Libyan Revolution Week 15

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/NATO-Says-Libyas-Leader-is-Hiding--122382754.html">NATO Says Libya's Leader is 'Hiding'
A NATO spokesman says the alliance's air campaign over Libya has effectively forced leader Moammar Gadhafi into hiding.
http://video.ft.com/v/946393675001/Libyan-cash-may-be-hidden-in-desert">Libyan cash may be hidden in desert - video
Farhat Bengdara was, until he defected, at the heart of the Libyan regime as central bank governor.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,763839,00.html">'I Am No Longer Gadhafi's Ambassador'
Libya's ambassador to Germany has distanced himself from the dictator in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Gadhafi+hometown+rebels+sights/4821191/story.html">Gadhafi's hometown in rebels' sights
Libyan rebels could be poised to begin the first siege of a town loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi as they attempt to cut off the Libyan leader's home city of Sirte.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,763537,00.html">A Look at the Root Causes of the Arab Revolution
In a SPIEGEL interview, French social scientist Emmanuel Todd discusses the demographic roots of the Arab revolution, which he argues was spurred by rising literacy and rapidly shrinking birth rates.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/21/uk-libya-idUKTRE74E1I420110521">Libya rebels say government shells port city
Libyan government forces shelled residential areas on Saturday outside Misrata, a port city held by rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, a rebel website said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/21/uk-libya-journalists-idUKTRE74K1I420110521">Libya crowd attacks bus carrying foreign journalists
Libyans armed with guns and a knife stormed a bus carrying foreign journalists on Saturday and a soldier fired volleys of gunfire into the air to disperse the crowd, a Reuters journalist on the bus said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/21/uk-libya-usa-obama-idUKTRE74K08920110521">Obama, on Libya deadline, welcomes Congress support
U.S. President Barack Obama, facing criticism from some lawmakers that U.S. military action against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is about to become illegal, said on Friday the mission would benefit from congressional support.
http://feb17.info/news/more-than-45000-libyan-refugees-in-tataouine/">More than 45,000 Libyan refugees in Tataouine
More than 45,000 Libyan refugees are presently housed in the Tataouine region.
http://www.economist.com/node/18713965">Libya's disputed oil:Better for the rebels
Both sides are failing to pump or sell oil, but the rebels are in better shape
http://www.economist.com/node/18709571">Responsibility to protect: The lessons of Libya
Outsiders had good reason to intervene in Libya. But their cause may suffer from it
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/16/polands-foreign-minister-on-libyas-future-2/">Poland's foreign minister on Libya's future
This week, I flew to Benghazi to meet Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC), a visit coordinated with European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton and NATO allies.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/447183">Libyan refugees arriving in Egypt surpass 122,000
Around 122,000 Libyans fleeing the violence shaking their country have arrived in Egypt to date, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
http://www.680news.com/news/world/article/229844--eu-opens-diplomatic-office-in-rebel-city-of-benghazi-promises-support-for-democratic-libya">EU opens diplomatic office in rebel city of Benghazi, promises support for democratic Libya
In a boost to Libya's rebels, the European Union opened a diplomatic office Sunday in their eastern stronghold and pledged support for a democratic Libya where Moammar Gadhafi "will not be in the picture."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43131705/ns/world_news-europe">France, NATO to deploy helicopters in Libya: source
France and other members of the NATO-led coalition plan to deploy attack helicopters in Libya, a French diplomatic source said on Monday, a move aimed at ramping up pressure against Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13502715">Libya: 'Forced to rape in Misrata'
Was there a systematic campaign of rape by forces loyal to Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi during the battle for Misrata?
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1640934.php/Turkey-recognizes-Libyan-rebels">Turkey recognizes Libyan rebels
Turkey's foreign minister recognized Libya's Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC) as a representative of the Libyan people during a visit to Ankara on Monday by the council's chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-24/nato-slams-tripoli-with-heaviest-strikes-since-start-of-bombing-campaign.html">NATO Strikes Tripoli Vowing to Raise Pressure on Libyan Leader Qaddafi
NATO aircraft struck targets in Tripoli as the coalition intensified its attacks on forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/world/africa/24libya.html?_r=1">NATO Bombs Tripoli in Heaviest Strikes Yet
In the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-month-old NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli early Tuesday, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s command compound.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-24/news/29578030_1_rebel-held-city-rebel-capital-rebel-commander">Libyan rebel city at last wins breathing room
With Gadhafi's forces out of range, shops open and checkpoints close in Misrata.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx8lutpA6Yc">Adjabiya, Libya - Use of Mines in Residential Areas - video
This (man points to mine on the table) one was found planted at the entrance of the city of Ajdabiya.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-invites-libyan-rebel-council-to-open-dc-office/2011/05/24/AFbYtTAH_story.html">U.S. invites Libyan rebel council to open D.C. office
A top envoy from the U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Libya’s rebel government would open an office in Washington, the latest indication that the United States views the rebels as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/libyans-robbed-our-own-bank-to-fund-uprising/2011/05/24/AFAPZhAH_singlePage.html">Libyans ‘robbed our own bank’ to fund uprising
In the days after Libya’s rebels rose up against Moammar Gaddafi, they faced a vexing challenge: How do you pay for a revolution?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-loIJ4-HdAfd3BZUYA3fHRK5Frg?docId=ea1bcd413e5b45429c9f43d8e5c5394d">US journalist held in Libya says she was beaten
A journalist from Connecticut detained in Libya for six weeks said Tuesday she was fired upon and then beaten when she was captured but later treated better as she was moved from prison to a luxurious hotel.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-24-clare-morgana-gillis-libya_n.htm">Reporter: 44 days in captivity in Libya 'insane'
She had been shot at, slugged in the face, tied up and dragged by her hair onto a flatbed truck by Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers, one of whom now sat on her legs. A friend and fellow journalist lay behind in the desert, bleeding to death.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/africa/25nato.html">Daunting Task for NATO in Libya as Strikes Intensify
Just after midnight on Sunday, an allied Mirage 2000 fighter jet prowling the Libyan coastline attacked a Libyan missile patrol boat that military officials said threatened NATO and humanitarian aid vessels in nearby waters.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-25/news/29582686_1_libyan-government-spokesman-libyan-army-libyan-capital">US bolsters standing of Libyan rebels
The Obama administration reached out yesterday to the Libyan rebels and said Moammar Khadafy would “inevitably’’ be forced from power as the US-backed NATO coalition launched a withering bombardment on the Libyan leader’s stronghold of Tripoli.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/we-were-just-told-to-kill-says-libyan-teen-soldier/story-e6frg6so-1226062270303">We were just told to kill, says Libyan teen soldier
THE young Libyan soldier showed almost no emotion as he described how his unit had raped four sisters, the youngest about 16, after breaking into a home in the besieged port of Misratah.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gnh0BMDVSY9EJyN35rIDx2eSzqLQ?docId=CNG.6d368e1b8c6c3ad77e8681f96fb6d5ee.ca1">Berlusconi dismisses claim NATO strike killed Kadhafi's son
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday dismissed a Libyan claim that an April 30 NATO air strike killed one of strongman Moamer Kadhafi's sons, the ANSA news agency reported.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/exclusive-battered-libya-sues-for-peace-2289133.html">Exclusive: Battered Libya sues for peace
The Libyan regime is preparing to make a fresh overture to the international community, offering concessions designed to end the bloodshed of the three-month-long civil war.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8537123/Libya-regime-negotiates-Col-Muammar-Gaddafis-position-for-first-time.html">Libya: regime negotiates Col Muammar Gaddafi's position for first time
Col Muammar Gaddafi might eventually step down as Libya's leader, a senior regime official said as military and diplomatic pressure on Tripoli intensified.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june11/libya_05-25.html">Journalist Foley Details 6 Weeks of Captivity in Libya: 'I Could Make it' - video
GlobalPost correspondent and producer James Foley was captured and imprisoned for six weeks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces while reporting in Libya. (Describes political persecution / torture.)
http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/115424-qaddafi-eats-libya-s-wealth-fund">Qaddafi Eats up Libya’s Wealth Fund
Banks like HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, Goldman Sachs, under the rule of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, held billions of dollars of Libyan State Fund.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/at-odds-over-libya/2011/05/25/AG1WdVBH_story.html">At odds over Libya
Each time he addresses the war in Libya, President Obama seems to contradict himself.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74Q0NE20110527">Heavy fighting breaks out in Misrata suburb
Rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi engaged in fierce fighting on the Western outskirts of the city of Misrata on Friday, a Reuters reporter said.
http://www.asianage.com/international/nato-says-gaddafi-forces-laid-landmines-around-misrata-189">NATO says Gaddafi forces laid landmines around Misrata
NATO on Friday accused forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi of laying landmines around the rebel-held city of Misrata to prevent the population from moving.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/27/uk-libya-idUKTRE74E1I420110527">Russia joins Western chorus for Gaddafi to go
Russia joined Western leaders on Friday in urging Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down and offered to mediate his departure, in an important boost to NATO powers seeking to end his 41-year rule.
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/89089/qaddafi-libya-tribes-ghanem-united-states">How to Topple Qaddafi
Why the West should focus on getting key tribes to abandon the Libyan leader.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/carlyle-group-took-118-million-from-libyan-fund-group-says.html">Carlyle Group Took $118 Million From Libyan Fund, Group Says
Buyout firm Carlyle Group accepted $118 million from the biggest sovereign-wealth fund in Libya, demonstrating the North African nation’s success in courting asset managers and banks after persuading Western politicians that it had dropped ties to terrorism.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/a-towering-perspective-on-libya/">A Towering Perspective on Libya
The first thing people tend to notice about Bryan Denton is that he is tall — very tall. There’s a reason for mentioning this, and we’ll get back to it before long. First, let’s talk about about Bryan and his work, and the year he is having.

Videos to bring the Libyan Revolution into context
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vChMDuNd0">The Battle of Benghazi. BBC Panorama on Libya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyaPnMnpCAA">Part 1, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzwQvcx62s">Part 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwWwOeZqz6M">Video of the convoy sent to take Benghazi, taken from a dead soliders cell phone (shows how massive the operation was). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAclhhHv43s&feature=player_embedded">Arab Awakening: Libya: Through the Fire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD5tu5bJWKc">Tea of Freedom Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z41kQvx4uKw">Libya: Part 2 - The Uprising http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNWCGDkdWY">Benghazi - Backbone of the Libyan revolution

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-10-0">March 10 7:28pm Saif al Islam Gaddafi says "the time has come for full-scale military action" against Libyan rebels. He goes on to say that Libyan forces loyal to his family "will never surrender, even if western powers intervene".

"One month ago (Western countries) were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats," Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone."Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. (But) soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game." - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058389,00.html">Saif Gaddafi

http://english.libya.tv/2011/04/25/eastern-libyans-believe-in-national-unity-distrust-au-and-turkish-mediation-survey-reveals/">The first free public opinion poll ever conducted in Libya reveals clues to Eastern Libyan sentiments
* 98 percent of the respondents do not support the division of Libya as a part of the political solution for the current conflict with the Gaddafi regime. Around 95 percent also don’t see any role for Gaddafi or his sons in a transitional period, and think it is impossible to implement any political reform in Libya if Gaddafi or one of his sons stays in power

* Around 96 percent of those polled, believe that the 17th of February revolution can consolidate the national unity of Libya and support the model of a democratic Libya based on a constitution which respects human rights

* Al-Qaeda has not played any role in the 17th of February revolution, say 94 percent of the Eastern Libyans, and 91 percent thinks it’s impossible for Al-Qaeda to play any political role in the new Libya

* The National Transitional Council is seen by 92 percent of those surveyed as “expressing the views and wishes of Libyans for change”

http://jenkinsear.com/2011/03/19/a-legal-war-the-united-nations-participation-act-and-libya/">A Legal War: The United Nations Participation Act and Libya
The above link is to an overview of why Obama's implementation of the NFZ and R2P is perfectly legal under the law. I will not post it entirely here, however, all objections come down to the misinformed position that Obama, by using forces in Libya, was invoking Article 43 of the United Nations. This is wrong. Obama invoked Article 42, which does not require congressional approval to implement. Proof of this is that Article 43 has http://www.un.org/en/sc/repertoire/actions.shtml#rel5">never been used.

