Xandu posted:

Xandu posted:

quote:

According to a caption on the al-Arabiya TV station, eyewitnesses report forces loyal to Gaddafi are attacking Zawiya, to the west of Tripoli.

quote:

Libyan state TV says it will air a video that shows 'samples and the scheme of the conspiracy that was aimed at the security and stability of the country".

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Lebanese aythorites confirm they refused to allow a Libyan plane to land in Beirut yesterday - because its pilot would not identify its passengers. Online reports suggest the passengers included the wife of one of Gaddafi's sons.

quote:

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said an SAS contingent has been put on standby for emergency deployment to parts of Libya, backed up by paratroopers of the Special Forces Support Group.

Our correspondent said: "With the situation for some British nationals in Libya fast deteriorating, it's part of a range of options being considered by the government to rescue those stranded in the North African country.

"Exact numbers and the locations of any staging areas are being kept secret but it's a scenario that British Special Forces have trained hard for - landing in the midst of a dangerous and chaotic situation then securing the safe passage out of stranded Britons, all hopefully without a shot being fired."

quote:

An interesting article in the New York Times suggests Gaddafi maybe preparing for a final showdown on the streets of Tripoli today. Witnesses in the city told reporters he has deployed "thousands of mercenaries and irregular security" personnel on roads leading to the capital over the past 24 hours as his hold over the regular army slips away.

quote:

"(They are) massing on roads to the capital, Tripoli, where one resident described scenes evocative of anarchic Somalia: clusters of heavily armed men in mismatched uniforms clutching machine guns and willing to carry out orders to kill Libyans that other police and military units, and even fighter pilots, have refused.

Some residents of Tripoli said they took the gathering army as a sign that the uprising might be entering a decisive stage, with Colonel Gaddafi fortifying his main stronghold in the capital and protesters there gearing up for their first organized demonstration after days of spontaneous rioting and bloody crackdowns. "

The piece claims that Gaddafi has built up this mercenary force over many years.

quote:

"Distrustful of even his own generals, Colonel Gaddafi has for years quietly built up this ruthless and loyal force. It is made up of special brigades headed by his sons, segments of the military loyal to his native tribe and its allies, and legions of African mercenaries he has helped train and equip. Many are believed to have fought elsewhere, in places like Sudan, but he has now called them back."

ukle posted:

Britain has an SAS 'contingent' on standby, alongside their SFS backup as a means of getting out the more remote trapped foreigners in Libya. That's going to go down well with the Libyans as one would assume the plan must be to take and secure an airport as a base while the SAS go and retrieve any trapped foreigner from around the country.

Tbh though with the reports of these trapped groups it does seem only some kind of military escort might work in getting them out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12563352

Great White Hope posted:

And when the mercenaries betray him because it'll turn out his riches are actually fool's gold, he'll reveal his double secret group of murderous gerbils.

Nenonen posted:

If the stranded Brits are working on the oil fields in the south, they would probably be close to either Egyptian or Algerian border. Cameron just came back from Egypt and I wouldn't be surprised if the issue was brought up... I would imagine that if Libya is uncooperative, then British helicopters would be able to cross from the neighbouring countries. I'm willing to bet that they know how to circumvent Libyan radars, and if the evacuees are too far then they can setup a temporary refueling camp in the desert. But there's always risks with those kinds of operations, like the Iran hostage rescue attempt showed, so hopefully there's a safer way.

http://ethnographyofflight.blogspot.com/2011/02/libya-and-germany.html posted:

Politicians across Europe must now be hurriedly purging their photo albums, removing all the handshakes with Gaddafi they've had taken over the past decade of rapprochement. Because it's Europe, not the USA, which has most vigorously supported the Libyan dictator, and which should be most ashamed at how they put business above human rights. Germany, sending civil engineers to develop Libya's infrastructure. France, selling weapons and buying oil. Italy, trying to stop the arrival of migrants across the Mediterranean. And Britain, mainly through Tony Blair's peculiar compulsion to embrace every dictator available.

Here I'll pick on Germany -- not for being the worst, but because the German media is so far showing remarkably little awareness of the country's complicity with the Libyan regime.

