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| Libya Update on the Ground; Current military operations | |
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| Topic Started: 7 May 2011, 05:10 PM (1,892 Views) | |
| Hayes | 15 Aug 2011, 06:54 PM Post #21 |
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Thanks Daib,I see he(Gadaffi)is rallying the people of Tripoli to a frenzy.One whiff of the rebels at the gates and they will suddenly change sides...end of Gidaffi..
Edited by Hayes, 15 Aug 2011, 08:04 PM.
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| Broad and Anderson on fire,Aussies,be Very Afraid | |
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| daib0 | 15 Aug 2011, 07:59 PM Post #22 |
A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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Here's a big report from Reuters - today, 15th August ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan rebels said on Monday they had seized a second strategic town near Tripoli within 24 hours, completing the encirclement of the capital in the boldest advances of their six-month uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. In a barely audible telephone call to state television overnight, a defiant and apparently isolated Gaddafi called on his followers to fight rebels he referred to as "rats". Gaddafi's forces fired mortars and rockets at the coastal town of Zawiyah a day after rebels captured its centre in a thrust that severed the vital coastal highway from Tripoli to the Tunisian border, a potential turning point in the war. Rebels said they captured the town of Garyan south of Tripoli on Monday. That could not be immediately verified, but if true it would cut off the other main route to the capital. "Garyan is fully in the hands of the revolutionaries," a rebel spokesman, Abdulrahman, said by telephone. "Gaddafi has been isolated. He has been cut off from the outside world." A U.N. envoy arrived in neighbouring Tunisia, where sources say rebels and representatives of the government have been holed up in an island resort hotel for negotiations. Talks could signal the endgame of a conflict that has drawn in the NATO alliance and emerged as one of the bloodiest confrontations in the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world. Rebels may still lack the manpower for an all-out assault on Tripoli, but are hoping their encirclement of the capital will bring down Gaddafi's government or inspire an uprising. In the past, however, they have frequently failed to hold gains, and a fightback by Gaddafi troops could yet break the siege. Gaddafi's government denies talks with rebels are taking place. His spokesman dismissed reports of negotiations about the Libyan leader's future as part of a "media war" against him. "The leader is here in Libya, fighting for the freedom of our nation. He will not leave Libya," Moussa Ibrahim said. A senior Gaddafi security official arrived in Cairo with his family, in what could be a sign of more defections if the government crumbles. SITUATION TRANSFORMED After months of only incremental gains in their struggle against Gaddafi, rebel advances in the last two days have transformed the situation, beginning with the capture of the town of Zawiyah which cut Tripoli's main lifeline road west. Reuters reporters in the town say Gaddafi's forces still hold an oil refinery and have sniper positions on rooftops, but the highway linking Tripoli to the Tunisian border is shut. Nevertheless, a U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the advance in Zawiyah could not yet be seen as a "game changer", stressing that the rebels did not have complete control of the town. At a hospital, medics said six rebels had died and 26 were wounded. They also said firing by Gaddafi forces killed three civilians. One man was shot in the head and a 15-year-old girl died of shrapnel wounds. A woman lay in the hospital unconscious with shrapnel wounds to her neck. Her brother, who gave his name as Waleed, stood over her holding a drip, his T-shirt drenched in blood. He said Gaddafi's forces were "shooting at us indiscriminately". Zawiyah has risen up twice in the past only for its revolts to be crushed by Gaddafi loyalists. But this is the first time rebels have linked the town with fighters advancing from the mountains in the south, preventing Gaddafi's forces from bypassing it to keep the strategically vital coastal road open. Gaddafi's green flag still flew at the coastal highway's border crossing with Tunisia on Monday, but the steady traffic that once supplied Gaddafi-held areas had slowed to a trickle. Passengers said the road was only open for about 70 kilometres, a third of the way to Tripoli. The rebels' claimed capture of Garyan would close the capital's other main supply line, a highway south over the mountains and into the desert. That route links Tripoli with Algeria and also can be used to reach the