Libyan Civil War Megathread

[Mr.Penguin]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21photographers.html?_r=1&ref=africa

'Restrepo' Director Is Killed in Libya
By C.J. CHIVERS
Published: April 20, 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated film director and conflict photographer who produced the film "Restrepo," was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded.

The wounds to two of the photographers — Chris Hondros and Guy Martin — were grave, according to a colleague at the triage center where they were being treated Wednesday night. Their prospects for survival were not immediately clear.

Mr. Hondros, an American working for the Getty photo agency, suffered a severe brain injury and was in extremely critical condition, according to a colleague who was with at the triage center. He had been revived and was clinging to life in the evening, the colleague said.

Mr. Martin, a British citizen working for the Panos photo agency, had shrapnel wounds and was undergoing vascular surgery Wednesday night, according to the same account. He was in surgery Wednesday night.

The fourth photographer, Michael Christopher Brown, suffered shrapnel injuries but his life was not in danger.

Misurata, Libya's third largest city, has been cut off by land from the rest of Libya by military forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. It has been the scene of intensive, close-quarters fighting for weeks. Hundreds of Libyans have been confirmed killed.

The photographers had reached the city's port on a sea voyage from Benghazi, the rebel capital. The early reports said they had been working together near the front lines when they were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

[KRonn]

Adding to British advisers being sent.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/20/libya.war/index.html?hpt=T1

Italy, France sending troops to advise Libyan rebels

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- France and Italy announced Wednesday that they will send military officers to advise rebels fighting for the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Following a similar announcement by the British government Tuesday, French government spokesman Francois Baroin said a "small number" of French troops were being sent to advise the rebels' Transitional National Council.

French Defense Minister Gérard Longuet again ruled out sending ground troops to fight alongside the rebels. "This is a real issue that deserves an international debate," he said, adding, "We are working within the framework of the 1973 resolution," a reference to the U.N. resolution that authorized action in Libya. "You cannot please everyone all the time," he said.

Italy will send military advisers to train the rebels in self-defense tactics, Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari announced.

Britain said Tuesday it is sending a contingent of experienced military officers to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in an advisory role. The team will work with the Transitional National Council on how the opposition can improve military organizational structures, communications and logistics, the British Foreign Office said. It will also assist in the delivery of critically needed aid.

"This deployment is fully within the terms of UNSCR 1973 both in respect of civilian protection and its provision expressly ruling out a foreign occupation force on Libyan soil," Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

The United States is not moving toward sending military advisers, according to a U.S. military official with knowledge of ongoing discussions inside the U.S. military. The White House remains adamant there will be no U.S. "boots on the ground," although U.S. intelligence operatives remain in Libya, the source said.

The official pointed out there is a mixed record for U.S. military advisers in past conflicts. Perhaps the most obvious example, the official said, was the initial years of the Vietnam conflict when the U.S. military began with an advisory role that later grew. And if the United States sent advisory troops to Libya, it would then have to provide security, transportation, supplies and other gear, and would have to have units on standby for emergency extraction if they ran into trouble, the source said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recommended that President Barack Obama authorize the U.S. government sending up to $25 million in non-lethal commodities and services to support Libyan rebels, including the Transitional National Council, two senior administration officials said Wednesday.

In Libya, rebel spokesman Jalal al Gallal called Wednesday's announcements by France and Italy "positive."

"We are pleased with the results, and I think it's a prelude to more cooperation," he said. "The more advisers we have on the ground, the better coordination we'll have on the battlefield."

The announcements from the European nations came as Transitional National Council President Mustafa Abdul Jalil was in Europe for meetings with leaders.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Arabic countries, in particular Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Every Arab country has its own issues and maybe some were later than others in giving their support but we would like to thank the Arabic countries and the European countries, NATO, the U.S., Australia and Canada and all those countries that are supporting this Libyan revolution."

Qatar and the UAE are among the countries contributing to the international effort in Libya.

Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi on Tuesday blasted Britain's announcement that it was sending military advisers. In an interview with ITN, he called it a step toward "confrontation."

The efforts to bolster the rebellion come as Libya's main opposition body pleaded for an international military intervention.

Libyans are "being slaughtered every day by the Gadhafi forces," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah told CNN Tuesday.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Wednesday said some of the Libyan government's attacks on the besieged city of Misrata could constitute international crimes.

A statement from Navi Pillay's office said she condemned "the reported repeated use of cluster munitions and heavy weaponry by Libyan government forces in their attempt to regain control of the besieged city of Misrata, and said that such attacks on densely populated urban areas, resulting in substantial civilian casualties, could amount to international crimes."

