Brown Moses posted:

If success in Libya inspires the Iranian protesters he'll be using exactly the same tactics if he wants any chance of staying in power.

Brown Moses posted:

If success in Libya inspires the Iranian protesters he'll be using exactly the same tactics if he wants any chance of staying in power.

Ham posted:

Unlike Libya, Ahmadinejad is part of an extensive system of power in Iran and if he departs from power the country can go on as it normally does, so I doubt Iranian power centres are gonna let him use fighter jets and tanks to kill protesters.

Brown Moses posted:

If success in Libya inspires the Iranian protesters he'll be using exactly the same tactics if he wants any chance of staying in power.

quote:

Just reported by Reuters news agency, quoting Turkish TV - a Turkish worker has been shot dead near Tripoli.

quote:

Al Arabiya/Al Jazeera: Italian foreign minister: Barqah/Cyrenaica (the Eastern half of #Libya) is no longer under the control of Gaddafi

quote:

More from the Guardian's Martin Chulov in Benghazi: "Air force major tells me of witnessing 4k african mercenaries arriving from feb 14 'that's why we turned against them'."

Lycus posted:

Iranian President Ahmadinejad condemns Libya's use of force on demonstrators.

Roark posted:

Libyan intervention via the UN is a non-starter, as other posters have pointed out. It's just a glorified talking shop on good days, and Russia and China would oppose anything beyond statements of basic condemnation. And isn't Libya still on the Human Rights Council?

Pureauthor posted:

I wonder what Gaddafi is thinking at this exact moment.

Pureauthor posted:

I wonder what Gaddafi is thinking at this exact moment.

Pureauthor posted:

I wonder what Gaddafi is thinking at this exact moment.

Corny posted:

Just you wait Ahmadinejad, yours is coming soon!

Lascivious Sloth posted:

NYT has a hilarious article about how insane the family is, taken from cable leaks: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/world/africa/23cables.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Brown Moses posted:

the direct oil pipeline between #Libya and Italy - the so-called "Green Stream" has completely "dried up".

Jut posted:

Please stop repeating what you've heard on fox news. The most frequent user of veto is the US. China only veto on issues related to china, and Russia rarely use their veto powers. There is no precedent set for China and Russia blocking military action through the UNSC.

quote:

Yusuf Al Qardawi, a leading Sunni cleric, has just issued a fatwa on Al Jazeera Arabic, encouraging the assassination of #Gaddafi

Brown Moses posted:

martinchulov of The Guardian #Libia #Libye: : One ghanan and one african mercenary paraded for me. #libya #feb17. Arrived 9 days ago.

Brown Moses posted:

Based off various reports I've updated the map:

Under the control of anti-Gaddafi forces (Green)
Tobruk Population 300,000
Benghazi Population 670,797
Al-Bayda Population 206,180
Nalut Population 55,000

Currently rebelling (Yellow)
Misurata Population 550,000 (entire district)
Tajoura 14km East of Tripoli, inside the Tripoli District. Population 600,000
Al Kuhms Population 202,000
Az Zawiyah Population 290,993
Gheryan Population 401,000
Bani Walid Populaton 46,350
Yifrin

Currently getting hosed by mercenaries (Red)
Tripoli Population 1,065,405

Pro Gaddafi Strongholds (Black)
Sirt Population 128,100
Sabha Population 130,000

Pureauthor posted:

I wonder what Gaddafi is thinking at this exact moment.

Cartouche posted:

Are the white areas (I am guessing here) just wastelands where few people live, much less know what is going on with the country?

Brown Moses posted:

Cartouche posted:

That map is great. You are great.

The evil looking skeleton with horns and a green hat is not great.


Are the white areas (I am guessing here) just wastelands where few people live, much less know what is going on with the country?

Roark posted:

The biggest white area/province is the start of the Sahara. Other than oasis towns and Bedouin, there's not much there.

Lascivious Sloth posted:

What the hell? Brown moses can you explain that.

Xandu posted:

Can you upload a blank copy of that map? Thinking about making one for where the various tribal strongholds are.

quote:

Here's a wrap-up of some of the latest news in from the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies:

• There was heavy gunfire in Tripoli this morning as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi opened fire in the streets. This follows Gaddafi's call for his supporters to rise up against rebels yesterday. Italy's foreign minister said he thought that around 1,000 people may have died so far.