It goes like this: The US law (Title 22, Chap. 7, Subchap. XIV § 287d) grants the President the right to invoke UN Article 42 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00000287---d000-.html">without authorization, the War Powers Act (Title 50, Chap. 33 § 1541) grants the President permission to act without authorization under http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/50/1541–1548.html">"specific statutory authorization" which, by definition, is what 287d does. § 1543 of the War Powers Act requires the President to report to Congress, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/obama_explains_libya_mission_to_congress/2011/03/03/ABU9377_blog.html">which he did. One can argue all day and night about the legality of the War Powers Act, doesn't change the fact that under the law as it is written, the President acted within the law.

Editorials worth reading.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/03/2011328194855872276.html">Libyan Karzai? Chalabi? Forget it, http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/04/04/110404taco_talk_anderson#ixzz1HvS7iW22">Who Are the Rebels?, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/vision-democratic-libya-interim-national-council">A vision of a democratic Libya, http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/is-qaddafi-an-anti-racist/">Is Qaddafi an anti-racist?, http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2011/04/20/left-slipping-towards-qaddafi">The left: slipping towards Gaddafi?, http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2011/04/27/once-again-“stop-bombing”">Once again on "stop the bombing", http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/an-open-letter-to-the-left-on-libya.html">An Open Letter to the Left on Libya, http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/top-ten-ways-that-libya-2011-is-not-iraq-2003.html">Top Ten Ways that Libya 2011 is Not Iraq 2003, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/09/110509fa_fact_anderson">Sons of the Revolution

Mohammed Nabbous, killed by Gaddafi's forces while trying to report on the massacre in Benghazi

"I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to lose the battle" -Mohammed Nabbous, a month ago when all this began

I'm struggling to come up with something to say about this man. I was not aware of the Libyan uprising until I saw Mo's first report, begging for help, posted here on DU. I was stricken. Here was a man giving everything he had to explain a situation that clearly terrified him, I would not call him a coward in that moment, but you could see the fear in his eyes, and desperation in his voice. For 30 days Nabbous would spend many hours covering the uprising in Benghazi. For many nights I would go to sleep with the webcast of Benghazi live on my computer screen, looking to it occasionally to be sure it was still 'there.' Mo treated the chat room as if we were his friends, and in some way, we were. I never signed up to LiveStream to thank him for all his work and it seems somewhat shallow to do so now, given that I was a lurker for so long. Ever since I took over posting these threads "Libya Alhurra" has been linked as a source of information. It wasn't until last night, when I posted, and twitter posted on Mo's adventures out into Benghazi to try to determine the truth of the situation, that Mo's webchannel became a hit, over 2000 people were watching him stream live. This was curious to him because he'd done many reports like this in the past but he appeared somewhat bemused that the view count exploded as it did. Last night Mo became a star. This is a man who first started out with a webcast replete with fear and desperation finally overcoming that aspect of himself and losing that fear, to become someone who was a fighter for the resistance just as much as those who held the guns. Reporting on the front lines of Benghazi became his final act, and for that he should never, ever be forgotten. I'm so sorry Mo that I never got to know you better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAclhhHv43s&feature=player_ded">Arab Awakening: Libya: Through the Fire is a documentary about Mo's last days, please watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EXALI60hg">Mo's first report, which many of you may remember, begging for help.

Mo leaves behind a wife who is with child, she had http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/23/a_bright_voice_from_libyas_darkness">this to say about the No Fly Zone and R2P UN resolution:

We started this in a pure way, but he turned it bloody. Thousands of our men, women, and children have died. We just wanted our freedom, that's all we wanted, we didn't want power. Before, we could not do a single thing if it was not the way he wanted it. All we wanted was freedom. All we wanted was to be free. We have paid with our blood, with our families, with our men, and we're not going to give up. We are still going to do that no matter what it takes, but we need help. We want to do this ourselves, but we don't have the weapons, the technology, the things we need. I don't want anyone to say that Libya got liberated by anybody else. If NATO didn't start moving when they did, I assure you, I assure you, half of Benghazi if not more would have been killed. If they stop helping us, we are going to be all killed because he has no mercy anymore.

The Smallest Victims
The war in Libya has taken a shocking, wrenching toll on the children of Misrata and Benghazi.
BY RUTH SHERLOCK | MAY 27, 2011
MISRATA, Libya — "If we die we are martyrs and we will go to heaven." Standing in a pleated gray dress and flowery sandals, her curly brown hair swinging in pigtails, 8-year-old Aisha's words are hauntingly austere for someone so young.

Aisha is a child of the revolution: one of the thousands of Libyan youth who in the last three months have seen more violence, instability, destruction, and death than most adults across the world witness in a lifetime.

The February uprising against Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi quickly escalated into a civil war that has left no corner of the country untouched. Thousands have been killed, wounded, or displaced in the fighting. For months in the west Libyan city of Misrata, the battle raged in and around civilian homes. Heavy artillery, rockets, and cluster bombs fired by Qaddafi's troops rocked the besieged city. There was no safe haven in which families could shelter.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/27/the_smallest_victims

Libya: Defiant rebels shrug off mortar attacks and insist they will prevail
Published Date: 28 May 2011
By Ruth Sherlock
Gradually, they said, they intended to crush the loyalists' morale. "We feel that the Gaddafi forces are at their lowest level. We keep capturing them."

The sentiment was echoed by world leaders at the G8 summit in the French seaside town of Deauville yesterday. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev joined the calls for Gaddafi to go, bringing a unanimous verdict among the G8 leaders on the crumbled legitimacy of the dictator's regime.

"The situation is much better now, we have more weapons, more men and we are advancing. Every day is better than the day before," said Omar Hussein, who has spent more than two months on the front line. "He had enough to crush an uprising - he never thought there was going to be a war."
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Libya-Defiant-rebels-shrug-off.6775693.jp

Small signs suggest waning support for Gadhafi
By Diaa Hadid - Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya — Young men waved their assault rifles in the air, spraying celebratory gunfire. Others let off fireworks. Drivers honked and leaned out of their cars waving green flags and chanting in support of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The shaking cacophony of bangs and bullets one recent evening all served to camouflage the thin turnout at a pro-Gadhafi demonstration in his stronghold, the capital of Tripoli. Only several hundred showed up, and many seemed more interested in having fun than in showing solidarity with the regime.
http://www.hutchnews.com/World/Small-signs-suggest-waning-support-for-Gadhafi

Libya: Coalition forces prepare two-pronged blitz to finish off Gaddafi
The first daytime bombing raid on the Libyan capital Tripoli on Saturday morning heralded a new stage in the military campaign against the Gaddafi regime.

It hit a military storage base in the centre of Tripoli that has been subject of repeated raids all week.

But a military spokesman said a separate mission the night before had taken out watchtowers on the leadership's Bab al-Azizia compound and threatened to begin opening up its miles of bleak green-painted concrete walls up by precision bombing.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8543882/Libya-Coalition-forces-prepare-two-pronged-blitz-to-finish-off-Gaddafi.html

G8 ‘Marshall Plan’ for Arab Spring Nations Falls Short
Posted on 05/28/2011 by Juan Cole

The 8 wealthiest industrial countries, meeting at the G-8, urged that the world give Egypt, Tunisia and liberated Libya (‘emerging democracies in the Arab world’) some $40 billion in aid. The sum will make headlines but there is less to it than meets the eye.

The G8 is only ponying up $10 billion itself, and that is only in the form of relatively vague promises of a sort that have often not been completely followed through on in the past. It is urging that the Gulf oil states to give $10 billion, though some of them, like Saudi Arabia, were not actually very happy about Hosni Mubarak being overthrown and it is not clear that they will want to help grassroots democratization succeed. That $10 bn. may or may not come through, and if it did it might have strings attached that would actually be undemocratic. Saudi Arabia is very afraid of the outbreak of press freedom in Egypt, which could end its stranglehold over Arabophone journalism and open its authoritarian system to critique. What price would it extract from Cairo for its billions in aid?
...

Egypt’s transition to democracy is going to be rocky enough without the albatross of Hosni Mubarak’s debts hanging around its neck. The world community needs to be far more generous and pro-active if Egyptians are going to feel rewarded rather than punished for their remarkable achievement in moving toward popular sovereignty and a rule of law. The same holds true for Tunisia. But Egypt is a fourth of the Arab world and an opinion leader, and its success really would resonate widely in the Arab world and Africa.
...

One good thing about the likely victory of the Free Libya forces is that that country’s oil wealth ($26 bn a year) could be used in part to support the new democracies in its neighborhood, while Qaddafi would have tried to undermine them.

Complete...http://www.juancole.com/

Video: BAFTA: Arab Springs – A Broadcasting Revolution

Hosted by Broadcaster Jon Snow, a panel and cast of interviewees discuss the challenges facing conflict news reporting and the rise of social media’s citizen journalist.

This video discusses the challenge of reporting from the ground, the importance of freelancers and their safety, as well as the impact of social media and how reporting on conflict is changing.

http://bcove.me/tr0ka6ld

or http://www.libyafeb17.com /

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/28/gaddafi-nato-apache-attack-libya">Gaddafi to be told to stand down or face Apache attack
Nato has only one question as it prepares to unleash Apache helicopters against the forces of Muammar Gaddafi this week, and Captain Ali Mohammed, one of the defenders of the besieged rebel city of Misrata, can supply the answer.

If, as most pundits predict, tomorrow's peace mission to Tripoli by South African president Jacob Zuma fails, Nato will hit the Libyan leader harder than it has ever hit him before.

British Apaches, together with French Tiger attack helicopters, will launch surgical strikes on Gaddafi's forces besieging Misrata. They have the ability to destroy individual gun positions in the town of Zlitan, west of Misrata, with less risk to the civilian population kept there as human shields.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/28/raf-jets-strike-gaddafi-compound">British jets make daytime raid on Gaddafi compound
British RAF jets have taken part in a rare daytime strike by Nato aircraft on the Libyan capital, destroying the guard towers at Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli.

The Libyan dictator was not a target and there was no way of knowing whether he was there at the time, the military alliance said.

Followed a fifth straight night of attacks, British Typhoons were among the aircraft that used precision bombs early Saturday to bring down guard towers along the walls of the Bab al-Aziziyah complex.

The British chief of defence staff's spokesman, Major General John Lorimer, said: "For decades Colonel Gaddafi has hidden from the Libyan people behind these walls, spreading terror and crushing opposition.

In Libyan Rebel Capital, Shouts of Thanks to America and the West
BENGHAZI, Libya — Frustrated by the gridlocked traffic, the young man in fatigues was leaning on the horn of his old Chevrolet Impala, the one with the front and rear windshields shot out. The shrillness of the pointless noise made a foreigner in the car next to him wince.

Then came one of those Free Libya moments.

“Sorry, sorry,” the horn-blower called apologetically, in English. The young man riding shotgun, also in fatigues and carrying a Kalashnikov, grinned sheepishly and apologized as well. Then he saluted, bringing his wounded right hand into view, a giant mitten of a bandage on it, blood soaking through in places.

“Thank you, thank you,” he said. “America No. 1.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/world/africa/29benghazi.html

Tweets
mijami2‎ RT @RRowleyTucson: Report: #Gaddafi plans to bomb a #Tripoli school (They will be filled b/c of exams) & will blame #NATO - via Defected Regime Officer #Libya

Libya is not...
(Old article, had not seen it, worth linking)
This is not a civil war. That term is thrown around in news and in print with such certainty that it seems almost fact ...
This is not a military coup. It seems redundant to state that but it should be obvious from the new reports and images coming out of the country...
This is not Afghanistan, or even Iraq. There is another post by Khaled M on this site that goes in to much greater detail than I ...

There are those who feel that foreign or United States’ involvement in Libya will just lead to another quagmire like many others we have gotten ourselves stuck in. They claim that the US is after Libya’s resources and is seeking to serve its own self-interest. What they fail to realize is that, as I mentioned earlier, the Libyan people begged for foreign involvement but only to level the playing field. The Libyans don’t need outside help to build a government and there will be no Halliburton-like entity swooping in to monopolize contracts for rebuilding infrastructure or maintaining oil wells. There has been a level of ingenuity and organization in this revolution that stands in direct contrast to the stereotypical African or Middle-Eastern coup. There is no radical religious element or greed for natural resources that powers this engine of freedom. It is powered by the blood of a people who have been marginalized, oppressed, and brutalized for 42 years by a man who claims to “live in their hearts”. It is powered by the sweat of a people living in one of the richest countries Africa but experiencing a 30% unemployment rate because that money only flows in to one man’s pockets. And it is powered by the tears of mothers and children who will never see their fathers and sons because they all desire to simply be free. Pray for Libya, pray for a swift victory, and pray for the people to experience the peace and freedom that we take for granted every day.
http://newlibya.com/?p=118

As Libya Toll Mounts, U.S. Congress Urged to Scrutinize Gadhafi's Recruitment of Mercenaries from Algeria-backed Polisario to fight NATO, Rebels
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As international concern grows over the mounting toll of fighting in Libya, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) is urging his colleagues in Congress to give "serious attention" to increasing evidence that members of the Algeria-backed Polisario Front are among those "being recruited and participating as mercenaries in Col. Gadhafi's murderous campaign against the Libyan people." Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Libyan leaders, calling their mercenary recruiting a "crime against humanity."

