GADDIFI TOPPLED!!!!!TRIPOLI CELEBRATING!!!!!!!!

Good morning!

Al Jazeera:

Libya blames NATO for raid on food warehouse

Officials claim air strike killed eight people in Zlitan as UN envoy holds meeting with Benghazi-based opposition.
Last Modified: 26 Jul 2011 07:02

UN envoy meets rebels amid Libya 'stalemate'.

Libyan officials have accused NATO of killing at least eight people in an air raid on a food warehouse and medical clinic in Zlitan, east of Tripoli.

Foreign journalists taken to the town of Zlitan on Monday were unable to verify if it was a NATO operation.

NATO has denied targeting civilians and say it only hit military facilities in the area.

Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime leader, remains in power despite a four-month NATO air campaign and five months of fighting with opposition fighters who have seized large parts of the oil-rich North African country.

Zlitan is the largest city between opposition-held Misurata and government-controlled Tripoli, and remains in Gaddafi's control.

"We are, generally, in a stalemate," Michael Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said in Washington during what could be his last news briefing before retirement.

Mullen said NATO has "dramatically attrited [reduced] his forces" and "additional pressure has been brought", even if Gaddafi has not been ousted.

"In the long run, I think it's a strategy that will work ... [towards] removal of Gaddafi from power," Mullen said.

Diplomatic push

The developments came as the UN envoy to Libya, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, and the Benghazi-based opposition council discussed ideas for ending the fighting.

With a diplomatic push to end the conflict gathering steam, al-Khatib told the Reuters news agency after the meeting on Monday that he would head to Tripoli on Tuesday to hold talks with the government.
Lawyers in Misrata are building a case against Gaddafi

"We did not put a plan in front of them. We discussed the views and ideas on how we can trigger a political process ... to achieve a political solution," he said.

NATO has continued to attack Gaddafi's forces around Libya, striking twice in central Tripoli on Monday, and Britain has said there would be no let up during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in August.

But hopes have grown for a negotiated end to a war that has dragged on longer than many initially expected.

Speaking to Reuters after the meeting, Mahmoud Jibreel, a senior opposition official, said he had made clear his side would reject any initiative that did not involve the removal of Gaddafi from power as a first step to peace.

That appeared to be a tacit rejection of UN ideas floated informally by a diplomat last week, which envisaged a ceasefire followed by a power-sharing government without Gaddafi.

'Productive dialogue'

Gaddafi's foreign minister, Abdelati Obeidi, recently ended three days of talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to seek a negotiated end to the war.

Libya's government has said its representatives are ready to hold more talks with the US and the opposition, but that Gaddafi himself will not negotiate and will not quit.

Moussa Ibrahim, the Gaddafi government spokesman, said on Friday that senior Libyan officials had a "productive dialogue" with US counterparts earlier this month in a rare meeting that followed US recognition of the opposition government.
Click here for more of Al Jazeera's special coverage

Complicating Gaddafi's situation is the fact that the world court in The Hague is seeking his arrest for crimes against humanity allegedly committed by his forces.

This makes it difficult for him to find refuge outside the country.

Hopes for a negotiated settlement have grown, however, since France said for the first time last week that Gaddafi could stay in Libya as long as he gives up power.

The opposition leaders have given conflicting signals in recent weeks over whether they would allow Gaddafi and his family to stay in Libya as part of a deal, providing he gives up power.

In the latest comment on the issue, opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil told the Wall Street Journal that it would be acceptable.

"Gaddafi can stay in Libya but it will have conditions," he said. "We will decide where he stays and who watches him. The same conditions will apply to his family."

Al Jazeera Live Blog:

53 min 15 sec ago

Rebel-held Misrata was running short of fuel on Monday as a fire raged at a storage depot hit by a rocket from Libyan government forces.

More than a day after the strike late on Sunday, thick plumes of black smoke still rose into the sky and choked much of the city, sparking panic-buying by civilians and risking shortages for the rebel forces holding the cut-off town.

Most petrol stations closed, leaving drivers facing lengthy queues in the summer heat at the few that stayed open, with priority given to vehicles used by rebels on the frontline and by the emergency services.


11 hours 19 min ago

Reuters reports: A group of Libyan diplomats and staff stormed the Libyan embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria today, smashing statues and portraits of Muammar Gaddafi and declaring the embassy under the control of the opposition forces.

Footage from private Bulgarian television station, bTV, showed several opposition supporters taking down the Libyan flag and smashing a bust of Gaddafi to pieces in the embassy's yard.

The group detained the charge d'affairs of the embassy and his secretary, who declined to denounce the Libyan leader. The two were later allowed to leave, Reuters said, citing bTV.

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Feb 17 Libya News:

9:29am: A U.N. fact-finding mission says the part of Libya under Moammar Gadhafi’s control is beset by food, cash and fuel shortages despite a veneer of normalcy.

The United Nations issued a statement late on Monday saying its weeklong mission to Libya has identified fuel shortages, rising food prices and a strained medical system as some of the challenges facing the government.

8:17am: A Russian Emergencies Ministry aircraft will deliver humanitarian aid to the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Tuesday, a ministry spokesman said.

The Ilyushin Il-76 plane carrying 36.2 tons of canned milk, baby food, sugar and rice took off from an airport near Moscow on Tuesday morning.

The shipment is the fourth planeload of humanitarian aid sent by Russia to Libyans affected by fighting between forces loyal to Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces.

Good morning!

Al Jazeera:

Libya PM says no talks until bombs stop

UN envoy's visit yields little in Tripoli where government loyalists stick to demands that Gaddafi must remain in power.
Last Modified: 27 Jul 2011 03:24

Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi has said Muammar Gaddafi's leadership is not up for negotiation.

A United Nations envoy trying to find a way to end Libya's war has made little visible headway on a visit to Tripoli for talks with the prime minister.

The government told him on Tuesday that NATO must end air strikes before any talks can begin and that Muammar Gaddafi's role as leader was non-negotiable, though rebels and the West insist he step down.

