Freedom Figters battle Gaddafi forces in western Libya

Dictators forces bombard port in Misurata and Berber towns in the western mountains as NATO allies mull way ahead.

Libya's opposition fighters are battling Muammar Gaddafi's forces on the country's western border, while fighting continues in the besieged city of Misurata.

Pro-democracy forces have said the Libyan army has withdrawn from central Misurata, but fierce fighting is still ongoing for control of the city's port.



At least three people were killed in the fighting there a day earlier, an opposition spokesman called Reda told the Reuters news agency by phone on Tuesday.

"Gaddafi's troops are still positioned on the outskirts of the city," he said before the line was cut.

While dictators forces pulled out of the city over the weekend under pressure from NATO air attacks, they have since unleashed a heavy bombardment on the city, the only major western city in freedom figters hands.

"It was horrific, like a scene from World War II," said Saddoun el-Misurati, a resident who was waiting to evacuate his mother from the port when the rockets began to fall. "I stopped counting after nine."

Dictators forces on Tuesday bombarded the port, which is the sole lifeline of Misurata's battered population, news agencies said.

"Another development which is rather disturbing is that there has been shelling in the docks area, which is the lifeline to opposition forces and indeed the civilian population here," Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons reported from Misurata.

"Reports from an opposition spokesperson say pro-Gaddafi troops are intent to cut the main road from city to the port. If the lifeline is cut then everyone is in a desperate situation.

"Though Gaddafi troops have left the city everybody is under threat of shellfire. The whole city centre has been destroyed and needs to be rebuilt."

Battles for Libyan cities rage on - Renewed push for oil port of Brega comes as Gaddafi regime denies using cluster bombs on the besieged city of Misurata.

Libyan rebels, seeking to overthrow long time leader Muammar Gaddafi, have advanced from Ajdabiya toward the oil port town of Brega in the country’s east.


Following NATO air strikes along the coastal road on Saturday, anti-Gaddafi forces said they had reached the edges of the oil town, bringing engineers with them to repair the damaged oil infrastructure.



But Gaddafi's troops remain consolidated within the city centre, said rebel fighters returning to Ajdabiya.


"We have people on the edge of Brega, we control that area only," said 20-year-old Mohammed el-Misrati.


"Nothing has changed inside Brega." 


The battle for territory in Libya's east left six anti-Gaddafi fighters dead and 16 wounded on Saturday.


"We were in our vehicles and they opened fire with rockets," said an injured fighter named Abdulrazek in Ajdabiya hospital.

Do not support Dictator Gaddafi, If ignored, You too will face the same - Asian Leader Being Warned !

According to a reliable source from a high ranking western government officer, An Asian Leader who prefers to have friendship with dictators and War Criminals was being warned of facing a  same situation like what is being faced by Gaddafi. The so called leader's international reletionship with democtratic countries is said to be "NIL".

He had tried in several occasions to provide war crafts and troops in order to support Dictator Gaddafi alias "Butcher of Libya" who too had supported him in past.

MURDER OF FREEDOM IN LIBYA

Odin's Raven drew our attention to 'Brit-ish murder of freedom in Libya'

"Qadaffi... in his 'Green Book' ... accurately describes western-style democracy as a trick by which rule is given over to 'a dictatorship'...

"Libya is rich - with oil revenue being equally distributed amongst the general population for the good of all.

"Contrast this with Scotland where the oil companies make a fortune and many Scots live below the poverty line and eek out an existence rather than a fruitful life.

"Scenes on CNN and the BBC of people fleeing across the border into Tunisia have been manipulated to produce the idea that Libyans are escaping the Qadaffi regime.

"In truth the people leaving are guest workers fleeing the NATO murderers...

"The rebels are mostly foreign in origin and entirely controlled by foreign interests, notably the unholy trinity of UK-USA-Israel.

"Why would foreign interests wish to destabilise the most cultured, civilised, prosperous and peaceful country in Africa?