"The pro-government forces besieging the city, including their commanders and all other personnel, should be aware that -- with the International Criminal Court investigating possible crimes -- their orders and actions will be subject to intense scrutiny," Pillay said in the statement. "Under international law, the deliberate targeting of medical facilities is a war crime, and the deliberate targeting or reckless endangerment of civilians may also amount to serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law."

UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency, said Wednesday that 20 children have been killed and "countless others injured" in Misrata alone.

Among rebels, calls for help have been increasing each day.

Aid agencies are afraid of going to areas such as Misrata, which is being targeted by Gadhafi troops, opposition activist Mohamed Ibrahim said. "Some of them, they come. But most of them, they come near ... they hear the shelling and everything and they go back," he said.

At least 27 people have been killed and 142 have been injured this week, according to an opposition spokesman who wanted to be identified only as "Mohammed" for safety reasons.

Aid groups have been attempting to pluck desperate people from Misrata, which is hemmed in by Gadhafi's forces on three sides.

The only escape route is by the city's port -- an area witnesses said has also been shelled by Gadhafi's forces.

For those left behind, witnesses say, the dire situation continues to deteriorate. The city is still without water, electricity, and telecommunications, Mohammed said Tuesday. "Shelling has moved out of the industrial areas to the residential areas, and it is still going on."

Rebel spokesman Abdulmolah said the opposition's Transitional National Council is not opposed to a humanitarian mission on the ground.

"Something needs to be done so we can stop the bloodshed of our people," he said.

But "we do not want any foreign military presence or any international fighters along with our rebels," he added.

Libyan Foreign Minister al-Obeidi said the government would consider a cease-fire in Misrata if it was on both sides. "I think the only way is give peace a chance" through a general cease-fire, he told ITN.

NATO is leading an international military operation that includes targeting Gadhafi's military resources with airstrikes.

NATO said the operation has destroyed seven ammunition bunkers in the Tripoli area as well as equipment in several other parts of the country this week.

NATO attacked three regime battle tanks and a vehicle-mounted artillery piece in and around Misrata on Tuesday, British military spokesman Maj. Gen. John Lorimer said in a statement Wednesday.

Abdulmolah said NATO strikes may have also prevented more destruction in eastern Libya, particularly near Benghazi.

"We received reports that Gadhafi forces were mobilizing their troops and their mobile missiles/rockets systems from Brega towards Ajdabiya to bomb Benghazi. They were stopped by (Tuesday's) NATO strikes," he said.

But he said the opposition wants "technical assistance" and weapons "because we are facing a merciless tyrant who wants to slaughter his own people just because they asked for freedom and liberty."

[Norgy]

There are some WWII Desert War jokes to be made here.

[Mr.Penguin]

sucks to be the rebel unit that gets the Italian advisers...

[Caliga]

sucks to be the rebel unit that gets the Italian advisers...

They will become experts at retreat and surrender tactics.

[jimmy olsen]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21photographers.html?_r=1&ref=africa

'Restrepo' Director Is Killed in Libya
By C.J. CHIVERS
Published: April 20, 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated film director and conflict photographer who produced the film "Restrepo," was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded.

The wounds to two of the photographers — Chris Hondros and Guy Martin — were grave, according to a colleague at the triage center where they were being treated Wednesday night. Their prospects for survival were not immediately clear.

Hondros has passed away as well.

[jamesww]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21photographers.html?_r=1&ref=africa

'Restrepo' Director Is Killed in Libya
By C.J. CHIVERS
Published: April 20, 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated film director and conflict photographer who produced the film "Restrepo," was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded.

The wounds to two of the photographers — Chris Hondros and Guy Martin — were grave, according to a colleague at the triage center where they were being treated Wednesday night. Their prospects for survival were not immediately clear.

Mr. Hondros, an American working for the Getty photo agency, suffered a severe brain injury and was in extremely critical condition, according to a colleague who was with at the triage center. He had been revived and was clinging to life in the evening, the colleague said.

Mr. Martin, a British citizen working for the Panos photo agency, had shrapnel wounds and was undergoing vascular surgery Wednesday night, according to the same account. He was in surgery Wednesday night.

The fourth photographer, Michael Christopher Brown, suffered shrapnel injuries but his life was not in danger.

Misurata, Libya's third largest city, has been cut off by land from the rest of Libya by military forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. It has been the scene of intensive, close-quarters fighting for weeks. Hundreds of Libyans have been confirmed killed.

The photographers had reached the city's port on a sea voyage from Benghazi, the rebel capital. The early reports said they had been working together near the front lines when they were struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

That's tragic, and despite what some of us may say about journalists, there are some among them who display singular courage.