east. Reuters reporters saw NATO war planes bombing Garyan on Sunday. Abdulrahman, the rebel spokesman, said fighters at Garyan had crushed a brigade that formed Gaddafi's main fighting force in the Western mountains and seized its weapons. Gaddafi's officials in Tripoli did not respond to a request for an update on the military situation on Monday. Sources in Tunisia say Gaddafi's officials have been meeting rebels on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba for talks. Previous attempts at negotiations have been fruitless. Abdel Elah al-Khatib, the U.N. envoy for Libya, arrived in Tunisia and met its prime minister. He told Reuters he would meet "Libyan personalities residing in Tunisia" to discuss the conflict. "Any official talks are confined to the two parties of the crisis, the Transitional National Council and the Libyan government, while at the same time I am open to listening to all views from all segments of Libyan society," he said. Egyptian sources said a senior Libyan security official, Nasser al-Mabrouk Abdullah, had flown to Cairo with nine relatives from Djerba. He told officials he was on holiday. Gaddafi officials in Tripoli said Abdullah was a former public security minister and now held a top security position. They said his travel was unofficial. A source at the Libyan embassy in Cairo said he had not made contact with it. RELIEF FOR NATO The rebel advances are a relief for NATO allies, especially France and Britain, which have been in the vanguard of a bombing campaign since March that they say will not end until Gaddafi leaves power. NATO ambassadors are due to meet on on Aug. 31 to discuss a 90-day extension of their operation in Libya. A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, said Britain was aware of reports of rebel progress. "We think the NATO operation is proving successful in eroding Gaddafi's ability to wage war against his own people," the spokesman said. Libyans fleeing south in their cars reported gunfire in a place called Harsha, between Tripoli and Zawiyah. "I heard fighting there today on our way here," said one man who declined to give his name. He also said rebels clashed with Gaddafi's security forces inside Tripoli on Sunday night. "There is no gasoline, no electricity, food prices are up 300 percent. We just cannot live like this anymore," he said. Gaddafi's overnight speech was delivered over a poor-quality telephone and broadcast by state TV in audio only, giving the impression the leader was in a bunker or other remote hideout. "Move forward, challenge, pick up your weapons, go to the fight for liberating Libya inch by inch from the traitors and from NATO," the 68-year-old leader said. "The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battle.... The end of colonialism is near. The end of the rats (rebels) is near, as they flee..." In Zawiyah, rebel fighter Khalid Al-Zawi said: "Gaddafi is crazy. He's capable of absolutely anything. That's one thing we have to keep in mind." (Additional reporting by Missy Ryan in Tripoli, Ulf Laessing in Ras Jdir, Tunisia, Tarek Amara in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers, Sami Aboudi in Cairo; and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Jordan; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Jon Boyle) .. |
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| daib0 | 17 Aug 2011, 08:28 PM Post #23 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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Things are moving pretty fast on the ground - I'll try to do a smaller report update at start of next week too ... |
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Royals Rendezvous - a friendly Reading forum // twitter: @johnstone_cello | |
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| Hayes | 17 Aug 2011, 08:46 PM Post #24 |
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Very near Tripoli now,could be 50 miles or so away.Will look foreward to your update Daib,it seems to gone quiet on the box these days apart from the odd report. |
| Broad and Anderson on fire,Aussies,be Very Afraid | |
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| daib0 | 17 Aug 2011, 08:52 PM Post #25 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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closest point, at one particular front, is said to be only 35 miles from outskirts Tripoli ... due mainly to Gadaffi forces backing off |
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Royals Rendezvous - a friendly Reading forum // twitter: @johnstone_cello | |
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| Hayes | 20 Aug 2011, 09:50 AM Post #26 |
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Whats worrying is what takes place in these countries afterwards,an Islamic state?The last thing we want,even now insurgents are being allowed through Egypt to attack our friend Israel.
Edited by Hayes, 20 Aug 2011, 09:50 AM.