"There are several reasons: Brit-ish murder of freedom in Libya

~~

CIA USING AL QAEDA TO TOPPLE ARAB LEADERS

It looks as if the CIA, and members of the wealthy Arab elite, are using al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood to topple Arab rulers who are out of favour.

On 1 March 2011, in New America Media, Yoichi Shimatsu wrote "Mideast Revolutions and 9-11 Intrigues Created in Qatar."

(Mideast Revolutions and 9-11 intrigues crafted in Qatar. - link from Brian)

According to this article:

The protestors in North Africa and the Middle East are being manipulated by the right-wing Arab elite.

This elite has been backing people like al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Credible U.S. intelligence reports have cited evidence pointing to Qatar's long-running support for the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda and jihadist fighters returning from Afghanistan."

In Libya, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which is friends with Al Qaeda, has seized armouries containing high-power explosives, rocket launchers and chemical weapons.

Al Jazeera let slip that the earliest Libyan protests were organized by the LIFG.

150 of Gaddafi's soldiers were reportedly "gunned down by war-hardened returned militants from Iraq and Afghanistan...."

Qatar - home to al Qaeda

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Qatar's Interior Minister provided a safe haven to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed during the mid-1990s.

Press reports show other 'terrorists' may have received financial support or safe haven in Qatar after September 11, 2001.

The national security chief, Interior Minister Abdullah bin Khalid al-Thani, is mentioned as paying for a 1995 trip by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed ‘to join the Bosnia jihad.'



On 25 March 2011, at Global Research and at The Asia-Pacific Journal., Peter Dale Scott has an artcle entitled 'Who are the Libyan Freedom Fighters and Their Patrons?'

(Peter Dale Scott, former Canadian diplomat and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is the author of American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection and the Road to Afghanistan. His website is here.)

According to Peter Dale Scott:

1. Gaddafi has long faced threats to his life from Mossad, the Saudis, MI6, and various Libyan groups trained by the US and Israel.

2. Israel and the US have trained anti-Libyan rebels in a number of African countries, including Chad.

3. In 1985, the US asked Egypt to invade Libya and overthrow Gadafi but President Mubarak refused.

4. The FNSL (National Front for the Salvation of Libya) held its national congress in the USA in July 2007.

5. The LIFG (Libyan Islamic Fighting Group) was founded in 1995 by a group of mujahideen veterans who had fought in Afghanistan.

(Libyan rebel commander, Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, has admitted that his fighters have al-Qaeda links /Libyan “revolutionaries” aren’t so revolutionary.. )

Al Libi of al Qaeda

MI6 has been accused of supporting LIFG.

LIFG's Abdulwahab Mohammed Kayed is the brother of Abu Yahya Al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top propagandists.

LIFG's failed attempt to assassinate Qadhafi in February 1996 was said to have been financed by MI6.

According to one report, LIFG received up to $50,000 from al Qaeda's leader for each of its militants killed on the battlefield.