Britain and France, carrying out most of the NATO bombing attacks, this week dropped their insistence that Gaddafi leave the country as part of any settlement, in an apparent softening of their position.

The UN envoy, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, arrived in Tripoli straight from talks with rebels in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi on Monday.

He met Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi who said they had a productive dialogue - but about implementing UN resolutions, not negotiating an end to the five-month-old conflict in which neither side seems to have the upper hand.

"This aggression [air strikes] needs to stop immediately, without that we cannot have a dialogue, we cannot solve any problems in Libya," Mahmoudi told a news conference afterward.

NATO deadline looms

In London, the British and French foreign ministers, William Hague and Alain Juppe, called once more for Gaddafi to leave power but, on the matter of whether he could stay in Libya, both said it was up to Libyans to decide.

Britain said it had not changed policy but comments by Hague were interpreted as tacit backing for the proposal, floated last week by France, that Gaddafi could remain in Libya.

A rebel leader this week appeared to endorse the view, which would mark a major shift from previous rebel demands that he leave and be tried for war crimes in The Hague.

Deadlines are approaching for the NATO-led alliance, whose UN mandate for military action - granted on the grounds that it would protect civilians - expires in two months.

Hopes an agreement could be reached before Ramadan have faded as the Muslim holy month begins next week.

Talks and conditions

Gaddafi says he supports talks with the rebels and the West, but has shown no sign of agreeing to cede power after 41 years of unchallenged supremacy, much of it as a pariah in Western eyes.

In his talks with the Benghazi-based rebel leadership council, Khatib discussed ideas for ending the war
but said later a firm initiative had yet to take shape.

"We did not put a plan in front of them. We discussed the views and ideas on how we can trigger a political process ... to achieve a political solution," he told Reuters.

He has said his ideas involve a ceasefire and, simultaneously, setting up a mechanism to manage the transitional period. He has not given details.

Senior rebel official Mahmoud Jibril said he had underlined that the rebels would accept only an initiative that involved the removal of Gaddafi from power as a first step to peace.

Stay or go?

Rebel leaders have given conflicting signals in recent weeks over whether they would allow Gaddafi and his family to stay in Libya as part of a deal, providing he gave up power.

"Gaddafi can stay in Libya but it will have conditions," opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil told the Wall Street Journal. "We will decide where he stays and who watches him. The same conditions will apply to his family."

But the rebels seem unlikely to unseat him any time soon. They said they had almost taken the oil town of Brega a week ago, but later said minefields had slowed their advance.

While rebels received a boost this week when Turkey sent a first cargo of fuel under a multi-million dollar supply deal, a government rocket attack cut fuel supplies in Misurata.

The Libyan news agency JANA said Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi was in Tunisia on Tuesday for talks over "initiatives that were taken about what's happening in Libya, chief of which is the African Union's initiative".

The African Union plan does not insist on Gaddafi standing down.

Britain said it had not changed policy but comments by Hague were interpreted as tacit backing for the proposal, floated last week by France, that Gaddafi could remain in Libya.

I do wish he would keep quiet, he is a disaster, IMO>

Al Jazeera Live Blog:

3 min 47 sec ago

REUTERS - Britain is to expel all Libyan embassy staff from the country, a Foreign Office spokesman said on Wednesday.

"We can confirm that the Libyan charge d'affaires has been called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is being informed that he and the remaining Libyan diplomats in the UK are being expelled," the spokesman told Reuters.

1 hour 57 min ago

AFP - Libyan expats have become the first to take a stab at forming a political party in Benghazi, headquarters of the widely recognised National Transitional Council and stronghold of rebels fighting to oust the Libyan leader.

"We call ourselves the New Libya Party because everything was destroyed," said Ramadan Ben Amer, 53, a co-founder of the party, which is the offshoot of an online news website that he helped launch in late February to support the revolution.

"Gaddafi says he has built Libya brick by brick but, especially Benghazi, he has destroyed it brick by brick," Ben Amer - who is now a resident of the UAE - told AFP hours before presenting his party at the Uzu Hotel.

He said that of the 2,000 individuals who have joined the party in Libya so far, the majority hail from his native Benghazi or Derna, the hometown of co-founder Rajad Mabruk, 65, who lives in Dallas, Texas.

New Libya, he added, also has some 20,000 supporters among Libyan expats living in the United States, Canada and Germany.

14 hours 19 min ago

Official Statement from Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Chairman of the National Transitional Council:

In response to what was quoted in the Wall St Journal re: Gaddafi being held inside Libya, the National Transitional Council would like to clarify a few points:

The discussion regarding this matter transpired three weeks ago with Mr. Abdel Elalah Khatib the special envoy to the United Nations. At that time we had made it clear to Mr. Khatib and the other party that they would have one week to respond to the offer.

Since that time, our official position has been to negate the offer since the time allotted has expired.

We also maintain that we will not accept any direct or indirect negotiations with the regime. We encourage our friends and allies to support us in maintaining pressure on Gaddafi and his family to leave power and the country.

The official position of the National Transitional Council is that Gaddafi must leave power and must depart Libya. Furthermore, the National Transitional Council affirms that the Libyan people have the right to hold Gaddafi and his family accountable for the crimes they have committed.

Al Jazeera Live Blog:

3 hours 31 min ago

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught was on the air live from Benghazi a few minutes ago, reporting on the value of the UK's recognition to the NTC.

The increased international recognition is undoubtedly of huge ideological value to the NTC here. They want everyone in Libya to see that the international community has shifted its vote of confidence away from Gaddafi and to the NTC in order, they hope, to persuade the people who are still wobbling among Gaddafi supporters to jump.

In practical terms, they need cash, and they think this is going to help free up the cash they badly need. They're running out of notes to spend here, they're running out fuel to keep the power generation going and they've got Ramadan coming up, of course the most crucial time for people to be with their families, and salaries have not been paid for weeks.