[CountDeMoney]

sucks to be the rebel unit that gets the Italian advisers...

Gonna be kind of tough to mount a recoiless rifle onto a moped.

[Razgovory]

sucks to be the rebel unit that gets the Italian advisers...

Gonna be kind of tough to mount a recoiless rifle onto a moped.

Not that hard.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_150_TAP

[citizen k]

Chris Hondro's last photos:

[jamesww]

Adding to British advisers being sent.

What they need to do is send a dozen British NCOs to kick the rebels into shape, rather than officers.

[Mr.Penguin]

Adding to British advisers being sent.

What they need to do is send a dozen British NCOs to kick the rebels into shape, rather than officers.

I think that British NCOs are a bit to much to handle for your average level of Arab pride...

[citizen k]

Obama OKs use of armed drone aircraft in Libya
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya to improve the precision of low-level attacks on ground targets, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
The first Predator mission since Obama's go-ahead was flown Thursday but the aircraft — armed with Hellfire missiles — turned back early due to poor weather conditions, Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a news conference with Gates.
"President Obama has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those," Gates said. "And in fact he has approved the use of armed Predators."
"What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," Cartwright said. "They are uniquely suited for urban areas."
Cartwright did not specify what targets the aborted Predator mission Thursday was intended to strike.

[citizen k]

Some reports from Libya:

2 brothers' lives upended in Libyan fight
By BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press

ABOARD THE IONIAN SPIRIT – The scene was testimony to the wrenching changes war brings. It turned Dr. Ali Salhi, a Libyan dentist, into a battlefield medic. In a ship's corridor transformed into an intensive care unit, the patient he hovered over was his little brother, a lawyer who became a fighter to defend their home city Misrata from Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Near a stack of life vests, Khaled Salhi lay unconscious on a mattress, a hunk of shrapnel lodged in his brain. Ali silently watched the tubes running into his brother's mouth and nose and listened to the beep of the heart monitor. Khaled hasn't woken up since he was hit.

But the 33-year-old Ali doesn't regret that his brother, six years younger than him, fought.

"If we all prevented our brothers from fighting, there would be no resistance to Gadhafi," he said Thursday. "My brother might die and others as well, but we have to defend our city."

On Thursday, the Ionian Spirit, a Greek passenger ferry, carried away more than 1,000 people fleeing Misrata. Also aboard the vessel, which docked in Benghazi late Thursday, were the bodies of an Oscar-nominated documentary maker from Britain and an American photographer who were killed covering clashes Wednesday.

Areas below deck were turned into impromptu clinics for the wounded. The ship's bar-disco was settled by Libyan families. Every hallway and seat was filled by others, including African and Asian workers, sleeping, eating, taking the opportunity of their first electricity in days to charge their cell-phones.

The two-month-old anti-Gadhafi rebellion has upturned lives across Libya, but perhaps nowhere else more completely than in Misrata, Libya's third largest city and the most significant rebel stronghold in the regime-controlled western half of the country. For nearly two months, Gadhafi forces have surrounded the city from three sides, pounding it with shelling and rocket fire, with ground troops and rebel fighters battling building by building along the main boulevard in the center of town.

Thousands have fled the city of 300,000 in ships from Misrata's Mediterranean port, on the more than daylong journey across the Bay of Sirte to the de facto rebel capital Benghazi. The Ionian Spirit's journey was organized by the International Organization for Migration.

The ship's passengers include dozens of injured and shell-shocked Libyans, hundreds of migrant workers from Africa, as well as smaller groups from Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines.

Their presence on a tourist vessel created bizarre contrasts. Many of the Africans were impoverished laborers who sneaked across the desert and entered Libya illegally to look for work. On the ferry, they took over nearly every seat, table and much of the floor in the ship's main cabin and outside deck.

Nearby sat 24 Filipinos, among them 16 who came to teach at the university in Misrata for salaries five times higher than what they could earn at home. The others worked as nurses or factory engineers.

Upstairs, the Panorama Bar holds more than 100 Libyans, mostly families with children, who tried to flee the city by tugboat before the ferry arrived. Now they sit and sleep at cocktail tables while their children race around and spin on the padded swivel chairs. Shutters on the bar have been tightly closed, and the conservative Muslim families have drawn the curtains across a small dance floor to provide privacy for nursing women.

"It's like a hotel," said Ahmed Stayta, 48, who was traveling with his wife and sister and four children, the youngest a one-month-old girl.

His wife Faiza, a lawyer, said they fled their home about two moths ago when fighting made the area unsafe. They lodged with friends near the port, but that area soon became unsafe too, she said.

