Libyan Civil War Megathread

[Slargos]

Hell, just mount a bunch of BVR missiles on an AWACS and have it flying overwatch. Don't need a bunch of billion dollar stealth jets to shoot down 30 year old east-block aircraft. 

[Ed Anger]

Only thing that annoyed me about Brak's speech was that they aren't going to tap into the seized money. Every expense should be paid out of that fund.

Fuck Libya.

[jimmy olsen]

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42318419/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Libyan woman sued by men she alleges raped her, official says

NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated 1 hour 45 minutes ago

A Libyan lawyer who claimed she was raped by troops loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi is being sued by the four men under investigation, Libya's main government spokesman said Tuesday.

Moussa Ibrahim told NBC News that the men were filing a defamation case against Iman al-Obeidi, who made headlines when she went to a Tripoli hotel used by Western journalists to tell them about the alleged attack.

She was bundled away by government minders despite efforts by journalists to protect her.

Ibrahim said the four men had been arrested in connection with the allegations.

"I heard that the attorney-general brought her in for questioning because she is now not just the accuser, she is the accused. There is a case against her," Ibrahim told journalists earlier, Sky News reported.

He claimed al-Obeidi had "not come up with anything substantial."

"She says four people kidnapped and raped her, one of them is the son of someone in the state. That is hardly political, the son of someone in the state is a human being," Ibrahim said, according to Sky.

"Now the four guys are having a case filed against her because instead of going to a police station and filing a case against them she went to the media and exposed their names," he added. "Now their honor is tainted, their families black-named and this in the Islamic law is a very grave offense."

Sky News reported she was facing possible criminal charges, but Ibrahim told NBC News that she had not been charged by the government.

Held hostage?
Al-Obeidi's parents said in interviews on Al-Jazeera TV aired Monday that their daughter was being held hostage at the Libyan leader's compound in Tripoli, countering government claims that she had been set free after the hotel incident.

They also denied allegations by Ibrahim that al-Obeidi was a prostitute.

The parents said al-Obeidi was a lawyer and that she was now being held at Gadhafi's compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in the capital.

It was unclear where the parents spoke from and Al-Jazeera did not provide their names.

"I don't feel ashamed, instead my head is up high," the mother told Al-Jazeera, saying her daughter "broke the barrier that no other man could break" by coming forward about her rape.

In the Al-Jazeera footage, the teary-eyed mother held the Libyan opposition flag around her shoulders and said al-Obeidi was "a hostage, taken by the tyrants." She also pleaded for help from the "youth of Tripoli."

The mother said she received a phone call Monday from an unidentified caller, purportedly from the Gadhafi camp, telling her al-Obeidi was held at the Tripoli compound and asking her to instruct her daughter to change the rape claim in return for freedom and other benefits.

"Whatever you ask for, you will get: build a new house or get the money," the mother said the caller offered.

[Ed Anger]

4:03pm

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from Ras Lanuf that the news from Bin Jawad is that the city has fallen to pro-Gaddafi forces, and opposition fighters are now retreating to Ras Lanuf.

She also says that the opposition's military commanders are complaining that their fighters "do not want to be" disciplined or act in a structured way.

Furthermore, the rebels' supply lines are stretched.



4:50pm

The Associated Press reports that some opposition fighters who are fleeing Bin Jawad are shouting "Sarkozy, where are you?" as they head down the road back to Ras Lanuf.

LOL

[Slargos]

That  was horrible, I'm ashamed I laughed at that. 

Give in to the power of the dork side. 

[Slargos]

Great surprise. These "rebels" are little more than armed arab rabble, and little more effective in achieving their goals than european AFA style anarchists.

A drunken horde of football hooligans would've done far more damage under the cover of NATO airstrikes than this haphazard gaggle of untermenschen.

[Fireblade]

The Lion of the North awakes!

http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/9146-sweden-sends-eight-fighter-jets-to-libya

Sweden sends eight fighter jets to Libya

Sweden's prime minister said Tuesday the government would ask parliament to contribute eight Gripen fighter jets to Libya, but insisted they not be involved in ground strikes.

"The government has decided today ... to put to parliament the proposal to participate with JAS Gripen (jets) in the international military operation in Libya under the leadership of NATO," Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in parliament.