2 hours 27 min ago

Libya has "an obligation" to arrest Muammar Gaddafi, the International Criminal Court prosecutors' office has said.

"This is a legal issue," prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's office said in a statement. "Libya is not a state party to the [court's founding treaty] Rome Statute but it is a member of the United Nations. Therefore, according to Resolution 1970, the Libyan government has an obligation to implement the arrest warrants," the statement said. "Any future government will have the same obligation," it added.

8 min 36 sec ago

A Libyan man has sought damages from NATO in a Belgian civil court, alleging that the military alliance killed his wife and three children in an air strike, his lawyer says.

Khaled Hemidi says his family was killed in a bombing that took place west of Tripoli on June 20, and that the intended target was his father, Khuwildi Hemidi, who is close to Gaddafi's government.

At the time, NATO said that it had hit a high-level command and control centre in Sorman, 70km from Tripoli.

Hemidi filed the lawusit in Brussels on Wednesday. The first hearing is set to take place within seven to 10 days.

Carmen Romero, a NATO spokesperson, said that the alliance "took note" of the suit but that it was acting within the mandate afforded to it by UN Resolutions 1970 and 1973.

In another case, a Belgian court threw out a suit filed by Aisha Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi's daughter, over charges that NATO killed her daughter and the Libyan leader's youngest son in an April bombing.

The increased international recognition is undoubtedly of huge ideological value to the NTC here. They want everyone in Libya to see that the international community has shifted its vote of confidence away from Gaddafi and to the NTC in order, they hope, to persuade the people who are still wobbling among Gaddafi supporters to jump

I hope it has the desired effect, LL.

Good morning!

Al Jazeera:

Libya criticises UK recognition of rebels

Tripoli to pursue legal challenge to what it calls Britain's "irresponsible" move to welcome opposition body in London.
Last Modified: 28 Jul 2011 05:44

The government of Muammar Gaddafi has denounced Britain's decision to recognise the Libyan opposition as the sole legitimate authority in the country.

The UK's decision is "irresponsible, illegal and in violation of British and international laws", Khaled Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister, said in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, on Wednesday night.

He said Gaddafi's government "will take necessary actions" and pursue a legal challenge to the recognition in both British and international courts.

The recognition of the National Transitional Council (NTC) was announced by William Hague, the UK foreign minister, on Wednesday and came 12 days after the US made a similar move.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, announced recognition for the NTC at a meeting in Turkey of the international "contact group" on Libya on July 15.

Gaddafi's diplomats expelled

Recognition in the UK means the NTC can send its own diplomatic personnel, who will be treated like the representatives of any other government, and can receive millions of dollars in frozen oil funds.

Mahmud Nacua, a Libyan exile in Britain, has been tapped as the NTC's ambassador, an opposition official announced on Wednesday.

Britain is set to transfer around $147m in frozen assets to the NTC and has already said it will extend a roughly $143m loan based on frozen Libyan funds.

Britain has officially recognised Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government, and asked all diplomats belonging to Muammar Gaddafi's government to leave the United Kingdom.

"In line with this decision, we summoned the Libyan charge d'affaires here to the foreign office this morning and informed him that he and other regime diplomats from the Gaddafi regime must now leave the United Kingdom," William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, said on Wednesday.

"We no longer recognise them as the representatives of the Libyan government and we are inviting the Libyan National Transitional Council to appoint a new Libyan diplomatic envoy to take over the Libyan embassy in London."

The current charge d'affaires and all eight remaining staff and their dependents have three days to leave the country, the UK foreign office said.

In an audio message to loyalists on Wednesday, Gaddafi said that he and his people were "ready to sacrifice" in order to defeat NATO and the Libyan fighters.

'Political, economic boost'

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, said that the release of frozen funds would be welcomed by NTC leaders, as they had been running dangerously low on cash.

She said that if the funds were handed over to the oil company that Hague named in his statement, they could go towards repairing an oil pipeline to one of the east's largest oil fields, in Soriya.

Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports on the return of families who were expelled from Misrata by Gaddafi forces ** I seem unable to embed any youtube links so am posting up where you can go and see the videos. You need to click on the TV link, then the AL Jazeera link and there are many videos there, including this one. http://feb17.info/videos/

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the NTC, said in Benghazi on Wednesday that the UK's decision "gives us a political and economic boost".

"This means Gaddafi and his followers are no longer legitimate,'' he said.

Britain's diplomatic moves implement a decision made at the July 15 meeting in Istanbul.

The US, Britain and 30 other nations recognised the NTC as the country's legitimate government, and individual countries have followed that collective acknowledgement with individual announcements.

But not all countries involved in the Libyan conflict have fallen in line.

Russia has criticised such moves as a "policy of isolation" that takes sides in a civil war and goes beyond the UN mandate of protecting civilians.

Russia has said Gaddafi must go and has recognised the NTC as a party to negotiations to end the conflict, but is has not disavowed Gaddafi's regime or said the NTC is the sole representative of the Libyan people.

Britain is one of the leading participants in the NATO campaign, but the government has been under pressure over its failure to remove Gaddafi from power.

Despite the forceful diplomatic maneuvering, Hague said for the first time this week that Gaddafi might be able to remain in Libya, as long as he is not in power.

'Question for Libyans'

Hague said that "Gaddafi is going to have to abandon power, all military and civil responsibility", but "what happens to Gaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans".

France and the US have made similar statements.

But Jalil said on Wednesday that the deadline for a proposal involving Gaddafi ceding power and remaining in Libya had expired.

"We made a proposal. The deadline has past. The proposal has expired," Jalil said of the three-point offer during a press conference in Benghazi. Under the proposal, Gaddafi would have relinquished all powers and would remain under "close supervision" in a location of the "Libyan people's" choosing, he said.

The proposal marked a major shift from previous opposition demands that Gaddafi leave and be tried for war crimes in The Hague.