• The protesters have reportedly taken control of Misurata – if true this would the first city in the west of the country to fall to the demonstrators, whose support base is mainly in the east. Reuters reported calm in small towns in the east with little sign of police, army or tension.

• Videos posted on Facebook purportedly show anti-government protesters raising the pre-Gaddafi monarchy's flag in Zawiya, on the outskirts of Tripoli.

• Protesters backed by defecting army units are claiming control over almost the entire eastern half of Libya's 1,000-mile Mediterranean coast.

• The Libyan embassy in Austria has condemned "excessive violence against peaceful demonstrators".

• The international criminal court says it cannot prosecute alleged crimes against humanity in Libya without an order from the UN security council or a request from Libya itself. The UN security council has condemned Gaddafi's crackdown.

• Oil prices have soared to their highest level in more than two years.

• Governments around the world were scrambling to get their citizens out of the country. The British government has been criticised for the slowness of its response.

• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, has predicted that the change sweeping the Middle East will come next to Europe and North America. He criticised Gaddafi's "grotesque" use of force. Iranian police and security forces brutally suppressed protests in 2009.

quote:

El Pais is talking to a Spanish-based Libyan who is in constant communication with his family in Zliten, a coastal city only 70 miles east of Tripoli. Their source says pro-Gaddafi thugs took to the streets after his speech, causing 30 injuries, but that they were disarmed. The suggestion is that the city is now in the hands of anti-Gaddafi protesters. Also El Pais's correspondent on the Tunisian frontier, Álvaro de Cózar, at Ras Jdir is reporting that they are beginning to see refugees arrive who have been beaten or tortured. Gaddafi's men still control the road to Tripoli, however, making it impossible for journalists to get through.

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As much as a quarter of Libyan oil output has been shut down, the Reuters news agency reports. Libya produces almost 2 per cent of the world's oil.

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Off the coast of Malta, ships are patrolling following reports of Libyan vessels in the area. It is unclear whether these Libyan vessels are potential defectors, or if they are Gaddafi's navy ships, Al Jazeera's Cal Perry said from Valletta.

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Our correspondent Martin Chulov is one of the first international journalists in Benghazi. He may actually be the first, but we're not able to be absolutely sure about that. He writes:

quote:

Libya's second city, Benghazi, appears to have fallen irretrievably beyond the control of Muammar Gaddafi, with the local military openly defying his regime and monarchy-era flags flying from government buildings.

Defecting troops were pouring into the courtyard of a ransacked police station carrying tonnes of weaponry and ammunition looted from a military armoury to stop it being seized by forces loyal to the Libyan dictator.

Soldiers carried in rockets and heavy weapons, which had been used in an assault on citizens in central Benghazi on Saturday as Gaddafi attempted to keep control of the city. The bloodshed saw well over 200 people killed, doctors said.

He reports clear evidence that foreign mercenaries have been used in the area, and goes on:

quote:

All around Benghazi there were indications that Gaddafi has lost control of the city. The military is no longer operating checkpoints, which are now manned only by a handful of traffic police. Every physical sign of the dictator has been taken down or burned. While there has been no violence in the past two days angry demonstrators are driving through city firing Kalashnikov rifles into the air, demanding Gaddafi cede control and leave the country.

The former Libyan flag, dating from the reign of the monarch ousted by Gaddafi, King Idris, is flying above ransacked government buildings on the waterfront.

We're preparing his full report for publication, and will post a link when it's ready.

quote:

Some details from the Associated Press news agency about what has been happening in Tripoli.

Militiamen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi "clamped down" on the city today, AP says, "with the sound of gunfire ringing in the air". The military has also moved heavy forces into the town of Sabratha, west of the capital, to try to put down protesters who have overwhelmed security headquarters and government buildings, a news website close to the government reported.

quote:

Gaddafi's speech yesterday appeared to have brought out a heavy force of supporters and militiamen that largely prevented major protests in the capital Tuesday night or Wednesday. Through the night, gunfire was heard, said one woman who lives near the centre of the city.

"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," she said. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim."

During the day Wednesday, more gunfire was heard near Gaddafi's residence, but in many parts of the city of 2 million residents were venturing out to stores, some residents said.

The government sent out text messages urging people to go back to their jobs, aiming to show that life was returning to normal. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

At the Egyptian border, guards had fled, and local tribal elders have formed local committees to take their place.

A defence committee of local residents was even guarding one of Gaddafi's once highly secretive anti-aircraft missile bases outside the city of Tobruk.