a hole in the earth.
A 1997 New York Times article on the project reported engineers' suspicion that the project was built for military purposes.
An AJE interview with the recently arrested Libyan Foreign Minister
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ATKIgE_kRs
This is an interesting report about the delivery of cash to Benghazi from the UK
quote:The Two Sides of Libya’s Rebels
The challenges facing Libya as it tries to build a new government after 42 years of Gaddafi rule were all on display at Benghazi airport last night. A huge RAF jet loomed out of the darkness carrying 40 tonnes of banknotes – 280 million dinars worth of crisp bills which had been printed in Britain, but seized aboard the Sloman Provider after her crew had decided not to proceed to Libya in the early months of the uprising.
It was the first shipment of frozen cash to arrive back on Libyan soil. David Cameron himself had overseen the logistics, keen that Britain’s key role in backing the rebels was on display on the eve of the Paris conference today.
But what happened next shows the potential fault-lines within the nascent government. Security was tight, as you might expect in a city awash with weapons. A blue ring of armed police officers formed around the cargo plane as forklift trucks began to unload the pallet-loads of cash. Outside them stood a second ring, this one made up of khaki-clad militiamen who had fought for the rebels.
The policemen, looking smart in their new uniforms, have been trained and equipped by Britain. Law and order – the security of fragile states – has become something of a British export industry.
The militiamen, however, represented a different side of Libya. They were members of an Islamist unit, the February 17 Martyrs Brigade, whose presence has alarmed neighbours of Libya such as Algeria as well as diplomats in Benghazi. They too have smart new uniforms and body armour, thanks to their benefactors in Qatar.
For now, though, the two are working in harmony, united in their goal of securing Libya and rooting out Gaddafi and his sons. The question is whether they will work together once their common enemy is gone – a common enemy, whose image is printed on each of the brand new one dinar notes that arrived last night. Brown Moses fucked around with this message at 13:12 on Sep 1, 2011
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Sep 1, 2011 13:08
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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quote:A series of EU sanctions against Libya have now been lifted foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced.
In a statement [pdf] she said:
quote:Today, the EU has lifted its asset freeze on 28 Libyan entities. Our goal is to provide resources to the interim government and the Libyan people and help to make the economy function again.
Today's decision concerns in particular Libyan ports, as well as the energy and banking sectors. The EU has acted swiftly in the light of the developments on the ground.
This is a clear sign of the EU's determination to do its utmost to support the people of Libya and the interim authorities during the transition. quote:Gaddafi loyalists have been given another week to surrender from their stronghold of Sirte, according to Reuters.
They were warned of a military assault against the town on Saturday if they had failed to surrender by then. But Reuters quoted an unnamed official as saying that this deadline has extended by a week.
Good to see sanctions are being lifted, and Sirte is being given time to surrender. I don't think Bani Walid is going to get the same treatement if they really believe Gaddafi is hiding there. I also saw this tweet which reflects the changing situation in Tripoli and Libyans attitude to European journalists very nicely
quote:Greatest remaining threat in Tripoli is Libyan hospitality. Last night, guy who directed me to a store tailed me and bought the groceries.
Neal Mann has also produced a Facebook album of photos taken on the front east of Sirte
There's also this gallary of pictures from Gaddafi's underground water tunnels.
Brown Moses fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Sep 1, 2011
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Sep 1, 2011 13:58
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- annatar
- Jan 14, 2007
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hellol
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The man made river thing to me just looks like a megaproject that most countries political leaderships are able to reject due to too mad, not especially sinister without actual evidence to the contrary.
lol country / contrary (1am posting blues)
annatar fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Sep 1, 2011
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Sep 1, 2011 14:55
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- Golbez
- Oct 9, 2002
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1 2 3!
If you want to take a shot at me get in line, line
1 2 3!
Baby, I've had all my shots and I'm fine
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Zedsdeadbaby posted:
So you're saying the USA cannot control their politicians' interactions with rogue states and dictators and allows them to be propped up? Fantastic.
Yeah, if only we were more like Libya.
Getting away from this dead horse, has there been any news on Younis and why he was killed?