In a letter to fellow members, Diaz-Balart wrote, "I believe these charges, received from Libyan opposition leaders and reported to both NATO and the press against the Polisario, merit our serious attention in Congress." Diaz-Balart, who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies, added that, "Those who take up arms against the U.S. and its allies must be made to pay the consequences for their choices."
http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/05/27/3103920/as-libya-toll-mounts-us-congress.html

TRIPOLI UPDATE - 28th MAY 2011
Widespread, unarmed protests in the district of soug al jomaa yesterday. High security response using live ammunition. Protesters began throwing rocks at the security. As a result we witnessed a very high level of security today to oppress further notions of dissent. This, combined with previous flare up in Ben Ashour, shows continued increasing momentum of dissent

Recently arrested individuals quote interrogator from the Internal Security apparatus as saying 'Katiba in Tripoli are now fighting a losing battle'.

Meeting with other activist groups today. Many groups preparing hundreds of independence flags and banners and loud speakers in anticipation for the final push in Tripoli.

Pamphlets and leaflets litter the streets of Tripoli showing morale raising slogans and independence flags.

Many previously loyal gaddafi supporters now openly talking of frustration of the lies on State TV. Most of the gadaffi loyalists our group spoke to wont switch loyalties but are very disheartened and disillusioned. They are unlikely to put up a fight for the regime. It appears the regime is losing its legitimacy even with its own loyalists.
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/aoj84a

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/05/we-are-all-hamza-ali-el-khatib-syrias.html">We are all Hamza Ali El-Khatib , Syria’s Khalid Said “Extremely Graphic”
I was not planning to write anything tonight except the coverage of #May27 but the face of Hamza and his smile makes me obliged as a human , as an Arab , as a Muslim and as an Egyptian to speak about him.

Hamza is a 13 years old boy from Syria , he lived with his parents in a village called “Al Jeezah” or “Al Giza” in Daraa governorate. His tragedy started when he marched along his family in a rally to break the siege of the city of Daraa. He was detained among hundreds of Syrian during the massacre of Siada , I remember this massacre from couple of weeks ago and how horrible it was. According to my knowledge the detainees were hundreds and they were detained in schools and even football playgrounds.

Now after weeks of absence Hamza returned to his family as a dead body. He returned as dead body of full of tortures marks with his genitals. Yes his body was full of torture marks and bullets !! They cut his genitals then they killed , yes according to his autopsy he was shot down after cutting his genitals.
Here is a video showing Hamza as a dead little tortured boy , I think he was being washed for the burial. This is extremely , extremely graphic video , I mean it. The genitals part was being pixelated.

Cruise ship of hope sails for Misurata
A commercial ferry carries residents, medical supplies and food to the besieged Libyan city.
Ruth Sherlock Last Modified: 28 May 2011 19:08

Hundreds of families gathered at Benghazi dock, pushing and jostling their way onto the cruise ship bound for war. A prominent business man has chartered the passenger ferry to open a commercial line between Benghazi and the besieged west Libya town of Misurata.

Limping and waving crutches, injured fighters joined throngs of women and children on the first commercial ferry to travel to the city since the war began.

"I was looking for a way to take injured Misuratans who were treated in Benghazi back to their homes," said Libyan business tycoon Mohammed Raied, who chartered the ship. "By law the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) boat that brought the injured out, cannot take people to Misurata. So it would travel to the city loaded only with aid."
...

Reports that the heavy bombardments that for weeks wracked Misurata's residential areas are lessening, have prompted hundreds of stranded Misuratans to return to their homes. "I miss everything in Misurata. My friends, my cousins, my pillow, my bed," said Noha Obeid, 19, holding her sister's three-year-old daughter in her arms. The family of nine paid more than $800 to buy ferry tickets home.

more... http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/2011528144520326964.html

Brendan Simms: Road to Libya runs through Srebrenica
Conservative 'realist' policy decisions handed the Bosnian Serbs an advantage that led to the Sebrenica massacre
Sunday, 29 May 2011

The arrest last week of the former Bosnian Serb supreme commander Ratko Mladic, and his likely extradition to face trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague, is cause for grim satisfaction throughout the western Balkans. It is also an uncomfortable reminder of a particularly terrible moment in British foreign policy. We should never forget that the killings at Srebrenica were the culmination of a three-year campaign of ethnic cleansing, which began in the spring of 1992.

During that period, the Conservative administration of John Major played a pivotal role in persuading the international community not to intervene and in preventing the US from coming to the aid of the legitimate government of Bosnia Herzegovina. The foreign secretary, Douglas Hurd refused to lift the international arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia, arguing in a notorious phrase that this would simply create a "level killing field".

This policy – fully supported by the defence secretary Malcolm Rifkind – disadvantaged lightly-armed Bosnians against the already well-equipped Serbs, and ensured that the victims would have no chance to defend themselves. It was driven not by personal callousness or Islamophobia, but by a "realist" belief that the prevention of ethnic cleansing was not in Britain's national interest.

One way or the other, the policy led directly to the events at Srebrenica in July 1995, when Bosnian Serb tanks overran militias armed largely with shotguns and massacred some 7,000 unarmed Muslim men and boys.

more... http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/brendan-simms-road-to-libya-runs-through-srebrenica-2290326.html

Libya's Explosive Music Revolution

by Khaled Mattawa May 28, 2011 | 7:29pm

The years Gaddafi took power were also the years the music died. Now, songs are coming out from everywhere, and fast. Plus, a video gallery of the hottest new songs and the old classics. By Khaled Mattawa

At a Libyan pro-revolution rally in the midday heat of Doha last week, the protesters needed help. They sang the independence anthem, laughed through a spoof of a song by Muhammad Hassan, Muammar Gaddafi's chosen singer, then chanted "the blood of the martyrs will not go in vain."

Then, just as the several-hundred-strong crowd was running out of steam, someone remembered a line from a new pro-revolution song. Magically, a minivan sound system blared a remixed version into the surrounding blocks. Kids broke into dance, adults of all ages rocked to the song, and everyone joined the catchy chorus when it sounded.

The new song is a full-on celebration. A litany of praise that lists all Libya's cities and regions, the song blasts Gaddafi for his decades of violent misrule and his very bad hair. Since February, when the revolt really took hold, rebels and Gaddafi's forces have been at war. But the rebels are using music as fuel.

more music... http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-28/libyas-explosive-music-revolution-ibn-thait-and-more/#

and don't miss the Libyan Pop Music Media Gallery
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2950/1/

Libya defections rise: 8 officers flee to Europe
Libya's Qaddafi faces intense bombing campaign from NATO jets; More than a dozen key defections show a dictator in decline

(CBS News) Eight high-ranking Libyan military officers, including four generals, are now out of Libya and traveling to a European capital from where they plan to officially announce their defection Monday afternoon, CBS News has learned.

Their defection comes as the Libyan capital Tripoli has seen an intensified NATO bombing campaign there, as well as an expansion of NATO's military force, as both France and the U.K. have announced they are sending attack helicopters to join the fight. The defections and the increased NATO military campaign are just more signals that Qaddafi is losing his 42-year-long grip on control in Libya.

At the outset of hostilities in February, Libya's own U.N. ambassadors called for Qaddafi to step down. Libya's ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, resigned his post and accused the government of unleashing foreign mercenaries against the protesters. A senior Libyan diplomat posted to China resigned in a live interview with Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera, and Abdel Elhuni, Libya's ambassador to the Arab League, also stepped down in protest of his own government's actions.

A month later, two former Libyan foreign ministers, Moussa Koussa and Ali Abdessalam Treki, also a former U.N. General Assembly president, defected. By April, Qaddafi watched as five Libyan army officers, as well as a colonel, a captain and another officer in the internal security forces turned up in Tunisia, announced their intent to quit their leader's service.

more... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/29/501364/main20067223.shtml

Monday, May 30, 2011 - 14:19 - Libya
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Tripoli for talks with Muammar Gaddafi on ending a conflict with rebels fighting to oust the Libyan strongman, according to the SA presidency.

Zuma walked down the red carpet at Tripoli's airport to meet assembled dignitaries to the sound of a band and children chanting "We want Gaddafi!" in English, while waving Libyan flags and pictures of the leader. There was no sign of Gaddafi, reports Reuters.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

This time for Africa: Zuma visits Tripoli – again
South African President Jacob Zuma’s Monday meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provides the African Union (AU) with the opportunity to seize the initiative on the Libyan crisis. But the AU does not have a strong track record to fall on.
By Leela JACINTO

South African President Jacob Zuma hopes to leverage his party’s long-standing ties with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a visit to Tripoli Monday aimed at trying to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis. The big question though is whether Zuma will overcome personal ties to ask an old friend to go.

The visit comes as the Libyan stalemate drags on despite intensified NATO airstrikes and a renewed call for Gaddafi’s exit at last week’s G8 summit in the French resort town of Deauville.

Rebuffing the latest statement calling for Gaddafi to step down, Libya's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaaim noted that, “the G8 is an economic summit. We are not concerned by its decisions," before adding, "We are an African country. Any initiative outside the AU (African Union) framework will be rejected."

more... http://www.france24.com/en/20110529-libya-zuma-tripoli-gaddafi-visit-this-time-for-africa-african-union#

Libya rebels upbeat ahead of Kadhafi 'exit' talks
Published on 29 May 2011 - 5:27pm

Libyan rebels applauded a G8 call for Moamer Kadhafi to go ahead of a visit on Monday by South Africa's president for talks that officials said will focus on an "exit strategy" for the strongman.

"The entire world has reached a consensus that Colonel Kadhafi and his regime have not only lost their legitimacy but also their credibility," rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in a statement from the rebels' Benghazi bastion.

"I would like to welcome the position taken... by the G8 where members emphasised the necessity of Colonel Kadhafi's departure," he said.

"The position taken by the G8 is reflective of the will of the international community as well as the demands and aspirations of the Libyan people."

more... http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/libya-rebels-upbeat-ahead-kadhafi-exit-talks-1

What Did Qaddafi’s Green Book Really Say?
By MOHAMAD BAZZI
Published: May 27, 2011

If Libya’s ragtag coalition of rebels manages to dislodge Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi from power it will mean not only the fall of the longest reigning dictator in the Arab world but also the end of the ambitious ideological system that he dreamed would supersede all rivals. While much of the world sees him as an eccentric and brutal demagogue, Qaddafi has tried for decades to portray himself as a statesman-philosopher. It’s an aspiration best embodied in the Green Book, his notorious three-part meditation on politics, economics and everything from the evils of mechanized poultry farming to the importance of owning one’s car. In Libya, the text is omnipresent: several generations of students grew up studying it, and the government even constructed sculptures in its image.

Most analyses of the Green Book emphasize Qaddafi’s many digressions and penchant for stating the obvious, like his proclamation that “woman is a female and man is a male.” Because it is muddled, the book is often dismissed as simply a hodgepodge of aphorisms, the ramblings of a mad dictator. And in fact, the slim 21,000-word treatise does not present a coherent worldview. But the Green Book does have its own peculiar logic: a mixture of utopian socialism, Arab nationalism and the Third World revolutionary ideology that was in vogue at the time it was written, along with a streak of Bedouin supremacism. And its tone and style echo a long tradition in classical Arabic literature: that of the ruler or his faithful scribe expounding on matters of philosophy, politics, art, culture or whatever strikes his fancy.