Al Jazeera:

Libya opposition arrests senior leader
General Abdel Fatah Younis, the chief of staff of the rebel forces, is being held at a military garrison in Benghazi.
Last Modified: 28 Jul 2011 15:49

General Abdel Fatah Younis, the chief of staff of the rebel forces in Libya, has been arrested by the National Transition Council. He is being held at an undisclosed military garrison in Benghazi.

A rebel source said Younis was recalled from Brega early on Thursday, but could not say why.

Reuters news agency said a senior member of the NTC confirmed Younes was in Benghazi but said he had returned from the front line unhappy with the situation on the ground, and officials were trying to persuade him to return.

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, quoted unconfirmed reports as saying Libya's former minister of interior was arrested for dealing with and smuggling arms to Gaddafi loyalists. Younis defected to the rebel side in February.

"He spent 40 years as one of Gaddafi's right hand men as minister of defence and in charge of the special forces. So when he came over five months ago to the opposition cause it was quite a coup. But some people have had their doubts about… his loyalties...

Some of his men have come back from the front line demanding his release. This is an ugly situation in the making," our correspondent said.

Meanwhile, Libyan opposition fighters in the western mountains have launched attacks on several government-controlled towns, hoping to push out loyalist troops and open a route to the border.

The attacks began around dawn as rebels descended from around the towns of Nalut and Jadu in an attempt to expel forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from the Nafusa mountain foothills.

By midday local time, rebels had taken and lost the town of al-Jawsh and reached the outskirts of Ghazaya, a significant base for Gaddafi's troops near the Tunisian border.

Four rebels were killed and 10 injured, while 18 loyalist troops were captured, according to opposition sources.
Rebels from Nalut assemble before moving out to attack Gaddafi positions [Nalut Media Committee]

Al Jazeera's James Bays, who approached al-Jawsh with the rebel advance, said fighters initially took the town and moved on but were caught by a surprise counterattack.

Despite hitting al-Jawsh with artillery fire and attempting to clear out Gaddafi's troops, some regime forces apparently remained in town, while others fired Grad rockets after the rebels entered.

Farther west, Ghazaya had been bombard by rebel tanks and "long-range guns" throughout Wednesday night in preparation for the attack, an opposition source said.

The fight for Ghazaya continued into Thursday afternoon, and rebels claimed to have seized the nearby town of Takut. A rebel spokesman in Jadu claimed rebels had taken Ghazaya, but that claim was not confirmed by other sources.

Hundreds of trucks carrying hundreds of fighters were involved in the operation at al-Jawsh, Bays said.

It appeared to be the largest attack by opposition fighters in the Nafusa Mountains since the conflict began.

Diplomatic recognition

On Wednesday, the political vice continued to squeeze Gaddafi's government, with the UK officially announcing its recognition for the Libyan opposition as the sole legitimate authority in the country.

Khaled Kaim, Gaddafi's deputy foreign minister, condemned the decision as "irresponsible, illegal and in violation of British and international laws" in a press conference in Tripoli.

He said the government "will take necessary actions" and pursue a legal challenge to the move in both British and international courts.
Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports on the British recognition of the opposition National Transition Council

William Hague, the UK foreign minister, announced the recognition of the National Transitional Council (NTC) on Wednesday, 12 days after the US made a similar move.

Britain also asked all diplomats belonging to Gaddafi's government to leave the country.

Recognition in the UK means the NTC can send its own diplomatic personnel, who will be treated like the representatives of any other government, and can receive millions of dollars in frozen oil funds.

Mahmud al-Naku, a Libyan exile in Britain, has been tapped as the NTC's ambassador, an opposition official announced on Wednesday.

Britain will transfer about $147m in frozen assets to the NTC and has already said it will extend a $143m loan based on frozen Libyan funds.

"In line with this decision, we summoned the Libyan charge d'affaires here to the foreign office this morning and informed him that he and other regime diplomats from the Gaddafi regime must now leave the United Kingdom," Hague said on Wednesday.

"We no longer recognise them as the representatives of the Libyan government and we are inviting the Libyan National Transitional Council to appoint a new Libyan diplomatic envoy to take over the Libyan embassy in London."

Expulsion order

The current charge d'affaires and all eight remaining staff and their dependents have three days to leave the country, the UK foreign office said.

In an audio message to loyalists on Wednesday, Gaddafi said that he and his people were "ready to sacrifice" in order to defeat NATO and the Libyan fighters.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from the opposition stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, said that the release of frozen funds would be welcomed by NTC leaders, as they had been running dangerously low on cash.

She said that if the funds were handed over to the oil company that Hague named in his statement, they could go towards repairing an oil pipeline to one of the east's largest oil fields, in Soriya.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the NTC, said in Benghazi on Wednesday that the UK's decision "gives us a political and economic boost".

"This means Gaddafi and his followers are no longer legitimate,'' he said.

Britain's diplomatic moves implement a decision made at the July 15 meeting in Istanbul.

The US, Britain and 30 other nations recognised the NTC as the country's legitimate government, and individual countries have followed that collective acknowledgement with individual announcements.

But not all countries involved in the Libyan conflict have fallen in line.

Russia has criticised such moves as a "policy of isolation" that takes sides in a civil war and goes beyond the UN mandate of protecting civilians.

Russia has said Gaddafi must go and has recognised the NTC as a party to negotiations to end the conflict, but it has not disavowed Gaddafi's government or said the NTC is the sole representative of the Libyan people.

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Assorted reports: http://feb17.info/


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That's an odd one, LL, will be interesting to see how this pans out.

It seems that General Younes, mentioned in the above post has been killed in Benghazi by pro-Gadaffi insurgents, possibly on his way to a meeting. Things seem very confused, I am waiting for details from Al Jazerra.

Latest on Al Jazerra:

Libya opposition's senior leader dead
General Abdel Fatah Younis, the chief of staff of the rebel forces, has been killed.
Last Modified: 28 Jul 2011 20:25

General Abdel Fatah Younis, the chief of staff of the rebel forces in Libya, has been killed says the National Transition Council, along with three other senior rebel leaders.

