Libyan rebels ended their waiting game and attacked Gadhafi forces in Bani Walid and outside Sirte today on the eve of the loosely held deadline for those cities to surrender peacefully.
NATO warplanes were seen overhead as the attacks were launched in Bani Walid, according to media reports.
Frustration set in after several broken-promises in talks between city elders and the rebels, prompting the anti-Gadhafi forces to finally commence with what they hope will be the last phases of fighting in Libya.
"The straw that broke the camel's back was the rocket fire from the Gadhafi forces the last 24 hours," said a foreign diplomatic official who closely monitors the Libyan revolution.
The rebels are attacking from at least two directions in Bani Walid, where Moammar Gadhafi has been said to be in hiding, the Associated Press reported. Gadhafi earned a spot on Interpol's most-wanted list overnight.
"They are inside the city. They are fighting with snipers," Abdullah Kenshil, the rebels' chief negotiator said of the anti-Gadhafi forces. "They forced this on us and it was in self-defense."
The fighting for Sirte remains well outside the city, according to the BBC. Sirte is Gadhafi's hometown and is a stronghold for his tribe.
There were no reports of fighting in the two other Gadhafi strongholds of Sabha and Jufra.
The Transitional National Council, meanwhile, continued to move its senior officials from Benghazi to Tripoli as the new government takes root in the Libyan capital.
President Obama welcomed today Ali Suleiman Aujali, the first representative to the U.S. from the new Libyan government.
"As the Transitional National Council undertakes an inclusive and democratic political transition where human rights are respected and valued, it will find a strong ally in the United States. We look forward to working with Ambassador Aujali and his team in the coming months," said Whiote House national security pokesman Tommy Vietor.
Showing posts with label Bani Walid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bani Walid. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Rebel Mind Games Aim to Avoid Attack on Bani Walid
For a while there it looked like the psychological warfare employed by rebel leaders was working to convince the people of Bani Walid to let anti-Gadhafi fighters enter the city peacefully.
Elders in the stronghold of the Warfallah, Libya's largest tribe, appeared to agree overnight to allow the rebel brigades to enter Bani Walid, but when those senior negotiators returned to town they were reportedly greeted by gunfire by pro-Gadhafi gunmen.
Since Sunday, the rebels have said an attack is imminent on the city where some people say Moammar Gadhafi, his son Saif and other regime officials. No one knows for sure where they are, however.
So far the rebels are playing a waiting game with the city of 50,000 people.
A massive rebel force is concentrating outside the city about 70 miles south of Tripoli, and when talks broke down over the weekend, the Transitional National Council revoked its self-imposed deadline for a decision by Bani Walid this coming Saturday. The rebels have played mind games with Bani Walid ever since.
A pro-Gadhafi column reportedly including Mansour Dao, the former commander of Libya's Revolutionary Guards and a cousin of Gadhafi, escaped to Niger. The U.S. demanded he and others who may be wanted be detained and returned to Libya.
"Apparently, a convoy has entered, and it does include some senior members of the Gadhafi regime, but we do not believe that (Moammar) Gadhafi himself was among them," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
"We have strongly urged the Nigerian officials to detain those members of the regime who may be subject to prosecution, to ensure that they confiscate any weapons that are found, and to ensure that any state property of the Government of Libya – money, jewels, et cetera – also be impounded so that it can be returned to the Libyan people," Nuland added.
More details are emerging of the fall of Tripoli and Operation Mermaid Dawn, a coordinated rebel and NATO land, sea and air attack that successfully toppled the Gadhafi regime, save for hoildouts Bani Walid, Sirte, Sabha and Jufra.
Gadhafi's caterer, Abdel Majid Mlegta, was the rebel spy inside the regime who detailed names and locations for NATO and recruited others for the cause, Reuters reports. The mole was a key to the alliance's coordinated attacks with the rebel ground forces.