"All the firing is random," she said. "You hear a rocket and you have no idea if it will come down on your house."

The family decided to flee after the shelling hit oil and milk factories. They were aboard a tiny tugboat waiting for the weather to improve enough for them to sail when the more hearty ferry pulled into Misrata's port on Wednesday, so they arranged to get on board.

The ship also carries an improvised medical unit caring for 58 injured Libyans. Some have been set up in sleeper cabins. Others are on mattresses on the hallway floor, their saline bags hung from handrails and doorknobs.

Their injuries reflect the city's, said Dr. Ahmed Jaaka. About half are civilians and half are fighters, he said. Three quarters have blast and shrapnel wounds from shelling, many with head injuries and shattered bones. The rest have gunshot wounds.

Four patients, all fighters, are in intensive care, one of them Khaled Salhi, who was hit by a mortar blast a week ago. He was set up in a sort of alcove near the reception desk on a lower deck, tended by his brother Ali.

Much of the shrapnel that peppered Khaled's limbs and chest was removed before he entered the ship, Ali said, but a large piece of metal remained in his brain, held stable by the white bandages circling his head. Sometimes his eyes flutter, or he moves his head or lifts his arm, which Ali loosely tied to a duffel bag so he doesn't hurt himself.

Before the uprising, the brothers were both educated professionals, seeking to advance in their careers, said Ali. He worked at a dental clinic while 27-year-old Khaled was an aide at a law firm. Khaled had graduated with high grades four years earlier but lacked the family connections needed to find good jobs under the Gadhafi system, Ali said. His brother was frustrated, but had never considered fighting the regime.

When fighting broke out, Ali abandoned his clinic and rushed to Hikma Hospital, where he volunteered with an ambulance crew. For weeks, he moved around the city picking up wounded people and rushing them to the overwhelmed hospital, he said.

His brother went to fight Gadhafi's troops, first with rocks and Molotov cocktails, later with guns captured from security offices or fleeing government forces.

"He felt he had to join because the fighting was so close to our home," Ali said. The family lived on Tripoli Street, the downtown avenue that has been scene of the most intense clashes.

"At first, my mother would tell him to stay home," Ali said. But when Gadhafi's forces started shelling the city and worries grew of a slaughter if the city fell, she changed her mind.

Early on, a sniper shot Khaled through the wrist, Ali said, pointing to the X-shaped scar left by the operation. Ten days later, Ali said, his brother was back on the front.

A week ago, Khaled dropped by the house where the family has been staying since fleeing their home. Ali saw him there.

"He came to check in on his mom and sisters and then walked out the door," Ali recalled.

A few hours later, Ali was at the hospital when his torn brother reached the emergency room.

Libyan rebels report gains in Misrata fighting
By KARIN LAUB and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya – Rebels battled Moammar Gadhafi's troops Thursday for control of central Misrata, driving dozens of snipers from tall buildings in hours of urban warfare and gaining a tactical advantage in the only major city held by the opposition in western Libya, witnesses said.

The Libyan government, meanwhile, ramped up its rhetoric against NATO, warning that "it will be hell" for the alliance if it sends in ground troops, even though Britain's prime minister said the Western nations were not moving toward such a deployment.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drones in Libya. The drones allow for low-level precision attacks and are uniquely suited for urban areas such as Misrata, where NATO airpower has been unable to protect civilians when Gadhafi's forces are operating inside the city.

Also Thursday, rebels captured a Libyan border crossing into Tunisia, forcing government soldiers to flee over the frontier and possibly opening a new channel for opposition forces in Gadhafi's bastion in western part of the country.

At least seven people were killed in Thursday's fighting for the main Misrata thoroughfare of Tripoli Street, bringing to 20 the number slain in three days in Libya's third-largest city.

Misrata has been besieged by government forces for nearly two months, with human rights groups estimating hundreds of people killed. Tripoli Street is the site where two Western photojournalists were killed Wednesday as the rebels tried to dislodge the snipers loyal to Gadhafi perched on rooftops.

The street, which stretches from the heart of Misrata to a major highway southwest of the city of 300,000 people, has become a front line for the rebels and Gadhafi's forces.

The rebels took over several buildings along parts of the street, enabling them to cut off supplies to a Gadhafi unit and dozens of rooftop snipers who have terrorized civilians and kept them trapped in their homes, said a doctor who identified himself only as Ayman for fear of retaliation.

"This battle cost us lots of blood and martyrs," the doctor said.

Residents celebrated and chanted "God is great" after the snipers left a battle-scarred insurance building that is the highest point in central Misrata, according to a witness who identified himself only as Sohaib.