Let's go back to 2004. The four countries above had secured the lifting of the EU arms embargo against Libya. Denmark and Sweden had mentioned human rights, but the general feeling was that, by abandoning its biological weapons program and renouncing international terrorism, Libya had conceded on all the truly important issues.

No sooner was the embargo lifted, than German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder landed in Tripoli with an entourage of 25 businessmen. In passing he praised what he called the 'political change' in Libya. But his main reason for visiting was the promotion of German business. Openly so, and with the support of much of the German political spectrum, from his own center-left SPD, through the pro-business FPD to the conservative CDU. So he shook hands, made introductions, closed deals. He was photographed in an elaborate tent, and at an oil well, looking equally out-of place in both locations.

What didn't emerge until four years later was that, alongside oil and engineering negotiations, Schroeder was fixing up a deal whereby elite German commandos would train the Libyan security services.

This caused controversy when it emerged in 2008. Not as military support for a dictator -- the €43m of German jamming equipment bought by Libya in the last 2 years has raised few eyebrows -- but because it was coming being provided by German security personnel.

In fact, the Byzantine structure of the deal shows everybody knew they were bending the rules to breaking point. The German officers would receive €15,000 each, paid by a private security firm which in turn got a €1.6m cheque from Libya. They would take time off from their elite anti-terrorist unit. Their superiors thought they were vacationing in Tunisia, though the German embassy in Libya knew their real purpose. The officers set up shop in a barracks in Tripoli, where for 6 months they taught their Libyan counterparts how to storm buildings, board ships and operate out of helicopters.

Training can't be identified in the same way as you might see 'Made in Germany' on a used shell. But it's no less real; we can be sure that a hundred or so of the Gaddafi loyalists struggling to keep control of Tripoli have been trained by the German security forces.

[There's much, much more to say on this theme, a whole decade of shameful behaviour that wasn't even kept secret. How Europe, terrified of refugees, wanted a well-armed authoritarian regime as a buffer-zone against African migrants. How weapons shipments were banned simply through fear they'd go to Sudan, not from any concern about Gaddafi having them. How Switzerland tried to punish Gaddafi's son for assaulting his staff, enraged Libya, and was brought into line by other European states desperate to keep trade going. But it'll all have to wait for tomorrow]

quote:

A Libyan army unit loyal to Gaddafi has blasted a minaret of a mosque with anti-aircraft missiles and automatic weapons in Zawiya, about 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, after scores of anti-government protesters refused to leave the area, Associated Press is quoting a witness as saying. Protesters suffered heavy casualties, the witness said.

Xandu posted:

Lots of links if you click through, pretty shameful.

quote:

As forces loyal to Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi reportedly held on to control of the capital city Tripoli and continued a crackdown on protesters Wednesday, the eastern part of the country was in the hands of the rebels — who are now trying to organize themselves.

In eastern Libya, in the city of Bayda, a provisional government was being formed. The new leadership also is holding some Gadhafi loyalists hostage.

As the first Western journalists many of the residents of Bayda had ever seen were led into the meeting, the crowd gave a standing ovation — quickly followed by cries of "Freedom, Freedom!" and "Libya, Libya!"

This building had been a symbol of Gadhafi's regime — where his revolutionary council would meet to discuss local affairs.

A new revolution was finding its voice in Bayda, and its fighters were vowing to end Gadhafi's reign. Some people were crying, others pumping their fists in the air.

"Ordinary people, doctors, lawyers are talking about how we can coordinate with all other cities in Libya who are now under the protesters' control," says Ahmed Jibril, a former diplomat at the Libyan mission at the United Nations.

He says this is the beginning of a new government.

"We have a former minister of justice who just resigned three or four days ago," Jibril says. "He's among us and people agreed ... he would be one of the people in control."

In eastern Libya, it's still chaotic. On the streets, heavily armed and masked young men man checkpoints. There are tanks and anti-aircraft guns that have been looted from military bases positioned around towns and cities — and they are all in the hands of the rebel forces.

Jibril says that eastern Libya will defend itself, but they want a united country. "We will not divide Libya. We will not accept a division of Libya," he says.

Libya is a country of huge oil wealth, but also great poverty. Abdullah Mortady, an architect who hasn't built anything for 15 years, says the people here want to use Libya's riches for the people, not just for the enrichment of one family.

