For Libyan Rebels, Gadhafi’s Mines A Potent Obstacle

By: Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
Land mines are being increasingly used in Libya by Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in battlegrounds across the country. Rebels fighting for the eastern town of Brega are being stymied by minefields around the area.
In Libya’s western mountains, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines are causing many casualties, but there are few mine experts to help.
On the barren front line in the village of Gualish, rebels take cover from Gadhafi forces (and the relentless sun) behind a sand berm.
Rajed, a rebel fighter at the front, points to the south of Gualish and says they have just discovered a new minefield. Rajed says all this area is now mined; it’s terrible, he says, and

Milad Saadi clears the dirt around a brick of plastic explosive that he discovered lying on top of a T-AB-1 anti-personnel mine.

that is what is stopping their advance.
Rebel commanders say both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines are being increasingly used in the conflict. It’s a sign, they say, that Gadhafi’s forces are becoming more desperate and weak.

Milad Saadi and his team pray just before beginning their work clearing mines. Their mine probe is stuck in the ground in front of them.

The mines are effective, though. The fields have to be avoided or cleared before rebel forces can move through. In the eastern battlefront in Brega, mines have impeded a speedy rebel advance.
In the west, an increasing number are being uncovered every day.
In the silence of a bucolic pine forest, a group of men kneel down to pray. They are the rebel de-mining team in the western city of Zintan. Even with the best equipment, finding and defusing mines is perilous work.