"Thanks to God, the snipers fled, leaving nothing behind at the insurance building after they were cut off from supplies — ammunition, food and water — for days," added another resident, Abdel Salam.

He called it "a major victory" because the structure gave the pro-Gadhafi forces a commanding view of the city.

In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim claimed Gadhafi forces control more than 80 percent of the city and the rebels hold "the seaport and the area surrounding it."

Residents said that at the beginning of the battle for Misrata, the government deployed tanks and shelled the city indiscriminately, forcing residents to flee their homes and businesses, which were taken over by Gadhafi's forces. NATO commanders have admitted their airpower was limited in being able to protect civilians in cities like Misrata, which was the main mission of the international air campaign.

Abdel Salam, who asked to be identified only by his given name for fear of retribution, said Gadhafi's forces were using tanks and rocket-propelled grenades.

"Col. Gadhafi's troops continue their vicious attacks, including the siege of Misrata," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington. "There are even reports that Gadhafi forces may have used cluster bombs against their own people."

Libyan officials have persistently denied the use of cluster bombs, which indiscriminately spray small bomblets over a wide area and are particularly lethal in residential areas. However, Human Rights Watch has said it found evidence of cluster bombs being used by government forces in Misrata.

Earlier this week, Britain, Italy and France said they were sending military officers to advise the rebels, prompting speculation that this was a step toward sending in ground forces at a time when NATO airstrikes were failing to break the battlefield stalemate or protect civilians in Misrata.

Ibrahim, the government spokesman, warned that NATO would find itself entangled in fighting ordinary Libyans if its soldiers were to set foot on Libyan soil.

"We are arming the whole population, not to fight the rebels, by the way, because the rebels are very easy — they are not a challenge for us," Ibrahim said. "What we are fighting is NATO now."

Ibrahim said the Gadhafi regime is ready to observe an immediate cease-fire and negotiate the terms of political transition. Rebels have said Gadhafi must step down before such talks can begin.

"We are ready and accepting peace ... but we are also ready for war," Ibrahim said. "If NATO comes, it will be hell."

But British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted NATO isn't edging toward deploying ground troops in Libya. Italy, France and Britain are sending experienced combat advisers to help train and organize Libya's opposition forces dislodge Gadhafi after four decades in power.

Ministers have insisted the officers won't play any role in offensives against Gadhafi's troops — and have repeatedly said NATO and allies won't overstep boundaries set out in the United Nations resolution authorizing action in Libya.

"We're not allowed, rightly, to have an invading army, or an occupying army," Cameron told BBC Scotland radio. "That's not what we want, that's not what the Libyans want, that's not what the world wants."

The capture of the border crossing with Tunisia in western Libya followed three days of intense fighting outside the desert town of Nalut, about 140 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Tripoli, said a rebel leader, Shaban Abu Sitta. The area was briefly in hands of anti-government forces last month before Libyan troops moved in.

Holding the Dhuheiba border crossing could open important supply routes for anti-Gadhafi forces and give the rebels another foothold in western Libya.

After taking control of the crossing early Thursday, rebels raised the pre-Gadhafi tricolor flag.

In recent weeks, more than 10,000 Libyans from the border region had crossed into Tunisia, and 1,200 found shelter in a tent camp near the village of Dhuheiba, a few miles from the border. When people in the camp learned of the takeover of the crossing, they chanted, "The rebels brought freedom to their town."

By afternoon, hundreds of Libyan refugees had assembled at the crossing, waiting to return home.

Also Thursday, the Greek passenger ferry Ionian Spirit carried more than 1,000 people fleeing Misrata to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, where 30 ambulances were waiting.

The ship's passengers included dozens of wounded and shell-shocked Libyans, hundreds of migrant workers from Africa, as well as smaller groups from Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. Four of the injured were seriously hurt

It also carried the bodies of two photojournalists killed in Misrata on Wednesday: Chris Hondros, a New York-based photographer for Getty Images, and British-born Tim Hetherington, co-director of the 2010 Afghanistan war documentary "Restrepo" that was nominated for an Academy Award. Also aboard was the body of a Ukrainian doctor who was killed by an artillery blast in Misrata.

Several banners were hung to greet the ferry. One said: "U.K. and U.S., your blood was mixed with ours in Misrata."

[Legbiter]

If NATO is serious about saving Misrata they'll have to be able to take out individual mortar teams and those teeny Grad rocket launchers. Which means special forces combined with loitering assets like the A-10 and AC-130 gunships. Hell, even Reaper drones might do it.

Dunno how effective Gaddafi's SA-7's might be against them though.