In 1975, six years after he took power, Qaddafi published the first volume of the Green Book — immodestly titled “The Solution of the Problem of Democracy.” With it, he promised to rescue the world from the failures of Western democracy and Communism alike: his “Third Universal Theory” would usher in an era of mass democracy in which people would rule themselves directly. Qaddafi rails against elections, political parties and popular representation (“The most tyrannical dictatorships the world has known have existed under the shadow of parliaments”). He decries plebiscites as “a fraud against democracy.” The only genuine form of democracy, he argues, is one where the masses come together in people’s committees, popular congresses and professional associations. “The problem of democracy in the world,” he declares, “is completely solved.”

The second volume offers “The Solution of the Economic Problem,” a jumble of quasi-socialist ideals and capitalist notions. In some parts, Qaddafi appears to be a class-conscious self-help guru: “There are no wage-workers in the socialist society, only partners,” and “Man’s freedom is lacking if somebody else controls what he needs.” In other sections, he exalts property ownership: “There is no freedom for a man who lives in another’s house, whether he pays rent or not,” and “Your vehicle should not be owned by others.”

more... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/books/review/what-did-qaddafis-green-book-really-say.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1
or here... http://shabablibya.org/news/what-did-qaddafi%E2%80%99s-green-book-really-say

Regional rivalries emerge from Arab Spring
By Robert Fisk, Middle East Correspondent
Monday, 30 May 2011

Behind the Arab Spring lie its secrets. Turkey and Qatar have now developed a passionate anger towards Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime – the Turks even planning for a "safe haven" inside Syrian territory if they fear a tide of refugees approaching the Turkish border – while Gulf Arabs suspect Algeria may be secretly re-arming Libya.

Turkey believes that Assad has twice dishonoured promises to pull his brother's armed thugs off the streets of Syrian cities, and the coverage of the Syrian uprising by Qatar's Al-Jazeera television channel has so enraged the Syrians that they have blocked £4bn worth of Qatari investment projects.

Qatar's own armed forces are now assisting Libyan rebels in the western port city of Misrata, their officers helping to train guerrilla fighters on the perimeter of the fighting. No official statement has been issued about this Qatari involvement although the Gulf emirate has six Mirage fighter-bombers stationed on Crete and flying sorties over Libya.

The fear that Algeria has been supplying tanks and armoured personnel carriers to the Gaddafi regime across its 750-mile common desert border lies behind the recent visit of the Emir of Qatar to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose army is better equipped than Gaddafi's. The weapons which the Gulf Arabs believe have been given to the Libyan regime by the Algerians would go some way to account for Nato's slow progress in its air campaign against Gaddafi.

more... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/regional-rivalries-emerge-from-arab-spring-2290798.html

Libya-South Africa Relations at a Crossroad
Published on 28 May 2011 by Sharif Nashashibi

South African President Jacob Zuma’s visit to Libya on 30 May for talks with Muammar Gaddafi is his second attempt at resolving the country’s conflict. The focus of the forthcoming talks will be Gaddafi’s “exit strategy,” according to two anonymous sources in the South African presidency, the Agence France Press news agency reported.

This seems to mark a change from Zuma’s previous visit as part of an African Union delegation, which did not explicitly call for the dictator’s departure, and was thus rejected by Libya’s rebels. While this second visit may herald a shift in positions, it is no less likely to succeed – perhaps even less so, though I hope I am wrong – and it raises further questions about South Africa’s oscillating stand vis-a-vis Gaddafi.

As with his first visit, Zuma has no plans to meet with the rebels, according to his spokesman Zizi Kodwa. This is puzzling and counter-productive. How does Zuma intend to resolve the conflict if he continues to ignores one side, particularly as an exit strategy would inevitably empower the opposition?

This will further deepen rebel suspicions of South Africa’s president, who enjoys close ties with Gaddafi, and calls him “brother leader.” Perhaps Zuma is hoping that his distance from the opposition will entice the Libyan dictator to trust and listen to him, but an effective mediator must have contact with both sides.

more... http://english.libya.tv/2011/05/28/libyan-south-african-relations-at-a-crossroads/

Eritrea Tyrant's Lifeline Libya Tyrant On His Way Out!
21 February 2011 Berhane M Tekeste

The first two months of Anno Domini 2011 have been marked by events that have been harbingers of the demise of tyrants and dictators in Africa and the Middle East so far.

Eritrea tyrant Isias Afewarki has been witnessing how people power haven been hounding his ilks one after the other, Tunisia Egypt, out of office.

Today, tyrant Afewarki has lived to witness how yet another of his ilks in Libya is about to be hounded out of office by people power! Yes, Eritrea tyrant's bosom friend and lifeline Libya tyrant , Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is on his way out!

But, unlike prior two tyrants , Gaddafi is not going down without putting up a bloody fight to the last man standing, last bullet fired, and every bit of energy he has left and without taking the country and nation down with him! That was the essence of the message delivered by Gaddafi's Son Saif El Islam that was broadcast on Libya's state Television late last night- watch video below. That Geddafi himself did not deliver the message have led to reports that Geddafi might have already fled the country!

more... http://www.eritreadaily.net/News2010/article20110220.htm

Over 100 Libyan army members defect from Gaddafi
By Deepa Babington
ROME | Mon May 30, 2011 1:58pm EDT

(Reuters) - Eight high-ranking Libyan army officers appeared in Rome on Monday saying they were part of a group of as many as 120 military officials and soldiers who had defected from Muammar Gaddafi's side in recent days.

The eight officers -- five generals, two colonels and a major -- spoke at a hastily-called news conference organised by the Italian government, which is one of a handful of countries that has recognized the Libyan rebel movement fighting Gaddafi as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

"What is happening to our people has frightened us," said one officer, who identified himself as General Oun Ali Oun.

"There is a lot of killing, genocide ... violence against women. No wise, rational person with the minimum of dignity can do what we saw with our eyes and what he asked us to do."

3x more... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/30/us-libya-officers-idUSTRE74T41820110530

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- Jose Emmanuel Piaggesi was a teacher in Argentina, but now the piercing staccato of gunfire punctuates his conversations.

The 23-year-old has traded books for bullets, saying Che Guevara inspires him as he fights alongside Libyan rebels in Misrata.

He is ready to give his life in the battle to end Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule.

"I invite them to look a little more closely at the situation, who is here fighting and why is he fighting," Piaggesi said as he took a break to prepare for the next round of clashes. "He is going to say that it is for liberty -- not for NATO or for anybody, simply for liberty."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/30/libya.argentinian.rebel/

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley

#Gaddafi Security Force vehicles came thru #BaniWalid to arrest protesters, were met w/ gunfire from #Freedomfighters #Libya #feb17
AJA reports heavy clashes east of #Zintan. #Libya #feb17
PLEASE RT: #Gaddafi forces are regrouping in #AlGhazya to attack #Nalut & #Wazin border crossing NOW. #Libya #feb17 @NATO
#NATO bombed 2 military sites. Both had rocket launchers & tanks stationed in them including Concrete Beams factory in #Zliten #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Reports of 2 loud explosions heard. #Libya #feb17
VIDEO: #Tripoli protests in #SouqAlJuma TODAY http://youtu.be/L2p8JlQpLfs #Libya #feb17
#NATO air strikes on #Gadaffi's rocket launchers & tanks in #WadiKaamm between #Misrata & #Zlitan 2 hours ago. #Libya #feb17
UNCONFIRMED: #NATO to start use of Apache gunships against #Gaddafi forces within next 24 hours. #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Reports that President #Zuma hasnt left town or #Libya yet but is heading for an unknown location right now #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: #Libya Alhura TV opening is transferring from person to person like wild fire in #Tripoli. Nilesat 10782V, Arabsat 10730H #feb17
#Benghazi: Franco Frattini, Foreign Minister of #Italy will visit Benghazi tomorrow #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Security Units have been ordered to fully secure the perimeter of #Tripoli International Airport #Libya #feb17

Reported by a defected colonel that there are at least 25000 detained in #Tripoli, accused of being insurgents #Libya #feb17
http://twitter.com/#!/RRowleyTucson

Zimbabwe: AU Credibility Questioned As Zim Set to Chair Peace Organ
The credibility of the African Union (AU) is being questioned, after news that Zimbabwe will assume the chairmanship of the bloc's Peace and Security Council.

The rotational chairmanship passes from South Africa to Zimbabwe in June.

The Peace and Security Council, in theory, is meant to promote peace, security and stability across Africa, while promoting democracy, good governance and the rule of the law. It is also meant to uphold the protection of human rights.

Zimbabwe's eligibility for the chairmanship of such an important body, despite rampant human rights abuses and the ongoing disregard for the rule of law by ZANU PF, is now casting doubt on the AU.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201105302254.html?utm_campaign=DTN+Libya+Unrest:&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Brutality in Libya and Syria ‘shocking’: UN rights chief
AlArabiya, 30 May 2011 - United Nations rights chief Navi Pillay on Monday slammed the brutality of crackdowns on protestors by government forces in Libya and Syria, saying the actions were shocking in their disregard for human rights.

..

“Resort to lethal or excessive force against peaceful demonstrators not only violates fundamental rights, including the right to life, but serves to exacerbate tensions and tends to breed a culture of violence,” Ms. Pillay said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also renewed a call to the Syrian regime to allow a fact-finding mission to visit the country.

She noted that authorities in Yemen and Bahrain have both responded to separate mission requests, with Yemen agreeing to a visit in late June and dates to be worked out with Bahrain.
http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=12789

Libya: Rocket Attacks on Western Mountain Towns
Grads Striking Civilian Areas
May 27, 2011
Source: Human Rights Watch

(Benghazi) - Government forces are indiscriminately attacking towns in the Nafusa Mountains of western Libya almost daily, Human Rights Watch said today, after a five-day visit to the area.

The attacks with Grad rockets, an inherently indiscriminate weapon in populated areas, are threatening civilian lives, damaging civilian infrastructure, and inhibiting the return of tens of thousands of refugees from the area who have fled to Tunisia since February 2011, Human Rights Watch said. The rockets frequently land on private homes and near hospitals and mosques, forcing people to flee the area and even to live in caves.

"Grad rocket attacks are launched almost every day into residential areas with no discernible military target," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Why would the government think there is a purpose to spraying shrapnel into people's homes, or mosques and hospitals?"

On May 1, for example, what was apparently a Grad rocket crashed into the kitchen at Omar Yughass's house in the town of Zintan, leaving cinderblock and cement strewn about the room and ruining the refrigerator and stove. Yughass, 45, his wife, and one child were sleeping in the next room and were not hurt. Yughass has since sent his family to a refugee camp in Tunis. Next door, part of the wall surrounding the house of Taher Ahmed Mansour, 62, was partly knocked down by a rocket during the same barrage.

In Zintan, the largest town in the mountain range, Human Rights Watch witnessed rocket attacks on the town center on May 22 and 23. A rocket exploded about 100 meters from Zintan Hospital on May 23, spraying shrapnel on a wall outside of a private home along a main street. Another rocket that day hit a residential street, sending shrapnel into a parked sewage disposal truck. In both cases, Human Rights Watch observed no military personnel or facilities in the vicinity.

more... http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/27/libya-rocket-attacks-western-mountain-towns

Libya's Berbers seek their revenge on Qaddafi
John Thorne May 30, 2011
...

Last December, police in Tripoli arrested the Amazigh brothers Mazigh and Maghris Abouzakhar on charges of spying.

"But their real crime was showing interest in the Amazigh language," said their father, Fathi Abouzakhar, a professor from Sirte University who now helps settle Libyan refugees in the Tunisian city of Tataouine.
...

In the Nafusah Mountains, anti-regime fighters pledged allegiance to rebel leaders in the eastern city of Benghazi via online videos - in one case speaking both Arabic and Amazigh. Col Qaddafi sent troops to force rebellious towns into submission.

On April 2, military cars armed with machine guns and Grad rocket launchers rolled into Taghma, a village near the Abouzakhar family's hometown of Yefren, said Mr Abouzakhar.

more... http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/africa/libyas-berbers-seek-their-revenge-on-qaddafi?pageCount=0

African peace effort appears a no-go in Libya
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
May 31, 2011

Reporting from Tripoli, Libya— South African President Jacob Zuma's much-anticipated peace meeting Monday with Moammar Kadafi did not appear to move the Libyan government and rebels closer to a cease-fire, and the Kadafi regime suffered a new blow with the defections of eight senior military officers.

Zuma presented Kadafi with a peace initiative crafted by African leaders that calls for an end to hostilities in Libya, but it does not include Kadafi's departure from power. The South African president, who met with Kadafi in the leader's heavily fortified Bab Azizia compound here, later told reporters Kadafi appeared ready to "implement the road map," as the plan is known.