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| Broad and Anderson on fire,Aussies,be Very Afraid | |
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| daib0 | 21 Aug 2011, 09:45 PM Post #27 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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This really is incredible – I was going to do this later, but NOW is the moment. It’s the moment of the domino effect or the avalanche effect. This hasn’t been no stalemate for a long time, but now Daffi forces are caving in, and in all directions. Libyan freedom fighters advanced quickly eastwards towards Tripoli on Sunday, seizing weapons and tanks in the town of Gadayem after bloody clashes with retreating forces loyal to leader Moamer Gaddafi. Within Tripoli itself, there are 7 locations of districts of where fighting has just broken out or is already taking place. At 6:00pm NATO forces bombed Muammar Gaddafi’s fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound. At 6:15pm Reuters reporting gunfire near Rixos Hotel, that’s where foreign journalists are forcibly staying. At 6.45pm Gaddafi’s last phone call has been traced to the Algerian Border. (but see news at 9.35pm) 7:00pm: Al Jazeera Breaking: FF from Western Mountains enter Janzour, western area of Tripoli 7:15pm: Breaking: Germany to send troops to protect its diplomats in Libya - Tripoli German Interior Ministry will not comment on the operations of special forces. De Spiegel reports that Germany has JUST sent special forces to Libya to protect their diplomats. 7:30pm: Breaking Reuters: Thousands of rebel fighters 25km west of Tripoli advancing on city 7:45pm: Revolutionaries entered Alseayahia, Tripoli 8:00pm: Aisha Gaddafi’s house house in Noufleen has been reportedly been seized – she is the daughter of Gadaffi (35 years old). 8:27pm: Muammar Gaddafi’s former right-hand man Abdel Salam Jalloud, who has defected to the Libyan rebel side, said on Sunday Gaddafi would be toppled within (conservative estimate) 10 days. 8:35pm: Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute on Sunday to Libyan rebels battling Muammar Gaddafi’s troops in and around Tripoli and reaffirmed France’s full support for their cause.”At the moment when decisive events are taking place in the Tripoli region, in Tripoli itself, and elsewhere in Libya, the president salutes the courage of the rebel fighters and of the Libyan people who are rising up,” he said. 8:40pm: Germany and France urged Moammar Gadhafi to step down immediately as rebels advance on the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Sunday. 8:45pm: Fighting in Tripoli on Saturday night and Sunday morning killed 376 people on both sides and injured about 1,000, an official in Muammar Gaddafi’s government told Reuters on condition of anonymity. 8:51pm: An anchor giving the news this weekend on Libyan state television lifted a gun on air and warned rebels trying to oust Moammar Gadhafi that staffers at al-Libiyah would become martyrs if they had to. 8:54pm: Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has rallied to his people via an audio announcement on Libya TV that they should come from all regions to liberate Tripoli. He said he was in the city, with his people and that together they would defend the city with its last drop of blood. 9:09pm: About 200 Libyan rebel fighters have reached the capital Tripoli in boats from Misrata to reinforce fighters already in the city, a pro-rebel activist in the capital told a Reuters reporter outside the country on Sunday. 9:16pm: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday he thought Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s rule in Libya was “nearing the end” and that it would be a “matter of hours” before his ouster. McCain, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said that “we will be rid of a guy who has practiced the worst kind of brutalities.” 9:21pm: Libyan rebels have pushed to the western outskirts of Tripoli without meeting any resistance after they overran a major military base that defends the capital. Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they reached the Tripoli suburb of Janzour around nightfall Sunday. They were greeted by civilians lining the streets and waving rebel flags. 9:30pm: Abdullah Al-Senussi, head of the Libyan Intelligence Service speaks to the media in Tripoli August 21, 2011. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday he will stay in Tripoli “until the end” and called on his supporters around the country to help liberate the capital from a rebel offensive. 9:35pm: Libya’s defected ex-prime minister Abdes Salam Jalloud said Sunday he believed it was too late for his former ally Muammar Gaddafi to strike a deal to leave power and he would likely be killed. In an interview with Italian media he said: He has no way of leaving Tripoli. All the roads are blocked. He can only leave with an international agreement and I think that door is closed. I think it would be difficult for Gaddafi to give himself up. And he is not like Hitler who had the courage to kill himself… I don’t think the evolution of the situation in Tripoli will allow him to survive. 11:55pm: Crowds of ecstatic Libyans greeted the advancing rebel army in the capital Tripoli on Sunday, Britain’s Sky news reported, saying opposition forces were now about eight kilometres from the centre of the besieged city. 12:05pm: Muammar Gaddafi’s government appears to have started crumbling on Sunday as hundreds of euphoric Libyan rebels overran a major military base defending the capital, carted away truckloads of weapons and raced to the outskirts of Tripoli with virtually no resistance. |