6. After the toppling of Mubarak, Egypt's military began shipping arms over the border to Libyan rebels.

There were hundreds of thousands of Egyptian labourers in Libya.

~~~

SARKOZY-GADDAFI DEAL ON WAR PLANES; NOV 2010 PLAN TO TOPPLE GADDAFI

At http://fbechis.blogspot.com/ there is an article entitled "Sarkozy declared war on Italy"



"Ma quale Gheddafi! Sarkò ha dichiarato guerra all'Italia"

According to this article:

For three years French President Nicolas Sarkozy was extremely keen to sell to Libya:



(1) an entire fleet of Dassault fighter aircraft



(2) nuclear plants in and around Tripoli.



These sales were discussed by Sarkozy and Gaddafi in December 2007 in Paris.



As it turned out, Gaddafi bought very little from France.



Gaddafi bought from Russia and Italy.



Sarkozy frothed with rage.



Now France is bombing Libya.



France is bombing the planes Gaddafi bought from Russia.







On 25 March 2011, at http://www.voltairenet.org/en we learn that French plans to topple Gaddafi have been on track since last November

From this we learn:

According to Italian journalist Franco Bechis, plans to spark the Benghazi rebellion were initiated by the French intelligence services in November 2010.

This revelation has the blessing of the Italian secret services.



Timeline of events



October 6, 2010



Former Gaddafi supporter Nouri Mesmari, working with the French secret service, is to mastermind the revolution against Gaddafi.



Documents on this have been leaked to the Italian newspaper Libero.



Mesmari gives the French much information about the Gaddafi regime.



October 20, 2010



Mesmari, under the protection of French secret services, heads to France.



He has several top secret meetings with secret service agents and other top people close to Nicolas Sarkozy.



November 18, 2010



A French ‘commercial’ delegation leaves for Benghazi.



In the delegation there are officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and representitives from Cam Cereals, France Export Cereals, Cargill, Glencore, France Agrimer, Soufflet, Louis Dreyfous, and Comagra.



Among the delegation, posing as government officials, there are French secret service agents and military staff.



Their 'business' is meeting army officers ready to defect from the Libyan army.



While in Benghazi, contact is made with Libyan air defence colonel, Abdallah Gehani.

Israeli plane in Libya? Secrecy surrounds pilot and weapons officer in F-15 crash



November 28, 2010



An international warrant of arrest is issued by the Libyan government for Nouri Mesrami.



Foreign Minister Musa Koussa is held responsible for the defection of Mesrami and his passport is withdrawn by the authorities.



December 2, 2010



Muammar Gaddafi sends messages to Nouri Mesrami to win him back saying that he forgives him for what he did and invites him back to Libya.



December 23, 2010



A delegation of Libyans arrives in Paris for meetings with Mesrami and other French officials.



The Libyans are Ali Ounes Mansouri, Farj Charrant and Fathi Boukhris.



These three men will be known later, together with Ali Hajj, as leaders of the revolution, that started from Benghazi.



The Libyan delegation together with Mesrami and French military and secret service personnel dine at an elegant French restaurant at the Champs Elisée.



Decmber 25 – 31, 2010



" The situation in Benghazi is boiling".



Januray 22, 2011



Protests turn into clashes and army officials desert.



The rebels capture important cities.



The French government is the first European state to recognise the new Libyan National Council and establish diplomatic relations.



~~



Sarkozy and Gadaffi were keen on doing military deals worth billions of Euros, before they fell out, according to the Telegraph



'Libya funded Sarkozy's election campaign'





On 25 March 2011, The Guardian has an article entitled: Libya remembers, we forget: these bombs are not the first



From this we learn:



"The world's first aerial bombing campaign took place in Libya ... in September 1911."



The Italians bombed Libya, hoping to make it part of their empire.



The Italians carried out "the deliberate destruction of villages, wells and herds with force.



"Nearly 100,000 people were interned or deported, and thousands died of disease or malnutrition in labour camps.



"Italian planes ... dropped mustard gas in defiance of the 1925 Geneva protocol...



"The Italians ... devastated the old pastoral economy, and depopulated much of the land..."



After World War II, Libya's new British-backed king, Idris was eventually replaced by Colonel Gaddafi.



"Gaddafi ordered British and American air bases to close and kicked out the 20,000 Italians still living in the country, nationalising their property...



"Two years after forcing the Italians to leave, the socialist Gaddafi was inviting Italian corporations back in, turning the former colonial oppressor into Libya's chief European business partner...



"The Libyans ... will remember what we have forgotten – that these planes are not the first..."



~~

Current Situation in Libya - Attacks by Coalition forces are so far successful - 2 crew members of F15e rescued !

