The battle for Brega

Libyan revolutionary fighters observe the desert near to the front line between Ajdabiya and Brega, Libya, on 06 April 2011.

A doctor at a Libyan hospital says more than 50 revolutionary fighters have been killed in six days of fighting with Gaddafi’s forces over the strategic eastern oil town of Brega.
The new toll comes after Mohammed Idris, a doctor at the Ajdabiya hospital where the casualties were taken, raised the number killed in yesterday’s fighting to 27, with 83 wounded.
Idris said today that most had been shot in the head and chest.
“Yesterday it was a disaster,” Dr. Sarahat Atta-Alah told Reuters at Ajdabiya hospital in eastern Libya yesterday.
Revolutionary forces, collectively known as the National Liberation Army (NLA) have said they have encircled Brega, which they must take if they are to advance towards Tripoli, but fighters said they were still coming under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces.
Brega, which provides access to most of Libya’s eastern oil network, has changed hands several times in five months of fighting along Libya’s Mediterranean coast.
Revolutionary fighters said yesterday they had encircled the town, which if captured would mark a major boost for their campaign to oust Gaddafi. Fighters said they were dug in to the south and east of Brega and in control of its eastern residential sector.
The Libyan government has denied the rebels’ reports, saying its soldiers are in Brega.
Doctors at the hospital in Ajdabiya, which lies to the east of Brega, said they expected more fighting later on Wednesday.
An NLA lieutenant, who gave his name as Ihab, said their forces were between 5 and 10 km (3 and 6 miles) outside Brega and Gaddafi’s forces were still in the city.

LIVE Libyan Unrest: July 20, 2011

We are tracking the latest developments to keep you updated on the situation on the ground. There are interactive maps located in the Protest map page to keep up with the latest movements. Also check out the featured twitters on the sidebar. On the Go? Follow us on Twitter @Feb17Libya for the Live updates and discussion. All updates are in Libyan local time (GMT+2)
6:15pm: On the barren front line in the village of Gualish, rebels take cover from Gadhafi’s 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 of this area is now mined; it’s terrible, he says, and that is what is stopping their advance. Rebel commanders say the use of mines are a sign that Gadhafi’s forces are becoming more desperate and weak.
5:40pm: Libyan rebel forces in Misrata, supported by Nato air strikes, launched an offensive towards the government-held town of Zlitan on Wednesday morning, with fighters saying they were making gains amid heavy fighting.
“We are now one and a half kilometres(almost 1 mile) from Zlitan,” said a rebel fighter, Mohammed Ashanobah, of the Shaheed (Martyr) Brigade. “The revolutionaries attacked at eight this morning.”
5:20pm: France may consider a post-war Libya with Moammar Gadhafi remaining in the country if he quits politics as part of a cease-fire deal to end the conflict with the NATO-backed rebels, the French foreign minister said Wednesday.
“One of the possibilities is that he (Gadhafi) remains in Libya,” Alain Juppe told French news channel LCI. “But on the condition that he stays away from Libyan political life. This is what we are waiting for before we begin the political process for a cease-fire.”
3:30pm: Eighteen rebel fighters were killed and up to 150 wounded in clashes with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi for control of the eastern oil hub of Brega on Tuesday, a doctor in a rebel-controlled town said.
“Yesterday it was a disaster,” Dr Sarahat Atta-Alah told Reuters at Ajdabiya hospital in eastern Libya on Wednesday.
Rebels have said they have encircled Brega, which they must take if they are to advance towards Tripoli, but fighters said they were still coming under fire from pro-Gaddafi forces.
Brega, which provides access to most of Libya’s eastern oil network, has changed hands several times in five months of fighting along Libya’s Mediterranean coast.
Rebels said on Tuesday they had encircled the town, which if captured would mark a major boost for their campaign to oust Gaddafi. Insurgents said they were dug in to the south and east of Brega and in control of its eastern residential sector.
The Libyan government has denied the rebels’ reports, saying its soldiers are in Brega.
Doctors at the hospital in Ajdabiya, which lies to the east of Brega, said they expected more fighting later on Wednesday.
A rebel lieutenant, who gave his name as Ihab, said rebel forces were between 5 and 10 km (3 and 6 miles) outside Brega and Gaddafi’s forces were still in the city.
He said the area was littered with mines and Gaddafi’s forces had filled trenches with gasoline, which could be set on fire if rebels approached.
1:00pm: Two members of Libya’s rebel Transitional National Council are meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday amid international efforts to further support the Libyan opposition.
The two representatives are visiting the French leader in Paris. France was the first country to officially recognize the rebel council as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people. Several nations, including the United States, have since followed France’s lead.

