+1
Things seem to have gotten very bad in Syria the past week or so.
Any chance of the forces of good might turn their attention on saving the thousands of Syrian civilians that are under threat or are they still fixated with their flop of a campaign against Gadaffi?
No sign of the Arab league asking for UN intervention on this one! I’d say the Turks will head south yet to prevent mass migration of Syrians into their back yard. Bahrain goes on as usual but they want their Grand Prix back and will get it next year probably. Egypt replaced one dictatorship with another.
Runt will not be happy.
http://www.guardian…ce-libya-rebels
Tripoli facing three-sided advance by Libyan rebels
Capital faces onslaught from south, east and west as rebel commanders say they have made significant advances
Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year grip on power in Libya looked more precarious than ever on Friday night, as rebel forces advanced on the capital from three directions after breaking out of the once-besieged town of Misrata.
With rebels taking control of the coastal town of Zlitan in the east, those in the west claimed to have made progress clearing out the last pro-Gaddafi troops from Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli. They now have the main coastal road under pressure on both sides of the capital and also under threat from the Nafusa mountains.
Gaddafi’s army outside Tripoli is trapped in a series of besieged and shrinking enclaves, with rebels controlling more than two thirds of the country. And as the stranglehold on the capital tightens, plans are being made to evacuate the last remaining foreign workers by sea.
It was a day of heavy street fighting in Zlitan, where rebels from Misrata came up against tanks and troops from the 32nd brigade commanded by Gaddafi’s son Khamis. Thirty-five rebel troops were killed and scores more injured.
By Friday night, however, opposition leaders said they had taken control of the city 100 miles east of Tripoli. They said their column had reached the outskirts of Al Khums another 30 miles along the coast.
Al Khums commands the last significant road junction before the capital. Rebel spokesmen in Misrata said their forces were now in a valley not far from the town. “Zlitan is now under thwar [revolutionary] control,” said Ali Gliwan, spokesman for Misrata’s military council. “Misrata thwar linked with the Zlitan thwar. They are now establishing control of the town.”
At Misrata’s Mujamma Aledad hospital, bloodied bodies of the wounded and dead rebel fighters filled the corridors. “It’s a big rush, many martyrs,” said Dr Jamal Mustafa, sitting exhausted on a gurney. “Some of the faces, three of them we cannot recognise.”
He said wounded fighters had told him government troops had hidden rocket launchers inside buildings to ambush fighters as they pushed into the town. “The bloody bastards, they hid in the houses, they know we [rebels] will not shoot at the houses for fear of killing civilians.”
A large crowd of relatives and blood donors gathered at the hospital. One elderly woman in black was guided through the crowd, wailing and shrieking that her son was wounded. “I wish for God to take Gaddafi,” she shouted. “I wish for God to take him.”
The latest rebel advance came amid reports that the Tripoli compound of Gaddafi’s brother-in-law and intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, had been destroyed by a Nato airstrike according to neighbours at his house which was hit overnight.
There was no word on whether the intelligence chief was inside.
In the west of Libya, rebels were reported to have seized the centre of Zawiyah after a fierce onslaught by regime forces. They were poised to move towards the coastal town of Janzur on the outskirts of the Libyan capital.
Fighters also told the Guardian they would advance on Zuara, one of the few remaining western coastal towns still under government control, in the next “three or four days” .
After recent rebel advances on the capital from the south and west – and now the east – an international sea evacuation is being considered for thousands of Egyptians and other foreigners trapped in Tripoli. A spokeswoman for the International Organisation for Migration, Jemini Pandya, said the operation would begin within days. “We are looking at all options available, but it will probably have to be by sea,” she told a Geneva news conference.
There were estimated to be 1.5 million to 2.5 million foreigners, mostly Asian and African migrant workers, in Libya but more than 600,000 have fled the country during the six months of fighting.
However, many thousands remained in Tripoli which, until this week, was far from the fighting and is a two-hour drive from the Tunisian border.
Earlier in the war the IOM evacuated thousands of foreigners trapped by fighting in Misrata, though it is unclear how many eligible evacuees are in Tripoli, or whether the authorities would cooperate with any evacuation by allowing ships to dock.
Looks like the game is up for the benevolent Colonel. A friend of Ireland in his day.
Watching CNN here, your man is reporting away from some hotel even though there’s gunmen around the hotel going mad. Hardly worth any salary reporting a man he cant even understand with a gun.
Gadhafi has been detained according to reports. GAME OVER.
That’s one of the sons.
I prefer to get my news from the FC Barcelona affiliated but otherwise impartial Al Jazeera rather than than Murdoch Inc.
what channel is that? Some lad from sky news was hiding in a van a while ago reporting away.
Murdoch Digital carry Al Jazeera on Channel 514. You can watch it live online, they have a live stream on their website. Murdoch News claiming that the Rebels are in control of the main square. In fairness it’s hard to disagree with that assessment given the pictures.
Looks like a Gay Pride parade with all the stripey flags.
Mubarak and Gaddafi gone. Amazing stuff. Will be very interesting to see what happens next in Tripoli. Who’ll take the reigns of power now?
Eamon Zayed
Reports that looting has started. The Brits are in town alright.
I suppose there’ll be a few Mossad boys trotting around with bags of salt.
It’ll be interesting to see how these lads will be tried.
[quote=“TwoRunnyEggs, post: 565719”]
Reports that looting has started. [/quote]
You’ll know the looters by the “Halliburton” logos on their jackets.
I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve heard the views of “terror expert” Declan Power.
Al Jazeera saying that two South African planes are in the main airport in Tripoli, presumably to take Gaddafi/Gadafy/Qaddafi into exile. He could do a job there I feel. I’m not sure if there’s a statue of the Colonel anywhere but I’m sure Murdoch Inc. are looking to fly one in if there isn’t. Round about 3:00 tomorrow afternoon would do fine, get the cameras up close to capture the moment live as it’s pulled down.
Who’s going to come out of this looking good? No doubt Obama will have a smug face after getting the Libian people to do the donkey work.