As Libyan Dictator, War Criminal Moammar Gadhafi crowed, "I do not scare," the United States Tuesday got back two crew members whose F-15E fighter jet malfunctioned and said it will be able to hand over command of the coalition that has hammered loyalist military positions over four days.


Meanwhile, fighting raged in Misrata, east of the capital, where a witness claimed Gadhafi has placed snipers on the tops of buildings.


Also Tuesday, the commander of U.S. Naval forces in Europe and Africa said multinational air strikes would continue until Gadhafi complies with a United Nations mandate to stop attacking civilians.


Americans "are going to be satisfied that lives were saved" by the U.S. military action, President Barack Obama said during a visit to El Salvador. He said the timetable for a transition of military leadership will be coming in days, rather than weeks.


Gadhafi vowed Tuesday to emerge victorious in his battle with international forces seeking to impose a no-fly zone in his country and to halt his forces from attacking civilians.


"We will not give up," he said to a crowd of supporters, many of them waving green flags in a speech broadcast on state television. "They will not terrorize us. We are making fun of their rockets. The Libyans are laughing at these rockets. We will defeat them by any method."


He said Libyans "are leading the international war against imperialism, against despots and I tell you, I do not scare."


Gadhafi is violating the U.N. Security Council resolution by "continued aggressive actions his forces have taken against the civilian population," U.S. Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear III said.


Locklear also spoke about the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle that had flown from Aviano air base in Italy to Libya, where the fighter experienced mechanical problems. Both the pilot and the weapons officer ejected and were rescued within hours -- one retrieved by the U.S. military, the other by Libyan Freedom Fighters.



The aviators, who suffered minor injuries when they landed, were both out of Libya and in U.S. hands, Locklear said.


The U.S. military dispatched a pair of Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, about 100 miles off the coast of Libya, to rescue the downed aviators, said Capt. Richard Ulsh, spokesman for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
But the two men landed in different places when they parachuted, and the U.S. rescue crew was able to pick up only the pilot. He was flown to the Kearsarge, which has extensive medical facilities.


Libyan Freedom Fighters recovered the second crew member and treated him with "respect and dignity" until coalition forces were able to reach him, Locklear said.


Residents in the area, some of whom witnessed the crash, told that they combed farmlands to search for the two Americans. They also expressed their gratitude to coalition members for the United Nations-authorized coalition attack on Libyan air defense targets meant to protect civilians.


Locklear said he would investigate on reports that claimedf villagers were injured when allied forces opened fire during rescue operations.


"The recovery mission from my perspective was executed as I would have expected it to be given the circumstances," he said.


Criticism and questions persist about the Libyan campaign, with no clear answer on who will take over command of the military operation and what the endgame or exit strategy will be. But U.S. officials said the international mission has succeeded in halting Gadhafi's momentum.


Locklear told reporters that initial military strikes by the French, followed by attacks by Britain and the United States, have rendered Gadhafi's long-range air defenses and his air force largely ineffective. And the Libyan opposition's newly formed administration urged the international community to continue enforcing the U.N. charter.


"The interim national council has called on the international community to take all forceful deterrent measures, based on the U.N. charter and international covenants, to help the Libyan people put an end to further crimes against the humanity," the statement from the Transitional National Council said.


Missiles rained down Tuesday and anti-aircraft fire pierced the night sky in Tripoli hours before dawn.


The Libyan dictators regime took some international journalists to a port area that appeared to have been damaged by missile strikes that left craters 15 feet deep. A destroyed mobile rocket launcher system lay smoldering. Several warehouses were hit.


The United States fired 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya during a 12-hour period, said military spokeswoman Cmdr. Monica Rousselow. A total of 162 Tomahawks have been fired by the United States and Britain since the start Saturday of Operation Odyssey Dawn, which includes enforcement of a no-fly zone. The operation has included 212 U.S. and 124 sorties.


The international operation has targeted air defense sites and command centers, but Gadhafi himself has not been targeted, and there are no plans to kill the dictator, said Gen. Carter Ham, the head of U.S. forces in Africa.


"I could see accomplishing the military mission, which has been assigned to me, and the current leader would remain the current leader," he said. "We think we have been very effective in degrading his ability to control his regime forces."