Sarkozy meets National Transitional Council representatives in Paris

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is meeting with two National Transitional (NTC) Misrata representatives amid international efforts to bolster the opposition to Moammar Gaddafi.
The two arrived Monday for talks in Sarkozy’s presidential palace Monday accompanied by French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy, who has championed the Libyan opposition.
France has played a driving role in the 4-month-old NATO-led campaign of airstrikes, mandated by the U.N. to protect civilians from a crackdown by Gadhafi’s forces on an uprising against his four-decade rule.
Last week, more than 30 nations including the United States gave the rebels a boost by recognizing their NTC as the country’s legitimate government, potentially freeing up billions of dollars in urgently needed cash.

Γαλλία : Παραμονή Καντάφι στη Λιβύη υπό έναν όρο

Εφόσον τεθεί στο περιθώριο της πολιτικής ζωής ο Μουάμαρ Καντάφι μπορεί να παραμείνει στη Λιβύη, δήλωσε σήμερα ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών της Γαλλίας Αλέν Ζιπέ θέτοντας το σενάριο αυτό ως προϋπόθεση για κατάπαυση του πυρός.
«Μία από τις υποθέσεις που εξετάζονται είναι να παραμείνει στη Λιβύη, αλλά υπό τον όρο να παραμείνει σαφώς στο περιθώριο της λιβυκής πολιτικής ζωής. Αυτό περιμένουμε για να ξεκινήσουμε την πολιτική διαδικασία κατάπαυσης του πυρός», δήλωσε στο τηλεοπτικό δίκτυο LCI ο Γάλλος υπουργός.
Δύο μέλη του Εθνικού Μεταβατικού Συμβουλίου της Λιβύης θα συναντηθούν σήμερα στο Παρίσι με τον πρόεδρο της Γαλλίας Νικολά Σαρκοζί. Η Γαλλία είναι η πρώτη χώρα που αναγνώρισε το Συμβούλιο και η πρώτη που πραγματοποίησε αεροπορικές επιδρομές εναντίον των καθεστωτικών δυνάμεων της Λιβύης, τον περασμένο Μάρτιο.
Στη Μόσχα, ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών του καθεστώτος Καντάφι Αμπντελάτι Ομπέιντι θα συναντηθεί σήμερα με τον Ρώσο ομόλογό του Σεργκέι Λαβρόφ.
Ο Ομπέιντι είναι ο πλέον υψηλόβαθμος αξιωματούχος του καθεστώτος Καντάφι που επισκέπτεται τη Μόσχα από την έναρξη της σύγκρουσης.