Earlier, a rebel source said Younis was recalled from Brega early on Thursday, but could not say why.

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, quoted unconfirmed reports as saying Libya's former minister of interior was arrested for dealing with and smuggling arms to Gaddafi loyalists. Younis defected to the rebel side in February.

Oh.

Good evening; I have been out all day so I am sorry the news is a bit behind!

AL Jazeera: Link as there are videos not yet on you tube: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/2011728202129941725.html

Mystery over Libyan rebel commander's death
Abdel Fattah Younes killed after National Transitional Council summoned him to appear before an inquiry.
Last Modified: 29 Jul 2011 12:10

The head of the Libyan rebels' armed forces and two of his aides were killed by gunmen on Thursday, creating a power vacuum at the top of the opposition military hierarchy and raising questions about who was responsible.

The killing, in circumstances that remain murky, has shaken Western confidence in the movement to oust Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and constitutes a blow for the US, Britain, France and other countries backing the under-trained and divided opposition alliance.

Abdel Fattah Younes was killed after being summoned to the de facto rebel capital of Benghazi to appear before a judicial inquiry, opposition leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil announced at a press conference late on Thursday night.

He told reporters that rebel security had arrested the head of the group behind the killing but had not found the dead men's bodies.

By Friday, however, it appeared that the bodies had been found and returned to their relatives. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Benghazi's central Courthouse Square - renamed Tahrir Square by the opposition - to observe Friday prayers and mourn Younes.

After attending weekly Muslim prayers, they carried coffins bearing the deceased through the square and chanted, "the blood of martyrs will not be spilled for nothing", under the nervous gaze of security forces.

Abdul Hakim, a nephew of Younes, told the Reuters news agency that Younes's body had been returned to his family on Thursday, burned and bearing bullet wounds. He said Younes had called to say he was coming to Benghazi around 10am Thursday morning.

Rebel security reportedly arrived at Younes's operations room near the rebels' eastern front and arrested him and his aides early on Thursday.

Security officials said at the time that Younes was to be questioned about possible ties to Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Younes was Gaddafi's interior minister before defecting to the rebels early in the uprising, which began in February.

Jalil said that Younes had been summoned for questioning regarding "a military matter". He said Younes and his two aides, a colonel and a major, were shot before they arrived for questioning.

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, said that the body had not been handed over yet.

"One of the assailants was captured. [The groups] were described as pro-Gaddafi units."

"Now there is a hunt going in Benghazi to find those people," he said.

Jalil called Younes "one of the heroes of the 17th of February revolution", a name marking the date of early protests against Gaddafi's regime.

He did not say Gaddafi's forces were directly responsible for Younes's killing but said Gaddafi was seeking to break the unity of rebel forces. He also issued a stiff warning about unaffiliated "armed groups" in rebel-held cities, saying they needed to join the fight against Gaddafi or risk being arrested by security forces.

'A man who was a target'

After Jalil finished his remarks, without taking questions, there were reports of fighting and gunfire in and around the Tibesti Hotel, where the press conference was held.

A witness told the AFP news agency that supporters of Younes grouped outside the Tibesti, fired their weapons in the air and attempted to enter the hotel, where they were confronted by NTC security.

Some of the men shouted, "You killed him", in reference to the NTC.

"[Younes] is a man who was a target," Birtley said. "It is a question of who was he targeted by: Pro-Gaddafi loyalists or people on the opposition side who didn't actually like his politics because there were questions about where his loyalties truly lay."

"This was a man who was the interior minister for Gaddafi. He was a personal friend for 40 years and that friendship shone through."

"When I [interviewed] him, he said he changed sides because the Gaddafi he knew was not the Gaddafi that was leading the country any longer."

Within an hour, at least three loud explosions shook the centre of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Two explosions were heard at 10:20pm local time, followed by another blast several minutes later, as Libyan television reported that planes were flying overhead.

Tripoli has been the target of repeated NATO air raids.

Rebel offensive

Meanwhile, Libyan opposition fighters in the western mountains launched attacks on several government-controlled towns, hoping to push out loyalist troops and open a route to the border.

The attacks began around dawn as rebels descended from around the towns of Nalut and Jadu in an attempt to expel forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from the Nafusa mountain foothills.

By midday local time, rebels had taken and lost the town of al-Jawsh and reached the outskirts of Ghazaya, a significant base for Gaddafi's troops near the Tunisian border.

Four rebels were killed and 10 injured, while 18 loyalist troops were captured, according to opposition sources.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, who approached al-Jawsh with the rebel advance, said fighters initially took the town and moved on but were caught by a surprise counterattack.

"At the very time that they have the setback death or Mr Younes, they had a military victory in taking a large area here near the Tunisian border," our correspondent said.

"But a short time ago they had reports that possibly there was a Gaddafi counter-offensive coming down the road," he said.

Despite hitting al-Jawsh with artillery fire and attempting to clear out Gaddafi's troops, some 2,000 regime forces apparently remained in town, while others fired Grad rockets after the rebels entered.

Farther west, Ghazaya had been bombarded by rebel tanks and "long-range guns" throughout Wednesday night in preparation for the attack, an opposition source said.

The fight for Ghazaya continued into Thursday afternoon, and rebels claimed to have seized the nearby town of Takut.

A rebel spokesman in Jadu claimed rebels had taken Ghazaya, but that claim was not confirmed by other sources.

Trucks carrying hundreds of fighters were involved in the operation at al-Jawsh, Bays said.

It appeared to be the largest attack by opposition fighters in the Nafusa Mountains since the conflict began.

Link to Al Jazeera Live Blog: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

A very odd business...

bb1 wrote:A very odd business...