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Sep 1, 2011 15:04
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Last I saw was in this Economist article
quote:Relations between the NTC and the katibas were brought to crisis point by the assassination on July 28th of Abdel Fatah Younis, a defecting general who became the NTC’s top military commander and may have wanted to bring the militias under centralised control. The circumstances surrounding the killing have yet to be explained. NTC judges had issued an arrest warrant for General Younis on suspicion that he had made unauthorised contact with Colonel Qaddafi, but the killers themselves are reported to have been rogue katiba fighters with a personal vendetta against the one-time Qaddafi loyalist.
They may have been members of the Abu Ubeidah Ibn al-Jarrah brigade, said to be a force of former political prisoners, some of them radical Islamists. After Younis’s death, the brigade was reportedly dissolved, and the NTC has turned him into a martyr, standing for proper military discipline. Posters of the confident, neatly uniformed general smilingly greet motorists on several of Benghazi’s main streets.
In the aftermath of Younis’s assassination, katiba members swear that they answer to the orders of the NTC. “We all have the same goal. We all want to end this,” says Muftah Barrati, a senior official at the camp of one of Benghazi’s largest katibas, the 17 February Martyrs Brigade. “When this is complete, we all will return to our jobs.” He himself was a financial manager for the computer company of Mustafa Sigizli, a businessman who helped set up the brigade. Rebels, with no former jobs to return to, may be given the option of joining a national army.
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Sep 1, 2011 15:07
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- Jut
- May 16, 2005
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by Ralp
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annatar posted:
The man made river thing to me just looks like a megaproject that most countries political leaderships are able to reject due to too mad, not especially sinister without actual evidence to the country.
It's the kind of project that only a dictatorship could build (see Dubai's towers and artificial islands, Romania's People's Palace, Germany's autobahns etc...)
Also with the Black people thing, can the media please not let this be buried in the news. If CQ was doing this it would be front page stuff, but just because the rebels are the 'bad guys' it should mean they are allowed to get away with what amounts to war crimes.
Jut fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Sep 1, 2011
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Sep 1, 2011 15:09
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Jut posted:
Also with the Black people thing, can the media please not let this be buried in the news. If CQ was doing this it would be front page stuff, but just because the rebels are the 'bad guys' it should mean they are allowed to get away with what amounts to war crimes.
In the Channel 4 blog post I posted earlier I noticed this line
quote:Rebels are already directly paying squadrons of Malian foreign workers to get the battered airport up and running as soon as…
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Sep 1, 2011 15:15
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- Jut
- May 16, 2005
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by Ralp
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I thought this was dead in the water, but gently caress me it doesn't half look good now that the outside is finished.
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Sep 1, 2011 15:50
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- Golbez
- Oct 9, 2002
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1 2 3!
If you want to take a shot at me get in line, line
1 2 3!
Baby, I've had all my shots and I'm fine
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Jut posted:
I thought this was dead in the water, but gently caress me it doesn't half look good now that the outside is finished.
It's so shiny and modern. Shame that the glass is encasing concrete that I wouldn't want to put any weight on. Right now I think it's simply the world's most ostentatious cell tower (in a country with one cell phone).
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Sep 1, 2011 15:59
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- Brown Moses
- Feb 22, 2002
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Confirmed, Gaddafi is NOT a woman:
quote:Reuters reported the Libya's Muammar Gaddafi called on his supporters to set Libya alight, vowed that his backers would not give up and said those against him were divided, news channels reported.
"Let there be a long fight and let Libya be engulfed in flames," Gaddafi was quoted as saying in a message.
Brief headlines outlining the message were first carried by Al Arabiya television. It said it was citing a message to be broadcast by the Syrian-owned al-Rai channel, which later issued similar headlines. Al-Rai said a voice message would follow.
"We will not give up. We are not women. We will continue fighting," Gaddafi was quoted as saying in a headline carried by al-Rai channel.
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Sep 1, 2011 16:00
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 6, 2024 03:48
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- Korak
- Nov 29, 2007
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TV FACIST
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Brown Moses posted:
Confirmed, Gaddafi is NOT a woman:
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Sep 1, 2011 16:12
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Aug 31, 2011 21:08