The prime minister said an official request from NATO for a Swedish contribution had come earlier Tuesday.

Reinfeldt stressed the Swedish jets would be sent only to enforce the international no-fly zone and "would not be allowed to participate in bombing ground targets."

Sweden Fights On?

[Mr.Penguin]

And the front moves back east again...

Libyan rebels retreating after Gadhafi onslaught

By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press

BIN JAWWAD, Libya – Libyan government tanks and rockets have driven back rebels who attempted an assault on Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. Opposition fighters fleeing in a panicked scramble pleaded for international airstrikes that never came.

Gadhafi's forces drove the rebels out of Bin Jawwad, a hamlet east of Sirte, on Tuesday. Cars and trucks of the retreating rebels filled both lanes of the highway east to the oil port of Ras Lanouf.

Some fleeing rebels shouted "Sarkozy, where are you?" — a reference to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the strongest supporters of airstrikes against Gadhafi's forces.

There were no international airstrikes in Bin Jawwad during the hourslong battle there, possibly because of overcast skies.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BIN JAWWAD, Libya (AP) — Libyan government tanks and rockets blunted a rebel assault on Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte on Tuesday and drove back the ragtag army of irregulars, even as world leaders prepared to debate the country's future in London.

Rockets and tank fire sent Libya's rebel volunteers in a panicked scramble away from the front lines, before the opposition was able to bring up truck mounted rocket launchers of their own and return fire.

The latest rebel setback emphasizes the see-saw nature of this conflict and how the opposition is still no match for the superior firepower and organization of Gadhafi's forces, despite an international campaign of deadly airstrikes.

The two sides traded salvos over the small hamlet of Bin Jawwad amid the thunderous crash of rockets and artillery shells as plumes of smoke erupted in the town. The steady drum of heavy machine gun fire and the pop of small arms could also be heard above the din.

"There aren't a lot of us in Bin Jawwad right now," said Faisal Ali, a 20-year-old-rebel who had retreated from the town. "If (Gadhafi) has enough firepower and forces using tanks, he will surely take over Bin Jawwad," he added, noting that the rebels' special forces, one of their few trained units, had not yet retreated.

A U.N.-mandated no-fly zone and campaign of strikes by the U.S. and its allies helped rebel forces regain territory lost over the past week, when they were on the brink of defeat by government forces.

It is unclear, however, if the international support exists for the deepening of the air campaign to the wholesale destruction of Gadhafi's heavy weaponry that would be necessary to allow any further rebel advance.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Tuesday there are plenty of "non-military means at our disposal" to oust Gadhafi.

France, which has been at the forefront of the international campaign against Gadhafi in Libya, struck a more forceful tone, however, with the defense minister suggesting the strikes could go beyond their mandate of just protecting civilians.

"We, the French and English, we consider that we must obtain more" than the end of shooting at civilians, said Defense Minister Gerard Longuet on France-Inter radio. He also said Libyan politicians could be targeted since they gave orders to the military.

In London, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Arab League, the African Union and around 40 foreign ministers were scheduled to join talks over the future of Libya and to ratchet up pressure on Gadhafi.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said several nations planned to put forward a deal which would propose a cease-fire, exile for Gadhafi and a framework for talks, between Libya's tribal leaders and opposition figures, on the country's future.

In a sign of emerging ties between the opposition and the international community, a senior U.S. administration official said it would soon send an envoy to Libya to meet with leaders of the rebels.

The official said former U.S. envoy to Tripoli, Chris Stevens, will travel to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the coming days to establish better ties with groups seeking to oust the longtime Libyan leader. The move doesn't constitute formal recognition of the opposition.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning, as Clinton met with Libyan opposition envoy Mahmoud Jibril in London.

In an open letter to the international community, meanwhile, Gadhafi called for a halt to the "monstrous assault" on Libya and maintained that that the rebels were supported by the al-Qaida terrorist network.

"What is happening now is providing a cover for al-Qaida through airstrikes and missiles to enable al-Qaida to control North Africa and turn it into a new Afghanistan," he said, accusing the international community of carrying out genocide against the Libyans.

The rebels remain woefully outgunned by Gadhafi's forces and it is unclear how they can take the stronghold of Sirte without further aggressive international air support.