Officials did not reveal any exit strategy for Kadafi, who has rejected demands from rebels and allied governments that he leave office.

Kadafi's determination to remain in power — and opponents' insistence that he go — have proved an unmovable barrier, thwarting all efforts to end the violence that has ravaged this North African nation for more than three months. Expectations that Zuma's visit would yield a breakthrough appeared dashed.

more... http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-defect-20110531,0,2988292.story

Gaddafi wants truce in Libya, says Zuma, but terms unclear
Julian Borger and Martin Chulov The Guardian, Tuesday 31 May 2011

South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, said on Monday night that Muammar Gaddafi was ready for a truce but gave no indication whether the Libyan leader was ready to give up power, as rebels and much of the international community are demanding.

Gaddafi made a rare public appearance for the meeting with Zuma, the South African's second attempt to broker a ceasefire on behalf of the African Union.

Libya's leader, who has been turned into a fugitive in his own capital by the ongoing Nato air strikes, welcomed Zuma at the Bab al-Aziziyah presidential compound wearing his trademark dark glasses. But he appeared healthy, dispelling rumours he had been injured in the air strike that killed his son Saif al-Arab at the beginning of this month. Gaddafi is reported to have shown Zuma the site of that attack.

Zuma said later Gaddafi was "ready to implement the road map" – a reference to an AU peace plan involving a ceasefire and agreement on humanitarian supplies and reforms. The roadmap has already been rejected by the Benghazi-based rebels, and by Nato.

more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/31/gaddafi-wants-truce-in-libya

Sat, 28 May 2011 6:16p.m.

As fighting continues between Libyan rebels and forces loyal to Colonel Gadhafi, growing numbers of innocent civilians are getting caught up in the violence.

Their stories are only now beginning to emerge.

Tamina, south of Misrata, was once a thriving place, but now it's a ghost town and its claimed children there have been kidnapped and threatened by Gadhafi's forces.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Claims-of-kidnap-in-Libya/tabid/313/articleID/213058/Default.aspx

Gaddafi snatch squads took hundreds of men and boys from Misrata
In some quarters of the once besieged Libyan city, nearly every family has lost a member. Ruth Sherlock reports
Monday, 30 May 2011

The lifting of the siege of the embattled Libyan city of Misrata has revealed the disappearance of hundreds of people with many of them suspected victims of snatch squads loyal to the Gaddafi regime, relatives and rights workers said yesterday.

A desperate search has begun for "the disappeared", many of whom were reported to have been taken away to regime prisons or killed during some of the fiercest fighting of a three-month rebel uprising that has reduced parts of the city to rubble.

Witness accounts gathered by The Independent and rights groups indicate that there was a systematic attempt to kidnap men from parts of the city.
...

Most of the missing are men between the ages of 20 and 40. More than 40 children, some as young as six, and elderly people between 60 and 85 years are also missing, he said. "Fighters report seeing some being used as human shields on the front lines, others have been taken away to fight for Gaddafi," he said. "But many, many are presumed dead."

more... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gaddafi-snatch-squads-took-hundreds-of-men-and-boys-from-misrata-2290800.html

Libya Rebels Launch Station To Fight Gadhafi TV
by The Associated Press BENGHAZI, Libya May 31, 2011, 04:09 am ET

...

Libya Alhurra, or "Free Libya," began broadcasting Monday night, a major step in the rebels' attempts to get its message to the Libyan public, whose main source of information on the crisis roiling their country has been Gadhafi's TV and radio.

Thousands of Libyans waving flags gathered in a public square in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to watch the first broadcasts on a large screen, celebrating a newfound freedom from 40 years of media oppression.

"This is freedom. I hope this shows the true color of Libyan people and their real faith in a new, free Libya," station co-founder Zuhair Albarasi told The Associated Press from the square, which has become a rallying point for the revolt against Gadhafi.

The channel was born out of an Internet video streaming site launched by Albarasi and fellow Libyan businessman Mohammed al-Nabbous, who since the uprising began in mid-February searched for a way to show it to the world and to the Libyans themselves.

more mo ... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136809000

7 hours 21 min ago - Libya
Residents of Benghazi celebrated the temporary launch of Libya Alhurra TV - a new, independent television channel on Monday night.

Crowds of people gathered in the de facto rebel capital to watch Libya Alhurra TV being broadcast on large screens. Libya Alhurra TV broadcasts news from rebel-controlled Libya via the internet.

"I'm full of happiness and joy because of this moment which we have waited for for a few months. Now we are so happy to announce Libya Alhurra today to begin broadcasting." Mohamed Fanouch, local media coordinator
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

Hip Hop & Diaspora: Connecting the Arab Spring
By Lara Dotson-Renta

Since the self-immolation of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi in December 2010 unleashed the pro-democracy movements now popularly known as the “Arab Spring”, the clamor for change and opportunity has continued to sweep through the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Citizen journalism has allowed for a near-constant stream of images of bloody uprisings from Libya to Syria, as people throughout the Arab world seek to redefine their relationships to the state apparatus and their rights as citizens. From the outset, these movements have been accompanied by a very strong musical component, from troubadours in Cairo’s Tahrir square to the adhans uniting in both faith and protest. Yet it has been hip-hop that has become the most iconic and widespread soundtrack of the Arab Spring and, interestingly, it is having the double effect of helping to mobilize activists in the countries directly impacted by the pro-democracy movements while also solidifying links between Arab diasporic communities in the West with those still residing in the ‘homeland.’

Rais Lebled by Tunisian rapper El Général (given name Hamada Ben Amor), Rebel by the Egyptian group Arabian Knightz and other songs in Arabic created by people within the region of conflict, will go down as the anthems of the revolution, but other songs from Arabs with hyphenated identities and more complicated ties to the Arab Spring have also become a part of the current soundscape. This dynamic became evident with the appearance and popularity of protest songs such as those by Chicago-based artist Khaled M. Libyan by birth, Khaled M. is the son of a Gaddafi dissident. His father, Fathi, was jailed and tortured for five years under the regime. Fathi eventually moved his family to Lexington, Kentucky, the former American home base for The National Front for the Salvation of Libya. Fathi died when Khaled was nine, but the father’s struggle comes full circle through the lyrics of his rapper son, who has taken up verbal arms for a homeland he has never seen. After protests broke out in Libya on February 17, 2011, Khaled M. released the haunting single Can’t Take Our Freedom, which reads like an open letter to both Gaddafi and the people of the MENA region: “Can’t take our freedom and take our soul/can’t take our freedom, take our soul/you are not the one that’s in control/you are not the one that’s in control/lā ilāha illallāh, there is no power greater than God/go ahead and divide your plans/at the end of the day you are just a man.”

The song powerfully employs the shahada and a common humanity to de-authorize the self-imposed omnipotence of the Gaddafi regime while encouraging protesters “from Tunisia to Libya, Bahrain to Yemen” to rise up against oppression. It also points to a tightening of familial, political, and identity links between Arabs who have long lived abroad and younger generations who may have never visited the countries their parents originally hailed from. The fact that Can’t Take Our Freedom has been so popular and well received by Arabs both in the ‘West’ and in the MENA region speaks to a particular movement in which those who have chosen self-exile for political or economic reasons (or had it imposed upon them) are now collaborating in the rewriting of history with those who never left the country of origin but nevertheless felt internally displaced or dispossessed by the institutionalized power structures under which they lived. That Khaled M. is a multilingual Libyan-American with a dual identity and world-view is vital to seeing the Arab Spring for the multifaceted, globalized movement that it is.

The diasporic connections visible in the hip-hop of the Arab Spring, and the many possibilities for future dialogues that these engender are, however, most visible in collaborations such as January 25th, a song spearheaded by Syrian-American Omar Offendum (Omar Chakaki) and Iraqi-Canadian The Narcicyst, produced by Palestinian-American Sami Matar with appearances by Palestinian-Canadian singer Ayah, and African-American converts MC Freeway and Amir Sulaiman. A single song centered around the January 25 protests in Egypt, which heralded the overthrow of long-term President Hosni Mubarak, rallied together artists from all over the world. While united for the same cause, many had not ever resided in the MENA region and several did not speak Arabic natively. Yet, the common factor of breaking silence and having shared a sense of being ‘on the outside looking in’ sociopolitically created a song that has generated over 200,000 hits on YouTube. Omar Offendum understands the nuanced importance of the premise of unity, as he raps: “From Tunis to Khan Younis/the new moon shines bright/as The Man's spoon was/as masses demand rights/and dispel rumors of disunity/communally removing the tumors…” Having established a common link, the lyrics then take a decidedly American political twist while remaining entirely relatable to the Egyptian political situation with the lyrics of Amir Sulaiman, who rhymes: “wont be just niggas/wont be just spiks/a-rabs, pakis rednecks and hicks/the leaders ain’t helping them feeding their kids/the leaders helping pigs eating their kids/got me back on my Elijah eating to live/run up in the white house like I got a key to the crib…”

more... http://www.arabmediasociety.com/?article=777&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Gaddafi arms "crooks" to crush Zlitan rebels-witness
Tue May 31, 2011 10:25pm GMT
By Joseph Nasr

BERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi has armed criminals to crush a rebellion against his rule in Zlitan, one of only three towns separating the rebel-held city of Misrata from Tripoli, a rebel spokesman said on Tuesday.

Giving a rare account of rebel activity from inside the small but strategically important coastal settlement, the spokesman, Mohammed, told Reuters that forces loyal to the Libyan leader were recruiting criminals whose task was to arrest anyone suspected of being a rebel and to intimidate residents.

"They filled it with drug dealers, criminals and other crooks," Mohammed said by telephone. "They gave them automatic weapons and hand grenades to oppress the residents of Zlitan. Besides arrests and intimidations, we hear accounts of rape."
...

There was no way of independently verifying incidents cited by Mohamed, but residents elsewhere in Libya have reported the apparent recruitment of criminals and thugs by Gaddafi forces.

more... http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74U26Z20110531?sp=true

Libya rebellion creeps west towards Tripoli
Tue May 31, 2011 4:44pm GMT

By Christian Lowe

ALGIERS, May 31 (Reuters) - Libya's rebellion is creeping westwards from the rebel city of Misrata towards the capital along a chain of towns where opponents of Muammar Gaddafi stage clandestine night-time acts of defiance against his rule.

By day the three towns of Zlitan, Khoms and Garabulli are under government control but after darkness falls, a local man said, Gaddafi opponents daub graffiti on walls, hoist the rebel flag and the sound of gunfire can be heard.

If those acts spill over into open revolt, the three towns could act as stepping stones to allow the anti-Gaddafi uprising to spread from Misrata, the biggest rebel outpost in western Libya, to the Libyan leader's stronghold in Tripoli.

"We had never believed that these kind of cities would rise up," said the local man, who did not want to be identified because he feared reprisals for speaking to the foreign media. "There is a movement. The situation is boiling."

more... http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74T1DQ20110531?sp=true

Additional comments by FunGuerillaz

I made a new map since it’s the beginning of the month and I have further information on position of the front lines. I will only make new ones if the front lines really shift or other major developments happen or if it’s the 15th of the 1st of a month.

So what changed since the last map of May 20st 00:00 hrs? I now know that as suspected, the front line in the central front sector (SW of the line Farms-Airport-Tamina) was advanced in order to safeguard the southern part of Misrata and the Airport from shelling as well as to render attacks on the western and eastern front sectors’ flanks more difficult. However: I only guessed the position and I do not have any information about the important Desert Crossroads to Bani Walid (which I marked) being taken, so I assumed it isn’t.

Also, it’s important to note that the ‘front line’ in the central front sector is broad & ill defined anyway since this is open desert and in this terrain, longer range artillery engagements and rapid incursions dominate. The same (broad ill defined front) is also true for the entire coastal salt marsh. As for the western front sector, I took the front line a bit back on the new map, but not because there was a retreat by the freedom fighters but rather because my earlier maps were a bit over-optimistic. If anything, the front in this sector has been creeping FORWARD to Zliten in the last few days. What’s more? I also mapped the assumedly ongoing troop shipments (for which I had evidence a couple of days ago), as well as the position of the Desert Crossroads and of Suq (Al Thulatha).