LIVE Libyan Unrest: July 20, 2011

We are tracking the latest developments to keep you updated on the situation on the ground. There are interactive maps located in the Protest map page to keep up with the latest movements. Also check out the featured twitters on the sidebar. On the Go? Follow us on Twitter @Feb17Libya for the Live updates and discussion. All updates are in Libyan local time (GMT+2)
9:39am: Muammar Gaddafi could remain in Libya if he relinquished all power, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday.
Juppe, asked during an interview on LCI television whether countries involved in the Libyan crisis could consider letting Gaddafi remain as part of a way out of the crisis, replied:
“One of the scenarios effectively envisaged is that he stays in Libya on one condition which I repeat — that he very clearly steps aside from Libyan political life.”
Two members of Libya’s rebel Transitional National Council were due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Wednesday. France was the first country to publicly recognise the council and first to launch air strikes against Gaddafi’s military machine when now NATO-led operations began in March.
8:47am: Oil marketing company Oilibya says it has suspended any payment to the Libyan government. This, it said, follows sanctions issued by President Barack Obama blocking property and prohibiting certain transactions related to Libya. The US fear that money from Libyan investments oversees has been used to fund operations of Muammar Gaddafi who is currently under international pressure to surrender power.
Yesterday, Oilibya sought to distance itself from the besieged leader and said Libya Oil Kenya Ltd, the registered proprietors of Oilibya, is owned by the Libyan government and is not linked to any particular leader. “The company is owned by Libya Oil Kenya Holdings Limited and ultimately by the people of Libya not any individual(s) through a state company,” said a statement by the managing director Rida Hassan Elamir.
And though the company has not paid any dividends to its shareholders since it started operations in Kenya in 2006, the company said it would not be paying any cent to the Libyan government, even if it is to make profits, until the Libyan crisis is resolved. Read full story here.
7:54am: Libyan rebels have encircled the eastern oil hub of Brega and control parts of the town, whose capture would mark a major boost for their campaign to oust Muammar Gaddafi, a rebel spokesman said on Tuesday.
France said the rebels were taking over the town completely, but Tripoli denied this and the Libyan leader vowed to fight on, saying it was time to decide the battle for Libya.
The rebel spokesman said he had listened to intercepted radio communications between Gaddafi loyalists in Brega which suggested they were low on food and weapons.
But he played down the chances of a swift move west by the rebels, saying Brega was full of mines that needed to be dealt with before the area could be secured. Read full story here.
7:00am: Government forces in trucks disguised with rebel flags shelled opposition positions near the strategic eastern oil town of Brega, killing eight rebel fighters and wounding dozens more, officials said.
In an audio message Tuesday directed at a rally of thousands in the town of al-Aziziya, south of Tripoli, embattled ruler Moammar Gadhafi emphasized the importance of Libya’s vast oil wealth to his regime, and called the civil war a battle “for our way of life.”
1:30am: Thirteen opposition fighters have been killed near the eastern oil town of Brega where rebels have been pushing to seize the area for nearly a week.
Rebels told Al Jazeera, their position was leaked to Gaddafi’s forces by spies within the rebel force. The opposition controls most of eastern Libya but has not controlled Brega since April.

Freedom boosts Berber boom in western Libya

By Deborah Pasmantier
“Azul (hello). I’m going to teach you the language of your forefathers,” Sara Abud tells the children of Yafran, assembled around her for their first lesson in Berber, once the native tongue of western Libya’s mountain folk.
Speaking Berber could land people in jail under Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s rule, but since the rebels now control the Nafusa mountains southwest of Tripoli, it now represents the language of freedom.
As such, Berber culture has flowered anew. It is on the radio, in newspapers and museums, in songs and in language courses.
Not to mention the graffiti, which are everywhere.
Colourful geometric designs feature opposing semi-circles linked by a line, illustrating how the soul bridges heaven and earth. It is the symbol of the Amazigh, as the Berbers call themselves.
“We used to be treated as second-class citizens. We are at the root of this country, but now we can stand tall,” said 22-year-old Taghrid Abud.
Under Kadhafi, it was forbidden to speak or write Berber in public, even to read or print Amazigh-language material.
He was deeply suspicious of this people who have lived in the country since before the Arab conquest of the seventh century and whose military resistance to the Italian occupation in the early twentieth century has been well chronicled.
Over the years, people spoke the language only in secret if they were to avoid being sent to prison, and the alphabet was never learned because it was never printed. The culture was buried, almost lost.
“Many people do not know their own history,” said Abud, a 27-year-old historian

Libyan rebels work to clear land mines

By Rami Al-Shaheibi
Government forces in trucks disguised with rebel flags shelled opposition positions yesterday near the strategic eastern oil town of Brega, killing eight rebel fighters and wounding dozens more, officials said. 

In an audio message directed at a rally of thousands in the town of al-Aziziya, south of Tripoli, embattled ruler Moammar Khadafy emphasized the importance of Libya’s vast oil wealth to his regime and called the civil war a battle “for our way of life.’’

Rebel forces have been pushing for nearly a week to seize the front-line town of Brega, which is home to an oil refinery and terminal, but they say fields of land mines planted by Khadafy’s forces have slowed the advance.

The rebels are fighting in a residential area on Brega’s eastern side and control about one third of the town, spokesman Mohammed al-Rajali said.

Field commander Ahmed Maysawi said rebel forces were working to clear the mines so they can move forward while government troops are occasionally approaching in trucks disguised with rebel flags to shell rebel positions with mounted rocket launchers.

Mohammed Idris, a doctor at the hospital in the nearby city of Ajdabiya, said eight rebels were killed and dozens wounded yesterday. That raised to at least 34 rebels killed in five days of fighting, according to Idris.

He said the rebels had taken four prisoners, and one dead government soldier had been taken to the rebel hospital. It is unclear how many other government soldiers have been killed. The Libyan government rarely provides information on its casualties