NATO has insisted that it was seeking only to protect civilians and not to give air cover to an opposition march. But that line looked set to become even more blurred. The airstrikes are clearly the only way the rebels bent on overthrowing Gadhafi are going to continue their push to the capital.

There was growing criticism from Russia and other countries that the international air campaign is overstepping the bounds of the U.N. resolution that authorized it. The complaints came at a critical transition in the campaign from a U.S. to a NATO command. That threatens to hamper the operation, as some of the 28 NATO member nations plan to limit their participation to air patrols, rather than attacks on ground targets.

Russia's envoy to NATO, Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin urged the alliance on Tuesday not to bomb Libyan ground targets when it assumes command of the campaign, saying NATO should restrict itself only to enforcing the arms embargo and the no-fly zone.

The rebel advance reached Nawfaliyah some 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Sirte on Monday, but the next day they were driven back to the hamlet of Bin Jawwad, a few dozen miles (kilometers) to the east.

In a scene reminiscent of the rebels' rout last week, panicked volunteers jumped into their pickup trucks and attempted to speed away from the bombardment, kicking up dust clouds and choking the narrow coastal highway in a mad scramble of vehicles.

Sirte is dominated by members of the Libyan leader's Gadhadhfa tribe and was used as a second capital by Gadhafi. Its loss would be a symbolic blow and open the way to the capital Tripoli.

"This is their last defensive line they will do everything to protect it," explained rebel fighter Twate Monsuri, 26. "It's not Gadhafi attacking us, he's just defending himself now."

Fighting in such a densely populated area is likely to complicate the rebels' advance and add to the ambiguity of the NATO-led campaign, authorized by a Security Council resolution to take all necessary measures to protect civilians.

Gadhafi forces continued to besiege Misrata, the main rebel holdout in the west and Libya's third-largest city. Residents reported shelling by government tanks of residential areas, with three people killed.

The U.S. Navy reported that two of its aircraft and a guided missile destroyer attacked a number of Libyan coast guard vessels that were "firing indiscriminately" at merchant ships in the port of Misrata, rendering them inoperable.

One of Libya's top officials, meanwhile, abruptly made a "private visit" to Tunisia late Monday, according to the official news agency there.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim in Tripoli insisted on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa's visit was not a defection.

Less that two days ago did we have news report about how the pro- Gaddafi forces was falling apart and the road to Tripoli was open, now we are back in Bin Jawwad where the rebel advance was stopped the first time some two weeks ago. Maybe a bit to much wishful thinking from some journalists...   

[Fireblade]

Great surprise. These "rebels" are little more than armed arab rabble, and little more effective in achieving their goals than european AFA style anarchists.

A drunken horde of football hooligans would've done far more damage under the cover of NATO airstrikes than this haphazard gaggle of untermenschen.

This little Libya debacle can best be described as two mobs of Arabs chasing each other around the desert while America bombs the shit out of it.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I think it is time to write off the Libyan revolt and let nature take its course.  Try again in Syria or Somalia.

[Slargos]

The Lion of the North awakes!

http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/9146-sweden-sends-eight-fighter-jets-to-libya

Sweden sends eight fighter jets to Libya

Sweden's prime minister said Tuesday the government would ask parliament to contribute eight Gripen fighter jets to Libya, but insisted they not be involved in ground strikes.

"The government has decided today ... to put to parliament the proposal to participate with JAS Gripen (jets) in the international military operation in Libya under the leadership of NATO," Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in parliament.

The prime minister said an official request from NATO for a Swedish contribution had come earlier Tuesday.

Reinfeldt stressed the Swedish jets would be sent only to enforce the international no-fly zone and "would not be allowed to participate in bombing ground targets."

Sweden Fights On?


The giant baby wants to send fighters that we can't afford to keep in the air, to enforce a no-fly zone after the Libyans have already stranded all their aircraft.

Excellent.

Fucking pathetic. They deserve to perish.

[Caliga]

Dude, it's an army of Spelluses.

[Fireblade]

Apparently Sweden can't figure out how to work quotes either. FUCKING PARENTHESES HOW DO THEY WORK.

[Ed Anger]

Dude, it's an army of Spelluses.

Look at those fucking hipsters.

[Slargos]

Apparently Sweden can't figure out how to work quotes either. FUCKING PARENTHESES HOW DO THEY WORK.