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/leader-says-rebels-not-seeking-office-post-gaddafi-171835459.html">Leader says rebels not seeking office post-Gaddafi
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Members of the Libyan rebel administration will not seek office if Muammar Gaddafi is removed from power, the head of the rebels' Benghazi-based council said on Saturday.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who is trying to present his interim National Transitional Council (NTC) as a credible temporary alterative to Gaddafi, told a news conference marking 100 days since the February 17 uprising began that he hoped elections would be held within a year.

"I emphasize the council's decision that prohibits any of its members from running for any post in the period following Gaddafi's fall," he said, adding: "Gaddafi has no place in Libya in the future.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576351492261311076.html">Libyan Rebels Offer Amnesty to Pro-Gadhafi Soldiers
BENGHAZI, Libya – The political leader of Libya's rebels offered amnesty on Saturday to those ready to abandon Col. Moammar Gadhafi and rejected all peace initiatives that were not predicated on the departure of the Libyan strongman, his family and senior regime figures.

"Those still betting on Moammar Gadhafi's regime should wake up to reality and abandon it and join the righteous and just cause," said Mustafa Abdel-Jalil head of the rebels' National Transitional Council reading from a prepared statement during a press conference.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/RAF-E3-D-Sentry-Spy-Surveillance-Plane-Monitors-Libyan-Airspace-For-Nato-And-United-Nations/Article/201105416002648">'Eye In The Sky' Libyan Duties For RAF Crew
Just a few hundred miles north of Tripoli, at the Italian airbase in Trapani, Sicily, the British E3-D Sentry plane prepares to take to the air - with Sky News on board.

Its role - to monitor the region and coordinate the multi-nation, multi-platform, Operation Unified Protector; the international effort, sanctioned by the United Nations, to protect civilian life from Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

From the skies above the Mediterranean, the Sentry's sophisticated radar equipment can monitor an area of some 3.2 million cubic miles - but this is no mere surveillance plane, more the beating heart of the Nato mission.

Flight Lieutenant Tim Pearson, captain of the Sentry, said: "It's the eye in the sky... we provide the radar picture which is used by all the other assets in theatre to make sure they all know where there friends are.

The message from Benghazi
The Times Wednesday, June 1, 2011 , by Catherine Ashton (EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)

The birth of a democracy is beautiful, but it isn’t always pretty. Muammar Gaddafi starved Benghazi of money, so it was a drab city even before the current uprising. Now the clutter of revolution makes it look even more dishevelled. But just as the drabness fed defiance, so the clutter of old flags, home-made banners and crumpled leaflets speak of great hope.

I had come to Benghazi to open the first European Union office in free Libya. I arrived in the newly-named Freedom Square, to see the EU flag flying near the courthouse and to meet some of the people who have been bringing democracy to life.

As in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, I found not just enthusiasm for reform but great warmth towards their European neighbours across the Mediterranean. Passers-by greeted me more as a friend than a first-time visitor. “Welcome, Cathy, Welcome Europe”, one said; “we know you care about us, thank you for visiting us, come again.” At the offices of the National Transitional Council, Fatma greeted me in traditional Libyan clothes with beaten silver jewellery on her ankles, wrists and fingers. At six years old she is tall for her age and quite shy to find herself the centre of attraction. She had come to give me flowers. She told me she liked to paint, and had two younger brothers, but that sadly her father had died so now her uncle looked after the family.
...

I left Benghazi optimistic that Libya can achieve that goal. I met people who are smart, realistic and up for the challenge. And the most encouraging moment came when I asked a group of them about the future of the people who had been around Col Gaddafi. One said they would follow South Africa and set up a Truth and Reconciliation commission. The others nodded, not just in agreement, but as if this were blindingly obvious.

more... http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110601/opinion/The-message-from-Benghazi.368347

A ship carrying food assistance arrived in Misrata today. The ship, which was chartered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is delivering more than 420 metric tons of food– enough to feed 25,000 people for one month. It included 320 metric tons of wheat flour, 60 metric tons of pulses, 30 metric tons of vegetable oil, and 10 metric tons of High Energy Biscuits. It is also carrying a WFP team, part of a UN interagency mission, which will conduct a rapid needs assessment of the humanitarian situation on the ground. This is the fourth delivery of food by the WFP.

Teaching Libyan children the devastating effects of explosive remnants of war
By Rebecca Fordham for UNECEF

Benghazi, 31 May 2011 – Around 30 young boys are hovering expectantly outside a community centre. They peer over each other’s shoulders to try to get a better look at the cardboard boxes filled with pictures.

“We are playing the ‘strange object game’,” says Diran Abdel Hafth, 15. “The idea is to decide if the objects are happy or sad, good or bad, and we will then learn whether they are safe to play with.”

Risk awareness

The devastating effect of conflict on children is no more apparent than the physical and psychological impact that explosive remnants of war can have on young lives.

As the crisis continues in Libya, increasing knowledge of potential dangers is critical in protecting children and their families. Workshops are being conducted by trained members of the community, with technical support and guidance from UNICEF and its partners. The aim is to teach young people and their families to avoid handling dangerous remnants.

more... http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/laj_58713.html

News Consumption among Young Libyan Adults
Issue 12, Winter 2010, Arab Media & Society
By Mokhtar Elareshi and Barrie Gunter

This study investigates the relationship between Libyan university students' consumption of Libyan and international Arab satellite TV news services and their perceptions of gratifications received from these news services. A self-completion questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of 400 university students that asked about the news consumption habits, reasons for watching specific TV news services, and personal details. The findings revealed that time spent with local TV news was negatively related to reported use of international TV channels. Students said that they got less news than they desired from local TV, especially the long-established Al-Jamahiriya TV channel. The data indicated that the new satellite broadcast international news service, Al Jazeera, played an important role in serving these young Libyans with the types of information they need. The findings are discussed in relation to the growing impact of international satellite broadcast news services and the need for local TV news services to find ways of making themselves distinctive in a way that provides an alternative but still relevant and valued news source.

Introduction

Television has long been seen as one of the most important sources of news for media consumers around the world.i One reason for this is that televised news is trusted more than most other news sources.ii The importance of televised news, however, can vary with the type of news being considered. In the United Kingdom, for example, annual surveys of public opinion have consistently confirmed the prominence of television as a primary source of international news. At the same time, it has emerged rarely as the dominant source to which people say they turn for news about local and regional community matters.iii

The importance of news, whether obtained via television or from other media, has also been found to vary among different age groups. Even televised news fails to attract the interest of young people who often claim to follow the news only when something of particular relevance to them is happening.iv In fact, a majority of young adult viewers aged 16 to 24 years (64 percent) in the UK have been found to say that televised news has no relevance for them.v

Given wider concerns that television is losing its way as a major news servicevi, it is apparent that if this medium is to capture and cultivate young people as news consumers it must cater to their tastes and priorities and do this both in terms of the types of news being presented and also in the way that news is presented. One other factor underpinning this observation is that with the emergence of the Internet, which is highly popular among young people not only as an entertainment source but also as a news sourcevii, the conclusion that young people simply do not like news is ill-founded. Instead, the challenge for television is to find a way of making news more interesting and relevant.

20x more... http://www.arabmediasociety.com/countries/index.php?c_article=247&p=0

Download this article in PDF format:
http://www.arabmediasociety.com/articles/downloads/20101210211137_Elareshi.pdf

Statement by the NATO Secretary General on the extension of the mission in Libya

NATO and partners have just decided to extend our mission for Libya for another 90 days.

This decision sends a clear message to the Qadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya. We will sustain our efforts to fulfil the United Nations mandate. We will keep up the pressure to see it through.

Our decision also sends a clear message to the people of Libya: NATO, our partners, the whole international community, stand with you. We stand united to make sure that you can shape your own future. And that day is getting closer.

Link to the video statement by the NATO Secretary General:
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_74977.htm

Guma_el_gamaty Guma El-Gamaty
Shukri confirm defect but if had corruption will have 2 face law. In new libya NO one will b above the law include future elected president!
Local leader in Jadu confirm gain by FF today liberating Shakshuk and Qasrelhaj turned electricity station there on again for whole mountain
@maximsoloman sarcasm! is for G and his gang I have respect and sympathy for rixos journalists they r victims 2! My personal views r my own
Heavy clashes now in Suq Aljuma tripoli. Rixos journalists can u chek? oh sorry u r imprisoned! by G but not for long soon u will be free 2!
Misrata getting local airport ready for receiving flights I suggest next TNC meeting in misrata to recognise its great victory awesome city!
1st free libyan tv named 'Libya Alhurra' or free libya started in benghazi yesterday more will follow and no ministry of media in new Libya!

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Libya's #NTC controlled #Tobruk refinery still operating at a reduced rate of 5,000 b/d after crude flow was halted in April. #Libya #feb17
ALERT: Just saw a Toyota Land Cruiser with #Libyan license plate "1-11-1" in a parking lot in #Tunis, plz help identify. #Feb17 #Libya
#Freedomfighters in #Rehibat captured 2 tanks from #Gaddafi forces & 3 small rocket launchers #Libya #feb17
PLEASE RT: Live broadcast from #Nafusa: NAFOUSSA TV http://t.co/GlAAQix #Libya #feb17
Libyan Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has announced in #Rome that he has joined the uprising against #Gaddafi #Libya #feb17

Restoration of a lost identity
In these glorious days in which the Libyan people are courageously restoring their national identity and enthusiastically reshaping their future, calamities seem a trivial price to pay compared to what they expect to gain. Despite the souring of their agony to unprecedented levels, their morale remains very high as they fervently resort to a bygone era for inspiration and hope.

For one hundred days, the world at large has witnessed the sufferings of a distressful nation climb to unprecedented levels. Lives threatened, horrendous atrocities committed, families displaced, children horrified, youths abducted, farms pillaged, livestock annihilated, and cities besieged and savagely bombarded to the point that some of them has turned into ghost towns.
http://shabablibya.org/news/restoration-of-a-lost-identity

Supplies reaching blockaded Libyan town by donkey
ZINTAN, Libya, June 1 (Reuters) – Libyan rebels in the Western Mountains are using donkeys to carry supplies along trails behind enemy lines to the blockaded town of Yafran, where forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi face off with armed residents on the hilltops.

The nearby town of Gelaa is in a similar position, rebels and residents who left say, and rebels are urging NATO to carry out humanitarian aid drops in the area to alleviate severe shortages of food and drinking water.

“It’s a disaster,” said a man who gave his name as Mohammed, adding that he had walked to Zintan from Gelaa, between the positions of forces loyal to Gaddafi.

“I’m asking the rebels for help to open a route to Gelaa,” he said at the rebel military council headquarters in Zintan.
http://shabablibya.org/news/supplies-reaching-blockaded-libyan-town-by-donkey

The arrival of humanitarian aid to the city Alzent
Reached the praise of God and His bounty and from shipments of subsidies to city Alzentan, and in this time thank the "Society of Libya, the free charity" on the effort is clear and Almilos for the relief of their brethren in the city of Alzentan all the cities of the western mountain suffering Will shelling day and night and live in darkness and dark due to power outages, and This time, we appreciate all efforts in the inside and outside Libya to help the Libyan people of this tyrant who did not husbanding the means of repression and genocide, however, and have used it, but tell him to Libya, free, God willing, after God the intention of men old and young, women and Ajaizha, and support our brothers in various parts of the land on which binds them to the meat of religion and then home
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=127592517321339&oid=188788917808981&comments

A man inspects a house belonging to his family that was destroyed by Gaddafi forces
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=160594204006404&set=a.134799406585884.28447.133738650025293&type=1&theater

Libya: Col Gaddafi plots retaliatory strikes if forced from leadership
His regime has handed out thousands of weapons to ordinary civilians, saying they would turn Libya into a "living hell" if Nato ground forces invade.

He is also gathering a coterie of young members of his own tribe around him to make a last stand as his regular forces are depleted by defections and Nato bombing.

Anti-Gaddafi activists fear they could unleash a wave of killings and revenge attacks if Col Gaddafi is forced out whether by western military might or negotiations.

“The reason why people are given guns now is because Gaddafi wants it to be chaos whether he is in power or out of power,” said one activist living in a suburb of southern Tripoli.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8548392/Libya-Col-Gaddafi-plots-retaliatory-strikes-if-forced-from-leadership.html

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nato-hits-tripoli-un-denounces-war-crimes-20110602-1fiox.html">NATO hits Tripoli, UN denounces war crimes
...

A commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva accused Gaddafi's regime of carrying out systematic attacks on the population, saying that it committed not only crimes against humanity but also war crimes.

While it found fewer reports of violations by the opposition, the commission also said rebel forces committed acts that constituted war crimes.

The commission has "reached the conclusion that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed by the government forces of Libya", it said in a statement.

"The commission received fewer reports of facts which would amount to the commission of international crimes by opposition forces, however, it did find some acts which would constitute war crimes."

http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2011/06/02/libyan_rebels_blame_khadafy_for_blast_at_hotel/">Libyan rebels blame Khadafy for blast at hotel
BENGHAZI, Libya — A car exploded yesterday in front of a hotel where foreign diplomats and journalists stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital.

Jalal el-Gallal, a rebel spokesman, said the blast in the parking lot of the Tibesti Hotel in central Benghazi caused no injuries or deaths. The burning car sent plumes of black smoke into the air.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/russia-seeks-to-bridge-libyan-civil-war-in-qaddafi-exit-talks.html">Russia Seeks to Bridge Libyan Civil War in Qaddafi Exit Talks
Russia wants to mediate between the two sides in Libya’s civil war as it tries to negotiate the exit from power of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, said Mikhail Margelov, the country’s envoy to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Margelov will travel to Libya "in the nearest time" to meet with the rebel leadership, he said by phone from Moscow yesterday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in contact with Tripoli, held by Qaddafi’s forces, he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on May 27 said Qaddafi has forfeited his right to govern and his country is using its contacts with the regime’s leadership to persuade him to step down. Russia abstained from the United Nations Security Council vote in March that authorized a NATO-led military intervention in Libya.

"My trip is an attempt to help the Libyan elite find a national consensus," Margelov said. Russia "has a unique opportunity to become a bridge between those parts of the Libyan political elite which see the future of their country as one united state."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/libya-sends-representative-to-gas-exporting-countries-forum-1-.html">Libya Sends Representative to Gas Exporting Countries Forum
Libya sent Mosbah Ali Matoug, a member of the management committee of Tripoli-based National Oil Corp., to a one-day meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Cairo.

Shokri Ghanem, the state-run company’s former chairman, was supposed to have attended the meeting until he defected to the side of Libyan rebels, an Egyptian oil ministry official said earlier today. The official declined to be identified because of government policy.

No representative from Qatar, which has provided financial and diplomatic support to the rebels, was present at the start of the meeting.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7398795.html">Algeria calls for peaceful dialogue in Libya
eria on Wednesday called for an inclusive dialogue in Libya with the participation of all Libyan parties to reach a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital Algiers, Abdelkader Messahel, Algerian Delegate Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs, said his country is in contact with all concerned parties in Libya, and aims to help end the crisis in the neighboring country in a peaceful way.

Messahel said Algeria supports the African Union (AU) roadmap for solving the conflict, which calls for political dialogue between different parties in Libya, necessary political reforms, and more effective measures to protect civilians.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h0rixZbAhEgA_PtB_zqR_CpG46eA?docId=CNG.aa5a24ef4e1dc963ac594b37b97d9d01.451">US general says no evidence Algeria backing Kadhafi
ALGIERS — The top US general responsible for Africa said Wednesday he had no evidence that Algeria has sent mercenaries to support the regime of Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

"I have seen absolutely no reporting that indicates that Algeria is suporting the movement of fighters to Libya," General Carter Ham, who heads the US Africa command (AFRICOM), told journalists in Algiers.

"To the countrary, Algeria has been suporting and strongly so regional security and countering terrorism," Ham added.

Libya's National Transitional Council, an umbrella group for the various rebel forces fighting to topple Kadhafi, has accused Algeria of sending mercenaries to support the embattled dictator.

http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/6696.html">Weapons from Libya used in attacks in Algeria
ALGIERS - weapons brought from Libya, scene of an uprising against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, were used for attacks in Algeria, said Wednesday Algerian Minister Delegate in charge of Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel.

"There was a spate of attacks in our country. It is no a coincidence. It is the feat of arms and ammunition arriving from Libya," he told a press conference in Algiers.

"Libya has become a repository (weapons) in the open. There are a lot of weapons circulating in this country and transferred to areas of conflict," said Messahel.

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Reports of #Freedomfighters penetrating 5km into #Zlite, fierce clashes with #Gaddafi forces in the city. #Libya #feb17

#NATO strikes #Gaddafi ammunition storage facility in #Waddan http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_75023.htm #Libya #feb17
#NATO KEY HITS: 1 June: #Hun: 1 Ammunition Storage Facility, 1 Fire Control Radar. #Libya #feb17
#NATO KEY HITS: 1 June: #Mizdah: 1 Ammunition Storage Facility. #Libya #feb17
#NATO KEY HITS: 1 June: #Tripoli: 1 Vehicle Storage Facility, 1 Surface-To-Air Missile Launcher. #Libya #feb17

#Benghazi: Reports that a car ran a checkpoint, chased & when stopped found to be carrying explosives. No further details. #Libya #feb17
#Kikla: #Gaddafi forces shelling city with GRAD rockets now. #Libya #feb17
#Yefren: #Suuk: #Freedomfighters liberated at least 16 locations used as #Gaddafi command & control centers. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports of large protest on #Jumhuriya street. #Gaddafi forces firing on protesters. #Libya #feb17
#Yefren: #Gaddafi forces that were pushed out of Yefren city center went to an area called #OuladAttia #Libya #feb17

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

freelibyanyouth Shabab Libya
Security forces sent to #Baniwalid to arrest FF in 4 areas: Alnora, Alkraat, Allutfa and Alfutman have been fought off for the 3rd day. RT
LPC #Jadu: Caller says there is a new sense of calm in the city, after weeks under the threat of Grad fire from Qasr al Hajj #libya #feb17
(cont) is currently safer. Rebel forces have not completely swept the areas. Gaddafi forces had previously blocked aid to #Yefren #libya
@AlmanaraMedia follow me for up-to-date news on Baniwalid pls. And for Dms. Thanks.
Party for children in Tripoli Street with the presence of the local council & a delegation from the UN http://goo.gl/wYdYM v @free_misurata

#Libya #NTC a car exploded in #Benghazi in an area called Zwawa
#Libya #NTC we're focusing on helping the civilians in the western mountain, sendind aid, evacuating the injured etc
#Libya #NTC new security measures will include surveillance cameras and explosive detection devices
LPC #Yefren: Rebels are currently clearing Yefren city center & the area of Zimla, checking for remaining Gaddafi forces #libya #feb17

@lindabutterfly Yes it is. According to sources in Qalaa, food aid is going to Zintan but has overlooked their area.
RT @jonarenz: Mahmoud #Shammam (#NTC): We expect few 100s of sleepers and Gaddafi agents still in #benghazi. #libya #Tibesti CC @jnsaucier
@TributeFM Libya has shown amazing talent mashAllah, with the likes of Mo Nabbous Allah yr7ma. Tht talent is wasted with Shammam in the role

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Tripoli: Reports that cellular service is down in parts of town tonight. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Approximately 10 #NATO strikes tonight, Some near #BabAlAzizyah, near airport & near Rixos Hotel. #Libya #feb17
#Jadu: #Freedomfighters have taken control of #Bazinah & outskirts of #AlJouwsh where #Gaddafi & his mercs are located. #Libya #feb17
VIDEO: This is reportedly a video of Tripoli protests tonight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2-aOudnMSw #libya #feb17

#Gaddafi forces from #Zawia & #Sorman, led by El Kweldi Al Hmedi, are heading to #Shakshuk tonight. #Libya @USAfricaCommand @stavridisj
#Tripoli: Another 4 #NATO airstrikes heard in city within the last hour. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports that protesters on #OmarAlMokhtar St. are trying to break into #Gaddafi State TV & Radio building. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports of fighting & heavy gunfire between #Gaddafi forces & #Freedomfighters in #Altarasana near #SouqAlJumaa . #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Reports of fighting & heavy gunfire between #Gaddafi forces & #Freedomfighters in #SouqAlJumaa now. #Libya #feb17
#StVincentGrenadines PASSENGER SHIP "AZZURRA" Destination: #Benghazi #Libya 105.3 NM out from port. #feb17
#Tripoli: Things stirring. Lots of rumors of "something big" happening next week. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Heavy gun fire in #BenAshour & #Thahra #Libya #feb17

#Freedomfighters in #Gado take control of #Bazina area in #GabalNuffosa & they are on the edge of #AlGosh & #Bader #Libya #17feb
#Yefren: 2 vehicles of #Gaddafi forces fled towards #Roomiyah. #Freedomfighters now checking the #Sook area for Gaddafi forces #Libya
#Tripoli: Reports that #Gaddafi forces have turned #Gargaresh Psychological hospital into a weapons storage facility #Libya #feb17 @NATO
@libyanproud Thank you for the compliment Brother. You, me, Sof and the rest all party in Trip once this is all over.
#Yefren: #Freedomfighters captured 13 of #Gaddafi's forces occupying hospital. Remainder headed North towards #BeerAyad. #Libya #feb17

PLEASE RT: #Gaddafi forces from #Zawia & #Sorman, led by El Kweldi Al Hmedi, are heading to #Shakshuk tonight. Need @NATO airstrikes.
#NATO strikes #Gaddafi ammunition storage location South of #Zintan #Libya #feb17
#NATO tonight hits targets close to #Tripoli airport, farm belonging to #Gaddafi family & in #Tajoura by the Heart hospital..#Libya #feb17
Reports that a high rank military official from #Ghadamis has defected & joined the revolutionaries in #Nalut. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports of gun fire since early afternoon, protest in #OmarMoktar street in #Fashlom. #Libya #feb17

#Freedomfighters advanced another 5 Km towards #Zliten today. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports that some of the #NATO airstrikes tonight are in the area of the airport. #Libya #feb17
#Yefren today: #Freedomfighters took seven tanks, six 14.5 mm guns and numerous vehicles from the #Gaddafi forces. #Libya #feb17
#AlQalaa: GRAD rockets are still being fired by #Gaddafi forces on the town indiscriminately from areas of #Sufeat & #Alromia #Libya #feb17
Confirmed #NATO airstrikes on city of #Brega, targeting command & control centers. #Libya #feb17

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Tripoli: Total of 6 large explosions heard so far tonight. #Libya #feb17
@LibyaSteadfast Same here but ppl need to remember and the proof needs to be disseminated to the world
#Tripoli: 3 large explosions just now heard to the West of #BabAlAziziyah #Libya #feb17
#Cyprus OIL TANKER "BALTIC SAPPHIRE" Now arriving in #Benghazi #Libya (32.5 NM out) #feb17

@Libyan_Republic @LibyaSteadfast Was weird tweeting about a place in Tripoli and then hours later seeing NATO blow it up (Traffic cam cntr)
VIDEO: #AlDafniyah Crossing gate 2 June, 2011 http://youtu.be/nPZNZzsvzfo #Libya #feb17
#Yefrin: #Freedomfighters have liberated #SouqYefrin area & #Ghasru area from #Gaddafi forces this evening. #Libya #feb17
#Zintan: #Khosha area yesterday: 169 Brazilian land mines from #Gaddafi forces were successfully removed by #Freedomfighters. #Libya #feb17.
#Zawiyah Youth Statement announcing they are in their 3rd stage of operations http://youtu.be/jq4gNN0BqcI #Libya #feb17

SCORE! #Tripoli C&C building for all traffic cameras behind Dentistry School bombed by #NATO (See timeline). #Libya #feb17
VIDEO: #Tripoli: #Gaddafi's sniper fires on the youths of #BenAshour http://youtu.be/bDFwb7upfCQ #Libya #feb17
#Freedomfighters of #Yefren & #Qalaa have captured Colonel Bashir Altarhuni with 14 soldiers of his battalion. #Libya #feb17
@Libyan_Republic : ) Don't be surprised if I take you up on the offer. I really want to explore that amazing country...SOOOOO much to see!
Some of the GRAD missiles landing inside #Jabal are sent with no nose, causing them to whistle & land with no explosion. #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Several reports of heavy #NATO presence over head at this time. #Libya #feb17
Journalist in #Benghazi says: #NATO attacks today included use of Apache helicopters. #Libya #feb17
Mahmoud Shamam confirmed the exit of Sheikh Sadiq #Ghariani from #Libya he will soon arrive in #Doha #Qatar. #feb17

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

SecularLibya MargBar Khamenei
Hundreds of G forces have been killed in Zlitan front and 1000s have been injured. NATO first gave them warning to abandon. #Libya

Concrete bombs are relatively quiet and you will not hear them unless within blocks. #Libya #Feb17
Heinz: Nato is now concentrating on tanks and armor inside Tripoli. Many are hit with concrete bombs for no collateral damage. #Libya #Feb17
Heinz: Expect serious collapse of parts of G military in 2 days. Bad news is reaching Tripoli commanders. #Libya #Feb17
Heinz: On May 30 or 31 NATO attack, massive secondary explosion in Sabha base killing many officers. Sabha out of commission. #Libya #Feb17
There are 2 remaining positions around Yefren with 120 troops which will be "addressed" tonight. #Libya #Feb17

Heinz: NATO will announce the chopper strikes (going on for past 5 days) this coming Saturday. #Feb17 #Libya
NATO bombed street security camera center (@dental scl) in Tripoli as soon as FFs identified the building yesterday.Way to go! #Libya #Feb17
Heinz: Chopper action last night at Zlitan opening the way for FFs to move forward and capture weapons. #Libya #Feb17
Reports: Parts of Yefren has been liberated and Qadafi forces pushed back. Also heli action last night S. of Zlitan. #Libya #Feb17
UNCONFIRMED: @FromJoanne F A N T A S T I C ! #NAFUSA #YEFREN IS LIBERATED #Libya Thank pro-dems !