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| daib0 | 21 Aug 2011, 09:51 PM Post #28 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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LAST HALF HOUR Libyan opposition fighters say they have entreated the Green Square in central Tripoli. They entered the capital from the west and are about eight kilometres from the centre of the city. A Libyan rebel statesman has told Sky News that Saif Al-Islam has been captured as the end of the regime appears to draw ever closer. The United States sees the rebel offensive for Tripoli as clearly under way, and is urging the National Transitional Council (TNC) to start planning for the post-Gaddafi era in Libya, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday. “Clearly the offensive for Tripoli is under way,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement. We continue efforts to encourage the TNC to maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for post-Gaddafi Libya. Gaddafi’s days are numbered. If Gaddafi cared about the welfare of the Libyan people, he would step down now.” |
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| daib0 | 21 Aug 2011, 10:03 PM Post #29 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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More just in! By: Associated Press TRIPOLI, Libya - Libyan rebels moved into the capital Tripoli on Sunday and came within two miles of the city center, as Moammar Gadhafi's defenders melted away. The rebel leadership said Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam has been arrested. Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they met little resistance as they moved from the western outskirts into the capital in a dramatic turning of the tides in the 6-month-old Libyan civil war. The rebels took control of one neighborhood, Ghot Shaal, on the western edge of the city. They set up checkpoints as rebel trucks rolled into Tripoli. One of the rebels, Mohammed al-Zawi, 30, said he was in a convoy of more than 10 trucks that entered Ghot Shaal. He said they progressed as far as the neighborhood of Girgash, about a mile and a half from Green Square, where Gadhafi supporters have gathered nightly throughout the uprising to rally for their leader of more than 40 years. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TUNIS: Muammar Gaddafi's government is ready for immediate negotiations with rebels seeking to oust him, and has asked NATO to convince the rebel forces to halt an attack on Tripoli, a spokesman said on state television on Sunday. Gaddafi was prepared to negotiate directly with the head of the rebel National Transitional Council, spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said. He added that 1,300 people had been killed in fighting in Tripoli on Sunday. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Good videos here: http://aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/08/201182193129278233.html |
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Royals Rendezvous - a friendly Reading forum // twitter: @johnstone_cello | |
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| daib0 | 21 Aug 2011, 10:10 PM Post #30 |
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A thousand miles away, but just round the corner in spirit
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Superb report from Sky News' Alex Crawford on the outskirts of Tripoli. She says FFs (opposition fighters) are jubilant now and are convinced victory is here. She says that everyone on the front line is astonished at how little resistance they are facing - it has been far easier to move into Tripoli than expected. In addition she has witnessed FFs from Nalut, Zintan and elsewhere in the Nafusa mountains arriving on the frontline to join the battle. One other very significant point made by Alex Crawford was how all the populated areas into Tripoli have have erupted into spontaneous celebration upon the arrival of the FFs - even places where there was said to be alleged pro-Ghadafi sentiment. This of course suggests that the level of Ghadafi support within Tripoli now that the FFs have turned up in their thousands may be slim. It seems that the ease with which FFs took the Khamis Brigade HQ (some of the 'special' armed forces) tells us all we need to know about the true level of Ghadafi support once people realise they have the option of fleeing. So all this speculation of hardcore Ghadafi support within Tripoli may prove to be ill-founded. |
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