Yes, and I haven't really caught up with it all yet. Trust things to happen on a day when I was away! I will do a catchup tomorrow as I am rather tired now and can just about type on here, let alone start doing in-depth stuff re Libya! LL

Good morning:

Al Jazeera:

Libya rebels to probe commander's killing
Mystery continues to surround the circumstances of the killing of General Abdel Fattah Younes.
Last Modified: 29 Jul 2011 22:07

The Libyan National Transitional Council has formed a committee to probe the assassination of the head of the rebels' armed forces and two of his aides, after a rebel special forces member accused fellow rebels of killing them.

Abdel Fattah Younes and his aides were killed by gunmen on Thursday, creating a power vacuum at the top of the opposition military hierarchy and raising questions about who was responsible.

Ali Tarhouni, a rebel minister, said that a militia leader, who had asked to fetch Younes from the frontline near the oil town of Brega, had been arrested and had confessed that his subordinates had carried out the killing.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the opposition leader, had called Younes "one of the heroes of the 17th of February revolution", a name marking the date of early protests against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

He did not say Gaddafi's forces were directly responsible for Younes' killing but said Gaddafi was seeking to break the unity of rebel forces. He also issued a stiff warning about unaffiliated "armed groups" in rebel-held cities, saying they needed to join the fight against Gaddafi or risk being arrested by security forces.

A spokesman for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi responded on Friday that al-Qaeda was behind the Younes assassination.

"By this act, al-Qaeda wanted to mark out its presence and its influence in this region" of eastern Libya controlled by the rebels fighting to overthrow Gaddafi, Moussa Ibrahim told reporters. "It is Al-Qaeda that has the power in the east.

Abdul Hakim, a nephew of Younes, said that Younes' body was returned to his family on Thursday, burned and bearing bullet wounds.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Benghazi's central Courthouse Square - renamed Tahrir Square by the opposition - to observe Friday prayers and mourn Younes' death.

They carried coffins bearing the deceased and chanted, "The blood of martyrs will not be spilled for nothing", under the nervous gaze of security forces.

Fresh allegations

An angry Mohammed Agoury, a member of the rebel special forces, told the AP news agency that he was present when a group of rebels from a faction known as the February 17 Martyrs' Brigade came to Younes' operations room outside Benghazi before dawn on Wednesday and took him away for interrogation.

Agoury said he tried to accompany his commander, but Younes "trusted them and went alone".

"Instead, they betrayed us and killed him," he said.

The February 17 Martyrs Brigade is a group made up of hundreds of civilians who took up arms to join the rebellion.

Their fighters participate in the front-line battles with Gaddafi's forces, but also act as a semi-official internal security force for the opposition.

Some of its leadership comes from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which waged a campaign of violence against Gaddafi's regime in the 1990s.

Agoury said the brigade had an agenda against Younes, because he was previously Gaddafi's interior minister and was involved in the crackdown that crushed the LIFG.

"They don't trust anyone who was with Gaddafi's regime, they wanted revenge," Agoury said.

A member of the Martyrs Brigade said his group had evidence that Younes was a traitor and that the evidence will come out in a few days.

'A man who was a target'

At the cemetery during his funeral, Younes was given a military farewell with a 300-soldier salute before being buried. The crackling of machine guns shot in the air competed with the crowds chanting.

At the graveside, Younis' son, Ashraf, broke down, crying and screaming as they lowered the body into the ground and - in a startling and risky display in a city that was the first to shed Gaddafi's rule nearly six months ago - pleaded hysterically for the return of the Libyan leader to bring stability.

"We want Muammar to come back! We want the green flag back!" he shouted at the crowd, referring to Gaddafi's national banner.

Younes was Gaddafi's interior minister until he defected to the rebellion early in the uprising, which began in February, bringing his forces into the opposition ranks.

"[Younes] is a man who was a target," Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley said. "It is a question of who was he targeted by: Pro-Gaddafi loyalists or people on the opposition side who didn't actually like his politics because there were questions about where his loyalties truly lay."

"This was a man who was the interior minister for Gaddafi. He was a personal friend for 40 years and that friendship shone through," our correspondent said.

"When I [interviewed] him, he said he changed sides because the Gaddafi he knew was not the Gaddafi that was leading the country any longer."

Mark Toner, a US state department spokesman, said the circumstances of Younes' death remained unclear, but he pressed the opposition to shore up any cracks in their front against Gaddafi.

"What's important is that they work both diligently and transparently to ensure the unity of the Libyan opposition,'' Toner said.

I see the Libyan government are accusing Al-Qaeda of the killing of the general and his aides. I personally think he was assassinated by pro-Gadaffi people to sew dissention and chaos in the rebel ranks, as it would appear that the fighting is not achieving all Gadaffi etc want. LL

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Link to Al Jazeera Live Blog for further comments and some photos: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

From Feb 17 Libya Nerws:

NATO silences Qadhafi’s terror broadcasts
Posted on July 29, 2011 by NATO Command

A few hours ago, NATO conducted a precision air strike that disabled three ground-based Libyan state TV satellite transmission dishes in Tripoli. The strike, performed by NATO fighter aircraft using state-of-the art precision guided munitions, was conducted in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1973, with the intent of degrading Qadhafi’s use of satellite television as a means to intimidate the Libyan people and incite acts of violence against them.

Our intervention was necessary as TV was being used as an integral component of the regime apparatus designed to systematically oppress and threaten civilians and to incite attacks against them. Qadhafi’s increasing practice of inflammatory broadcasts illustrates his regime’s policy to instill hatred amongst Libyans, to mobilize its supporters against civilians and to trigger bloodshed.

In light of our mandate to protect civilian lives, we had to act. After due consideration and careful planning to minimize the risks of casualties or long-term damage to television transmission capabilities, NATO performed the strike and we are now in the process of assessing its effect. Striking specifically these critical satellite dishes will reduce the regime’s ability to oppress civilians while at the same time preserve television broadcast infrastructure that will be needed after the conflict.

NATO will continue to take appropriate measures to enforce the UN mandate and to protect the lives of the people of Libya.