Elders in the stronghold of the Warfallah, Libya's largest tribe, appeared to agree overnight to allow the rebel brigades to enter Bani Walid, but when those senior negotiators returned to town they were reportedly greeted by gunfire by pro-Gadhafi gunmen.
Since Sunday, the rebels have said an attack is imminent on the city where some people say Moammar Gadhafi, his son Saif and other regime officials. No one knows for sure where they are, however.
So far the rebels are playing a waiting game with the city of 50,000 people.
A massive rebel force is concentrating outside the city about 70 miles south of Tripoli, and when talks broke down over the weekend, the Transitional National Council revoked its self-imposed deadline for a decision by Bani Walid this coming Saturday. The rebels have played mind games with Bani Walid ever since.
A pro-Gadhafi column reportedly including Mansour Dao, the former commander of Libya's Revolutionary Guards and a cousin of Gadhafi, escaped to Niger. The U.S. demanded he and others who may be wanted be detained and returned to Libya.
"Apparently, a convoy has entered, and it does include some senior members of the Gadhafi regime, but we do not believe that (Moammar) Gadhafi himself was among them," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
"We have strongly urged the Nigerian officials to detain those members of the regime who may be subject to prosecution, to ensure that they confiscate any weapons that are found, and to ensure that any state property of the Government of Libya – money, jewels, et cetera – also be impounded so that it can be returned to the Libyan people," Nuland added.
More details are emerging of the fall of Tripoli and Operation Mermaid Dawn, a coordinated rebel and NATO land, sea and air attack that successfully toppled the Gadhafi regime, save for hoildouts Bani Walid, Sirte, Sabha and Jufra.
Gadhafi's caterer, Abdel Majid Mlegta, was the rebel spy inside the regime who detailed names and locations for NATO and recruited others for the cause, Reuters reports. The mole was a key to the alliance's coordinated attacks with the rebel ground forces.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Rebels Say Attack Imminent on Gadhafi Stronghold of Bani Walid
Rebel leaders decided overnight to attack the loyalist stronghold Bani Walid as early as today, accusing Gadhafi loyalists of using a loosely held ceasefire this week to bolster their ranks and positions in that city where some believe Moammar Gadhafi is hiding.
"Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders," said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander whose troops are preparing to invade Bani Walid.
"We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves," al-Fassi told the Associated Press.
Gadhafi loyalists from the south are believed to have moved into Bani Waled this week, after the rebels gave them a deadline to surrender that had been extended until next weekend. The grace period appears to have vanished in the desert sands.
Rebel brigades are now concentrating in the area of Bani Walid from all directions.
"We are now on the border of Bani Walid, between Tarhouna and Bani Walid," Moftah Mohammed told the BBC. "We are coordinating with the rebels from Misrata. God willing, we are hoping to enter the town today or tomorrow."
The Gadhafi loyalists still control Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha. The rebel Transitional National Council is delaying its move from Benghazi to Tripoli at least until the fighting is resolved in those cities, preferably upon the capture or killing of Gadhafi.
"Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders," said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander whose troops are preparing to invade Bani Walid.
"We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves," al-Fassi told the Associated Press.
Gadhafi loyalists from the south are believed to have moved into Bani Waled this week, after the rebels gave them a deadline to surrender that had been extended until next weekend. The grace period appears to have vanished in the desert sands.
Rebel brigades are now concentrating in the area of Bani Walid from all directions.
"We are now on the border of Bani Walid, between Tarhouna and Bani Walid," Moftah Mohammed told the BBC. "We are coordinating with the rebels from Misrata. God willing, we are hoping to enter the town today or tomorrow."
The Gadhafi loyalists still control Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha. The rebel Transitional National Council is delaying its move from Benghazi to Tripoli at least until the fighting is resolved in those cities, preferably upon the capture or killing of Gadhafi.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Rehabbed Gadhafi Cozied Up to Bush Administration
Moammar Gadhafi began a working relationship with the Bush administration after the Libyan dictator abandoned his weapons of mass destruction programs and invited in international weapons inspectors, according to a published report that cited Libyan government documents.