Ham said no Libyan aircraft have been observed flying since the military operations began Saturday. And air attacks have stopped Libyan ground forces from approaching the eastern freedom figter stronghold of Benghazi.


But fighting raged in Misrata, a city under siege two hours east of Tripoli.
Four children in the same family were among 13 civilians killed in Misrata fighting Tuesday, said Dr. Khaled Mansouri of Misrata Central Hospital. About 30 people were injured, he said.


The death toll from the clashes between Gadhafi forces and opposition in the city stands at 90 over the last five days.


An opposition spokesman who would give only his first name, Mohamed, told that the situation in the city is dire and worsening by the hour as Gadhafi forces have taken control of the main street that leads from the city center to a highway that connects Misrata to Tripoli.


Loyalist snipers are on the top of buildings, he said.


The hospital is running out of medical supplies and are turning patients away, he said. "I have seen a man whose broken arm is hanging being discharged because of lack of space," said Mohamed, who said he would not divulge his full name because of concern for his safety. He said the city has been without water and electricity for nine days.


Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year rule. Protesters have been met by force from the Gadhafi regime, and numerous world leaders -- including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- have denounced the killings of civilians by Gadhafi's troops.


The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Thursday that allows member states "to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country ... while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory." It also imposed a no-fly zone.


Barak Barfi, a research fellow with the New America Foundation, said "it's certainly clear" that the allied coalition has stymied the onslaught of Gadhafi troops against rebels in eastern Libya.


"Before the decision in the U.N. was taken Thursday, it seemed like Gadhafi was going to overrun the opposition in a matter of days," he said.


But "it's unclear if the rebels can form under any type of organized command and move forward now that the airstrikes have taken away Gadhafi's offensive capabilities," Barfi said Tuesday. "It's unclear at this point in time who would take control after Gadhafi leaves. We know that there are really no state institutions in Libya."


A former Gadhafi aide told on Tuesday that the Libyan strongman would not go down easily.
Abubaker Saad said Gadhafi has several bunkers deep underground and is likely hiding in one of them.


"As you probably all have noticed that now he is giving all of his statements by phone to the Libyan television," Saad said.


Obama said that once leadership of the military mission in Libya shifts from the United States to the coalition, "it is not going to be our planes maintaining the no-fly zone" and "it is not going to be our ships that are necessarily enforcing the arms embargo."
There has been intense debate among the allies over NATO's role going forward.
The natural choice to coordinate "Operation Odyssey Dawn" would seem to be NATO with its experience leading and coordinating international coalitions, but U.S. and European officials tell CNN that some allies, especially French President Nicolas Sarkozy, are concerned the action in Libya could be perceived negatively as another NATO operation in another Arab country.


Another complication is how to consolidate Arab support. The United States expects additional Arab support for the coalition enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.


So far, Qatar is the only Arab country that has contributed planes to mission.
The official said that several Arab states are in the process of finalizing their plans, adding the Obama administration was "confident we will have further concrete contributions of different kinds" for enforcement of the resolution in the next two to three days.

Missile hits War Criminal Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli - Was Successfull !

Building in military centre is destroyed as coalition forces target facilities used by Libyan leader across Tripoli.



A three-storey building in a military command centre used by War Criminal, Dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been destroyed in an air strike by coalition forces.


The Sunday-night strike was the first reported attack on the Bab al-Azizia, a sprawling compound in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, that Gaddafi has used several times as a setting for televised addresses, and which was bombed by the United States in 1986.


The regime invited journalists to visit the site of the attack early on Monday morning. Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim called it a "barbaric bombing" but said no one had been hurt. He declined to say whether Gaddafi himself was inside the compound.


Al Jazeera''s Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli, was not invited to the scene but reported earlier that there had been an explosion in the area of the Bab al-Azizia and that smoke was rising from the area.