Building behind Dentistry School is control & monitor centre of security cameras for all Tripoli. #Libya #feb17 @NATO @NATO_ACT
Heinz: FFs will seize lots of weapons tomorrow at Zlitan. Sabha (major GF base in south) is disobeying Gadafi commands. #Libya #Feb17
Heinz: GF tanks that have been recently destroyed in Tripoli by NATO remain on street. GF fail to take them away. (decoys?) #Libya #Feb17
More chopper fireworks tonight at three locations. Expect the fall of some towns and retreat of GF next few days. #Libya #Feb17
freedom of movement and the source is very reliable one <end> #Libya #Feb17 @NATO @NATOpress @NATO_ACT

antenna with a length of 50-55 meters and the rebels say if the NATO attack this building , therefore they will have freedom >>>> #Libya
Salah al-Din,specifically behind the Institution of Ibn Nadhor before , now a dental college that there is a building where the control >>>>
From Tripoli: @NATO_ACT @NATO The FF in Tripoli want to inform the NATO an important information from a reliable source that in the -cont
Helicopters still under command of France/UK & doing limited work. But will be handed to NATO for major operation in Zlitan and east #Libya

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

By Nic Robertson, CNN
June 3, 2011 -- Updated 0422 GMT (1222 HKT)


(CNN) -- A witness who met with Eman al-Obeidy after she was forced back to Libya from Qatar said the alleged rape victim appeared battered and bruised.

Nasha Dawaji, a U.S.-based Libyan pro-freedom activist, said she was with three key members of the National Transitional Council, the rebels' government, when they first learned that al-Obeidy was forced from Doha and arrived in Benghazi on Thursday.

Al-Obeidy had a black eye, like she had been punched, Dawaji said. She also had bruises on her legs and scratches on her arms.

The council members were upset upon seeing al-Obeidy's condition and vowed to open an investigation, Dawaji said.

...


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/03/libya.rape.case/

By Nic Robertson, CNN
June 3, 2011 5:38 p.m. EDT


(CNN) -- The United States is "disappointed" by the expulsion by Qatar of Eman al-Obeidy to Libya, a decision that it said is a "breach of humanitarian norms."

Al-Obeidy grabbed the world's attention this spring when she accused Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's security forces of gang-raping her.

"We've not spoken with Ms. al-Obeidy since she left Qatar, but we have been in contact with senior officials in the Transitional National Council in Benghazi, and we've made clear U.S. interests in her case," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in reference to the rebel government in control of eastern Libya. "I believe she is safe where she is at right now."

...


Amnesty International called al-Obeidy's deportation "outrageous," saying the action taken by the Qatari government "is a serious breach by Qatar of its international obligations."

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/03/libya.rape.case/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Raids on army vehicles and ammunition depots in Tripoli follow announcement of extension of alliance's Libyan mission.

Last Modified: 03 Jun 2011 05:51


Fresh attacks have taken place in central Tripoli, with a series of explosions reported as Nato continues sporadic bombing of the Libyan capital.

A Libyan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP news agency, said on Friday that at least 10 NATO raids hit targets in and around Tripoli.

Nato confirmed on Thursday the attacks, which it said hit military vehicles and ammunition depots, a surface-to-air missile launcher and a fire-control radar.

The attacks took place just hours after NATO and its partners said it would extend the Libyan mission for 90 more days in support of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule.

"This decision sends a clear message to the Gaddafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said.

...


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/06/20116341054115467.html

Nalut revolutionary uses 100 yrs old rifle to fight
http://youtu.be/qV0ce5okows

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#AlQalaa: Clashes between the #Freedomfighters & #Gaddafi forces happening now in the area of #Sifit #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi OIL TANKER "ALYARMOUK" showing movement E of #Malta w/ no dest. listed. #Libya #feb17
@Desertandy two of those roads are covered with underground bunkers large enough for fighter jets, much like those found in Iraq
#Zintan: Clashes between #Freedomfighters & #Gaddafi mercenaries east of #Zintan. #Libya #feb17

#Yefren: #BirAyyat under #Freedomfighter control & aid shipment making its way into Yefren. #Libya #feb17
@AbirKopty We only have her story so far and many believe there is a LOT more to it
#Anonymous strikes again: #Iran and #UAE governments hacked' http://goo.gl/hLJzO merci @KevinJRawlinson
Very odd, #Gadhafi TV is showing documantaries about factories in #Misrata as Gadhafi's achievements. Is something in the works to attack?

@Gheblawi In a word? HELL NO! Criminal gov of #Russia backs the International Criminal #Gaddafi and all #Libya knows it!
PLEASE SIGN & RT: Petition: No to #Gaddafi Representative in #OPEC petitiononline.co.uk/petition/no-to… #Libya #feb17
#Freedomfighters in the east claim to be preparing for "big movements" next week once essential preparations are completed. #Libya #feb17
Anyone know if @NATO has bombed this yet? http://goo.gl/MrgXZ #Libya #feb17

@LibyaFeb17_com Heard from some who know her, she was not well liked even b4 all this...bad reputation. More 2 story than we are hearing
Beautiful photostream from #NafusaMountains via @live2Tripoli http://goo.gl/7lTX0 #Libya #feb17
#Jadu: Libyana & Al-Madaar cell networks coverage returned as has the electricity. Landlines are still down. #Libya #feb17
William Hague British Foreign minister will arrive tomorrow in #Benghazi to hold meetings with members of the #NTC. #Libya #feb17

@LibyaFeb17_com What is the other side of the story? What is Qatar saying? Have been hearing some not so nice things.
#Tripoli: #Gaddafi's mercenaries are housed in #AliAlkeylani's farm on Tareak AlMatar. #Libya #feb17 @NATO @stavridisj @UKMilOps
At 6:35am local time, approximately two-thirds of all Syrian networks became unreachable from the global Internet. http://bit.ly/isXye5
#Libya #NTC OIL TANKER "ANWAAR AFRIQYA" now enroute from #Tobruk to #Benghazi ETA: 2011-06-04 10:30 (UTC) #feb17

#Yefren: Reports of clashes between #Gaddafi forces and #Freedomfighters near #BirAyyad now. #Libya #feb17
Heinz: “If #Gaddafi starts killing civilians in #Tripoli, then #NATO will have no choice but to send choppers to Tripoli”. #Libya #feb17
#Yefren: #Gaddafi forces were firing GRAD rockets from near #Alawayniyyah this morning, injuring 3 children. #Libya #feb17
Abdullah Senussi: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/gaddafi-abdullah-senussi-brutal-right-hand-man #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: #NATO struck Abdulla Senousi & Khwealdi Elhamedi houses in Alsedi Street, destroying them completely. #Libya #feb17
#Jalou: #Freedomfighters withstood an assault by #Gaddafi forces, captured 3 vehicles & truck filled with ammunition & guns #Libya #feb17
Unconfirmed: Large defection amongst the #Sehban Brigade in #Gheryan with large protests after Friday prayers today #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: If reports of #Gaddafi State TV defections are true then one wonders. where is Hala the Ho? #Libya #feb17

Reports that a number of "news" presenters from #Libya State TV, including sports presenter BilrasAli have defected & escaped to #Tunisia
Name: Muhammad Milad Al-Ashgar. Joyous and kind young man. Died in explosion of Weapons' Workshop in Derna yesterday. http://goo.gl/8foqx
Someone @ the military just reported that President Saleh is in ICU, implying his injuries are critical.. this has not been confirmed #yemen
#Yefren: 11:00h #Awlad Atiyah, Quarries & the road between #Sook district & #BiirAyyad are clear of #Gaddafi forces. #Libya #feb17

Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in #Libya admits she wants #Gaddafi-style government in #US theblaze.com/stories/green-… #feb17 #WhackJob
#Tripoli: Unconfirmed: #NATO has targeted houses of senior pro #Gaddafi figures Abdullah Alsanussi & Khewldi Alhmedi. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Unconfirmed: Fighting & clashes happening in Fashloom Street & the streets adjacent #Libya #feb17
#Gharyan,Western mountains Protests today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d12h7FPfWbY #Libya #feb17 #Nafusa

VIDEO: #Tripoli: Today: After Juma'a Prayers Fashloum St. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_ptDwGuTQo #Libya #feb17
Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft destroyed two main battle tanks & two armored personnel carriers in #Yefren yesterday #Libya #feb17

...


There is, too, the ground fire; in Baghdad more than in Tripoli, volleys of automatic rifle and antiaircraft fire, mostly unthreatening to the attacking aircraft because of the prior destruction of command centers and air-defense radars that sit, twisted and blackened, on heights around the two capitals. Beyond this, in Tripoli, sometimes only minutes after the bombs and missiles have exploded, comes a fresh staccato of automatic-rifle and machine-gun fire from districts across the city.


These clattering exchanges, one fusillade prompting another, suggest that the anti-Qaddafi underground may be profiting from the confusion caused by the bombing to attack checkpoints and watchtowers guarding key intersections and buildings. Government officials are evasive when asked. But local people, emboldened to speak when no minders are present, say the underground, pervasive in some of the more restive districts, organizes hit-and-run attacks in the wake of the airstrikes, before melting back into the alleyways of neighborhoods like Tajoura, Feshloom and Souk al-Juma.


These are districts that rose up in protest against Colonel Qaddafi in the revolt’s early stages in February, only to fall back into a sullen vigil, with thousands of men and youths imprisoned, or press-ganged into service with pro-Qaddafi militias, according to accounts from some who live in the districts. Like much else in Tripoli, where official eyes and ears are never far away, and reporters know that they can put Libyans at risk simply by talking to them with no minders present, these accounts are beyond corroboration. But they are powerful nonetheless for what they convey of a seemingly widespread anti-Qaddafi feeling in a city whose 2.5 million residents represent more than 40 percent of the Libyan population.

...


http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/history-repeats-for-a-correspondent-in-tripoli/

04 Jun. 2011

NAPLES – Attack helicopters under NATO command were used for the first time on 4 Jun 2011 in military operations over Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector.

The targets struck included military vehicles, military equipment and fielded forces.

“This successful engagement demonstrates the unique capabilities brought to bear by attack helicopters,” said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, Commander of Operation Unified Protector. “We will continue to use these assets whenever and wherever needed, using the same precision as we do in all of our missions.”

The use of attack helicopters provides the NATO operation with additional flexibility to track and engage pro-Qadhafi forces who deliberately target civilians and attempt to hide in populated areas.

NATO forces are constantly reviewing their operations and use of available assets, including attack helicopters, to best maintain the momentum and increase the pressure on pro-Qadhafi forces.

NATO’s operation is being conducted under the United Nations Security Resolution 1973, which calls for an immediate end to all attacks against civilians and authorized all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya.

By Associated Press, Published: June 3


The 268-145 roll call Friday by which the House adopted a resolution declaring that the president shall not deploy, establish or maintain the presence of units and members of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Libya, and for other purposes.

How each member voted:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/house-roll-call-how-they-voted-on-libya-resolution/2011/06/03/AGcwfLIH_story.html