Gadhafi's policy-changing epiphany was a result of the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by U.S. forces. The dictator used the moment to try to rehabilitate his image. The gesture by Gadhafi welcomed by the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as at spy agencies in other Western capitals, like London and Ottawa.
Top Bush administration officials met with the newly "reformed" Gadhafi, who apparently was particularly fond of Condi Rice, ex-national security advisor and secretary of State to former President George W. Bush.
Ex-Libyan intelligence chief and Foreign Minister Musa Kusa became the point man in Libya for the CIA, allowing terrorism suspects to be interrogated in Libya and the American spy agency to set up shop in Tripoli in 2004, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
Kusa, one of the earliest senior Gadhafi regime insiders to defect to the rebel side, was questioned by British authorities shortly after he defected about the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The hunt for Gadhafi, meanwhile, goes on.
"Gadhafi is still at large but he is hiding, he is isolated, he is almost surrounded in possibly one of two small places where we think he is," said Guma El-Gamaty, the Transitional National Council's ambassador to Britain. "We think it is just a matter of time before he is either apprehended or, if he resisted arrest, he might be killed."
Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte is surrounded today by rebel forces, but the city still has a week to negotiate a peace deal and avoid attack.
"Military action will be the last option, because after the fall of the capital, we are not in a hurry," said Khaled Zintani, a spokesman for the rebels in the mountain town of Zintan.
NATO has targeted military sites around Sirte and Bani Walid, where the rebels suspect Gadhafi is hiding.
Gadhafi continues to urge his followers to rise up against the rebels.
"We will fight them everywhere," Gadhafi said. "We will burn the ground under their feet ... Get ready to fight the occupation."
Turning to the future of Libya, representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the United States, Turkey, Germany, Qatar, Britain, France and other countries sat down in Paris with the TNC yesterday to decide how Gadhafi's frozen assets can best be spent.
Libya is coping with security issues, including keeping cash of weapons out of the hands of Islamist militants, and shortages of water, gas, and electricity.
Gadhafi's policy-changing epiphany was a result of the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by U.S. forces. The dictator used the moment to try to rehabilitate his image. The gesture by Gadhafi welcomed by the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as at spy agencies in other Western capitals, like London and Ottawa.
Top Bush administration officials met with the newly "reformed" Gadhafi, who apparently was particularly fond of Condi Rice, ex-national security advisor and secretary of State to former President George W. Bush.
Ex-Libyan intelligence chief and Foreign Minister Musa Kusa became the point man in Libya for the CIA, allowing terrorism suspects to be interrogated in Libya and the American spy agency to set up shop in Tripoli in 2004, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
Kusa, one of the earliest senior Gadhafi regime insiders to defect to the rebel side, was questioned by British authorities shortly after he defected about the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The hunt for Gadhafi, meanwhile, goes on.
"Gadhafi is still at large but he is hiding, he is isolated, he is almost surrounded in possibly one of two small places where we think he is," said Guma El-Gamaty, the Transitional National Council's ambassador to Britain. "We think it is just a matter of time before he is either apprehended or, if he resisted arrest, he might be killed."
Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte is surrounded today by rebel forces, but the city still has a week to negotiate a peace deal and avoid attack.
"Military action will be the last option, because after the fall of the capital, we are not in a hurry," said Khaled Zintani, a spokesman for the rebels in the mountain town of Zintan.
NATO has targeted military sites around Sirte and Bani Walid, where the rebels suspect Gadhafi is hiding.
Gadhafi continues to urge his followers to rise up against the rebels.
"We will fight them everywhere," Gadhafi said. "We will burn the ground under their feet ... Get ready to fight the occupation."
Turning to the future of Libya, representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the United States, Turkey, Germany, Qatar, Britain, France and other countries sat down in Paris with the TNC yesterday to decide how Gadhafi's frozen assets can best be spent.
Libya is coping with security issues, including keeping cash of weapons out of the hands of Islamist militants, and shortages of water, gas, and electricity.
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