Libyan rebels confirm Younes arrest warrant
Rebel council says general was shot by gunmen after he was released following questioning, as it launches investigation.
Last Modified: 30 Jul 2011 18:54

The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) had issued a warrant for the arrest of its top general, who was killed by gunmen after he had been held and questioned by their investigators regarding "a military matter", the head of the council says.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the NTC, said that the warrant had been signed by Ali Essawi, his deputy, and that after Abdel Fattah Younes, the commander of the rebel armed forces, had been questioned on Thursday he had been released.

Jalil, speaking at a press conference on Saturday, said that it was following Younes' release that two men killed the general and two of his aides. Jalil said that the men fled with the bodies in a car, and had later burned them.

He stressed that the throats of the men had not been cut, apparently suggesting that the killing was not the work of Islamists, Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, who was at the press conference in Benghazi, reported.

"Jalil inferred that this was the work of pro-Gaddafi agents seeking to create divisions within the opposition," Birtley said.

Jalil also announced that there would be a clampdown on informal armed groups who have not been fighting under the banner of the opposition armed forces.

"The time has come to disband these brigades. Anybody who refuses to take part in this decree will be tried with the full measure of the law," Jalil said.

Ali Tarhouni, the NTC's oil minister, said that members of the armed groups in Benghazi could either join the rebel armed forces at the frontlines, join the Benghazi security services or lay down their arms.

Inconsistencies

Birtley reported that there were inconsistencies between the various accounts of the death coming from the NTC.

"For example, shortly before Jalil's press conference, the media information minister said that the general had been recalled to Benghazi just to discuss the situation on the frontline. He made no mention of a warrant," Birtley said.

The NTC earlier announced that it had formed an "investigative committee" to probe the assassination of Younes and the two aides, after a special forces officer and opposition minister said fellow rebels had been responsible for murdering them.

The killing of the general has created a power vacuum at the top of the military hierarchy and raised questions about divided allegiances within the opposition.

Tarhouni had earlier claimed that a rebel militia leader who had been asked to fetch Younes from the front line near the town of Brega had been arrested and had confessed that his subordinates carried out the killing.

State television targeted

Meanwhile, NATO's air campaign against Gaddafi's troops continued on Saturday, with the alliance claiming to have carried out a "precision air strike that disabled three ground-based Libyan state TV satellite transmission dishes" in Tripoli, according to a statement from Colonel Roland Lavoie, a NATO spokesperson.

NATO says it bombed the dishes to stop Gaddafi's "terror broadcasts", but al-Jamahiriya remained on air.

Khaled Basilia, the director of al-Jamahiriya state television's English language section, said, however, that three people had been killed and 15 others wounded in the attack.

He termed the air strike "an act of international terrorism" and said it was in violation of the UN security council resolutions under which NATO is acting.

NATO said it was acting under "our mandate to protect civilian lives".

Over the past 24 hours, NATO says it has hit 13 military targets near Brega, four targets in and around Tripoli [in addition to the satellite dishes] and 16 targets in other towns and cities.

The rebels, meanwhile, continued their advance through Libya's western mountains, with a rebel commander telling the Reuters news agency that his forces had encircled forces loyal to Gaddafi at Tiji, the last camp in the area left in their control.

Nasir al-Hamdi, a former colonel in Gaddafi's police force and now a rebel commander in the west, said about 500 government troops were trapped in Tiji, and that rebel forces were bombarding them with tank shells.

Conflicting accounts of death

A spokesman for Gaddafi said al-Qaeda was responsible for Younes' death, while a rebel special forces officer said the perpetrators were members of the February 17th Martyrs' Brigade, one of the many ad-hoc units that have formed during the uprising.

Jalil had called Younes "one of the heroes of the 17th of February revolution" at a late-night press conference on Thursday, during which he announced the killing.

Jalil did not say Gaddafi's forces were directly responsible for Younes' killing at the time, but said Gaddafi was seeking to break the unity of rebel forces.
Jalil's initial remarks

Younes, a longtime aide and interior minister to Gaddafi, defected on February 20 and helped the mostly unarmed protesters in Benghazi overthrow the regime's military garrison there.

By Saturday, several sources were placing blame for the killing, with some accusing Gaddafi.

"By this act, al-Qaeda wanted to mark out its presence and its influence in this region", Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters. "It is al-Qaeda that has the power in the east."

But Mohammed Agoury, a member of the rebel special forces, told the AP news agency that he was present when a group of rebels from the February 17th Brigade came to Younes' operations room before dawn on Wednesday and took him away for interrogation.

Younes had been summoned to appear before a judicial inquiry convened by the NTC to investigate a "military affair," Jalil said on Thursday.

Sources said Younes was suspected of somehow collaborating with Gaddafi's regime.

Agoury said he tried to accompany his commander, but Younes "trusted them and went alone".

"Instead, they betrayed us and killed him," he said.

Abdul Hakim, a nephew of Younes, said that Younes' body was returned to his family on Thursday, burned and bearing bullet wounds.

Younes laid to rest

On Friday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Benghazi's central courthouse square - renamed Tahrir Square by the opposition - to observe Friday prayers and mourn Younes' death.

They carried coffins and chanted "the blood of martyrs will not go in vain" under the gaze of security forces.

Birtley said Younes' body was not actually present at the Friday ceremony, but the slain commander was laid to rest later in the day at al-Hawari cemetary.

Younes was given a military farewell with a 300-soldier salute before being buried.

The crackling of machine guns shot in the air competed with the crowds chanting, and members of Younes' family came to receive condolences.

Jalil did not say Gaddafi's forces were directly responsible for Younes' killing at the time, but said Gaddafi was seeking to break the unity of rebel forces.


That sounds about right to me?

bb1 wrote:Jalil did not say Gaddafi's forces were directly responsible for Younes' killing at the time, but said Gaddafi was seeking to break the unity of rebel forces.


That sounds about right to me?