"We want to build our country," he says. "Infrastructure is nothing. Building is nothing. Our morality is completely destroyed. Today I can't speak because for 42 years we didn't speak, even our voice completely disappeared."

The new leadership is asserting itself. An elementary school has been converted into a prison, where around 100 pro-Gadhafi fighters are being kept in detention. They are what remains of a group of fighters who had holed up at a nearby airport and then were forced to surrender after a bloody battle that left a dozen people dead on Tuesday.

Many of the men are wounded, but they've been given blankets and medical attention. They are clearly scared. Most of the men say they are Libyans from the south. Among them are four men from Chad who look weak and malnourished. They declined to talk.

There have been rumors of foreign mercenaries being shipped in by the planeload to fight for Gadhafi in the east, but there is scant evidence of them here.

A Libyan soldier in detention, Ismael Salem Abu Salah, acknowledges that he was sent in to quell the initial unrest. He says he was fired upon first by the pro-democracy forces and that is why the troops fired back.

He adds that he's been treated well since he's been in detention.

The fate of these men is unclear. There is no court to try them and many in the city have been calling for their execution, especially among the younger men.

The older generation, which is now trying to form a government, is ensuring they are protected.

"The leaders, the wise people ... they had a meeting and they said they should stop these youth from, you know, from revenge, you know, because some of the youth have two or three brothers killed from the same family," says Dr. Masoud Abdullah, a professor of management science. "I was there in that meeting. It all comes down to the older generation who stopped the youth from taking revenge and ... killing them."

But he adds that they haven't been released yet because "the uprising hasn't finished. We don't know what will happen to this area. They might stop electricity; they might stop sending gas here, milk, food. We don't know."

They will use them as a way to negotiate with the regime, he says, if it should come to that.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/saudi-arabian-king-to-populace-dont-even-think-abo,19302/ posted:

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA—In a televised speech addressing the pro-democracy protests currently sweeping across the Middle East, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia reiterated that the people of his country should not even think about it. "Get it out of your heads right now," the king said in a firm, unwavering tone of voice while staring directly into the camera. "I'm serious. Whatever you are thinking about doing, it’s not gonna end up good for you. Trust me." The king then widened his eyes, paused, and added, "No."

Brown Moses posted:

#Libya map updated 24/2/11 morning; Nalut & Zwara now with the revolution; fighting in Azzawia
I don't suppose anyone can get this to load, it doesn't work on my PC, and I'd like it posted in the thread.

Great White Hope posted:

Double Edit: Re-posted

Brown Moses posted:

If the Rebels offically declare independence, and declare war on Gaddafi, would that then qualify him for being prosecuted under war crime legislation?

Narmi posted:

Anyone know what the different colours mean?

Narmi posted:

Anyone know what the different colours mean?

quote:

Arabic satellite channel al-Arabiya is reporting that anti-government protesters are now in control of the town of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, BBC Monitoring says.

Brown Moses posted:

Brown Moses posted:

Early I posted that government forces were heading to Zawiya. The BBC just posted this:

Not sure if it means they defeated the government, or they are yet to be attacked.

platzapS posted:

People are the best sometimes

Laugh, O Revolution: Humor in the Egyptian Revolution (The Atlantic)

This article is pure joy. Read it.

And listen to this song, called "Laugh, O Revolution" ("ha ha ha!")

--><--

(crossposted from D&D)

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-dark-humour-in-a-time-of-dictatorship-2219317.html posted:

It now emerges, thanks to a genuine old-fashioned scoop in Le Monde, that President Ben Ali didn't really intend to flee his country at all. He planned to fly his immediate family to safety in Riyadh and then return to Tunis next morning to continue his reign. Only when the Tunisair crew arrived in Saudi Arabia and saw al-Jazeera in the airport's VIP lounge, announcing Ben Ali's overthrow, did they call Tunis and receive a new flight plan to take off at 1.30am the following day. They discreetly flew away while the President slept, leaving the dictator planeless in Riyadh. Memo to all airline passengers: don't take your crew for granted. Especially if they've been watching al-Jazeera.

Xandu posted:

al-Jazeera Arabic is carrying a very large tribal meeting going on right now in east Libya. Kind of interesting to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/user/aljazeerachannel

It's not clear what's happening, but lots of yelling.