I am sure gadaffi's lot are involved somewhere, but the problem is that there is a 'war' going on and people get sidetracked, so we may never really know what happened. LL

Rebels subdue 'rogue pro-Gaddafi faction'
Four dead and six wounded as opposition says it launched attack on pro-Gaddafi brigade operating under rebel banner.
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2011 15:53

Libya's opposition forces have launched an attack against what they say was a pro-Gaddafi armed group operating under the opposition's banner in the country's east.

The opposition's forces had overrun the base of the al-Nidaa Brigade, the pro-government faction, after five hours of fighting near the opposition stronghold Benghazi, according to spokesman Mahmoud Shamam.

He said that four peopled were killed and six others wounded in the clash, which involved the use of heavy weapons.

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, said the battle was launched to subdue elements of Muammar Gaddafi's forces that had been operating as a "fifth column" within the opposition ranks.

"According to sources here there is no connection with the attack and the death of [General Abdel Fattah Younes]," said Birtley, who added that documents were found on the defeated faction that linked it to Gaddafi.

'Unity intact'

Shamam said the main rebel force is now in control of the al-Nidaa Brigade's base on the western outskirts of Benghazi, the de facto capital of Libya's opposition-held east.

"It was a long battle and it took many hours because they were heavily armed," he said.

"In the end we arrested 31 of them. We lost four people," said Shamam, who added the group of fighters were rounded up for their role in organising a prison break in Benghazi earlier in the week.

The fighting followed Thursday's killing of Younes, the chief rebel commander, under mysterious circumstances.

Mustafa el-Sagisli, the rebels' deputy interior minister, said that the al-Nidaa Brigade had been involved in "plans to [plant] car bombs". He said that they "participated in many acts of terrorism inside Benghazi".

Some reports claimed Sunday's clashes pointed to sharp rifts within the campaign to unseat Gaddafi, nearly six months after the start of the uprising.

Al Jazeera's Birtley disagreed: "I'm not sure there are huge divisions, but there are some cracks. The [opposition National Transitional Council] is taking great steps to suggest their unity is intact and they are speaking with one voice."

Gaddafi defiant

Meanwhile, the Gaddafi government said on Sunday it was in contact with members of the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC).


In the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Khaled Kaim, the Libyan deputy foreign minister, denied rumours of recent contacts with Younes.

"He was in contact with the government during his visit in Italy two months ago. Since then we had no contact with him despite [the fact that] we still have contact with other members of NTC but not with Abdel Fattah," Kaim said.

Gaddafi, meanwhile, on Saturday night renewed his pledge "never to abandon" the battle, in an audio tape broadcast on state television, despite NATO air strikes earlier that day on the broadcaster's headquarters in Tripoli.

Libya's enemies would be "defeated in the face of the resistance and courage of the Libyan people," he said in a speech following the strikes, which Tripoli said killed three journalists.

Fighting continues

Fighting continued between rebel and pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya's west on Sunday, with intense clashes reported near the town of Tiji, which rebels say is the last post remaining in government hands in the western mountains.

"We are going to take Tiji, I know it. And that will clear the way for us to head to Tripoli eventually," said fighter Naji Shayboukh, who was holding a home-made rocket-launcher.

"I think it's fair to say that although the opposition haven't got the decisive victory that they wanted, they have gained ground. They've taken the village of al-Jawsh, which is one that they entered a few days ago, but were pushed back from ... and they've now virtually surrounded the key strategic city of Tiji," reported James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent, from the frontline.

Intense fighting was also taking place near the eastern gate of Zliten, where the rebel council says opposition forces have captured one tank and four missile launchers from pro-Gaddafi troops.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reported that the offensive on Zliten was significant, as if the town is taken, "the road to Tripoli is quite clear except for the smaller town of Khomus".

France calls on Libyans

Also on Sunday, France said it was committed to striking Gaddafi's military assets for as long as needed for him to leave power and called on Libyans in Tripoli to rise against him.

"We say to Gaddafi that we will not ease our pressure and to his opponents that we will not abandon them," Gerard Longuet, the French Defence Minister, was quoted as saying by the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"Things have to move more in Tripoli ... the population must rise up," he added.

With their bombing campaign dragging on unresolved, France and Britain have been forced to accept that Gaddafi may stay in Libya if he quits power under a ceasefire, despite calls for international justice.

"We are signed up for the duration and are thereby facilitating a negotiated settlement" between Gaddafi's government and the opposition forces backed by France and Britain, Longuet said in the interview, which was published on Sunday.

Liam Fox, the UK's defence minister, echoed Longuet's statements, saying that Britain will take part in the NATO bombing campaign on Libya for "as long as is required" to fulfill a UN security council resolution calling for the protection of civilians.

"There's only one message we should be sending to the [Libyan] regime and that is that we have both the military capability and the resolve to continue pursuing and fulfilling United Nations resolution 1973 as long as is required," he told BBC radio in comments broadcast on Sunday.

Germany, meanwhile, declared Hisham al-Sharif, a Libyan diplomat, persona non grata on Sunday due to his allegiance to Muammar Gaddafi.

Good morning:

ASl Jazeera Live Blog:

11 hours 55 min ago

Juma Brahim, head of the rebel fighters' operational command in the Nafusa mountains, has told AFP that the death toll from fighting in al-Jawsh and Tiji today is three, with four fighters wounded.

12 hours 7 min ago

A rebel commander has told Al Jazeera that opposition forces captured 40 pro-Gaddafi soldiers during fighting in Zliten today.

Fifteen opposition fighters were killed during hostilities today, the rebels say.

Still no clearer what happened to Younes?

bb1 wrote:Still no clearer what happened to Younes?

I believe the consensus is that he was killed by pro-gadaffi people. However, it is somewhat murky; the TNC are investigating, but I believe they do have the ringleader and a couple of the killers. LL

Yes, that makes sense, LL - oddly, I thought of that pic of Gaddafi playing chess....