Coalition forces from France, the United Kingdom, United States and other nations began striking the regime''s military assets on Saturday as part of an effort to enforce a UN Security Council resolution aimed at protecting Libyan civilians.


Coalition officials told journalists on Monday that the building hit in the attack was a military command and control centre for Gaddafi.




Other loud explosions rocked Tripoli on Sunday night, as Britain''s ministry of defence said one of its submarines had again fired guided Tomahawk missiles on Libyan air defence systems.


"The principle firing happened around nine o''clock in the evening local time and that''s when we believe there was a strike in the region of Gaddafi''s compound," McNaught said. 


"We saw a large plume of smoke coming from an explosion somewhere in that general direction. It is likely there were plenty of useful military targets there if you were a major international force looking to persuade Gaddafi to make peaceful noises."


The blasts came two days after the United Nations Security Council authorised international military action to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, as well as "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks by Gaddafi forces on civilians.


The uprising against Gaddafi broke out on February 15, and hundreds of civilians have died in the dictators regimes brutal crackdown.

Civilians Casualities claimed by Gaddafi are false ! - All injured or dead were from attacks carried out by him !

War Criminal, Dictator Gaddafi's official media said the air strikes were targeting civilian objectives and that there were civilians casualties as a result of this aggression". but according to the reports that we received, the injured and dead shown on pro Gaddafi TV/Web are the civilians, freedom figters and Pro Gaddafi forces who sustained injuries and/or died when dictator Gaddafi's forces attacked freedom fighters few days back by bombarding and artillaery fire on areas where freedom figters held control (Many areas later taken over by war criminal gaddafi). 

Also Admiral Mike Mullen too, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, denied that any civilians had been killed in the bombardment, which saw some 110 cruise missiles being shot from American naval vessels in the Mediterranean sea.   

International Forces does their best to protect civilians from dictator Gaddafi !

Watch Videos of Bombing of Dictator Gaddafi's Air Defence


Loud explosions have rocked the Libyan capital, Tripoli, a day after international forces launched an operation to enforce a no-fly zone over the North African country.


Anti-aircraft tracer fire erupted in Tripoli late on Sunday, indicating a second wave of incoming jets aimed at targets belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.


Britain's ministry of defence said one of its submarines had again fired guided Tomahawk missiles on Libyan air defence systems on Sunday.


Gunfire could also be heard from the area around Gaddafi's residence in the Bab el-Aziziya barracks in the south of Tripoli, with reports of separate explosions coming from the same area.


Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from the capital, said it was not immediately clear where the explosions had occurred as journalists were not allowed to visit the sites targeted.


"The principle firing happened around nine o'clock in the evening local time and that's when we believe there was a strike in the region of Gaddafi's compound," she said. 


"We saw a large plume of smoke coming from an explosion somewhere in that general direction. It is likely there were plenty of useful military targets there if you were a major international force looking to persuade Gaddafi to make peaceful noises."



The blasts came two days after the United Nations Security Council authorised international military action to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, as well as "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks by Gaddafi forces on civilians.


'Gaddafi not a target'


The US military said the bombardment so far has succeeded in degrading Gaddafi's air defences.


But a Pentagon spokesman stressed in a press briefing on Sunday that the Libyan leader is not a target for the international military assault on the country.


However, Navy Vice Admiral William E Gortney added that any of Gaddafi's ground troops advancing on pro-democracy forces are open targets for US and allied attacks.


"If they are moving on opposition forces ... yes, we will take them under attack," he told reporters.


"There has been no new air activity by the regime and we have detected no radar emissions from any of the air defence sites targeted and there's been a significant decrease in in the use of all Libyan air surveillance radars."


Gortney said the coalition acting against Gaddafi, which originally grouped the US, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, had broadened to include Belgium and Qatar.

Dictators forces say Brega under their control but freedom fighters say they have retaken Brega

Videos of freedom fighters in libya


Dictator and possible war criminal Muammar Gaddafi's forces are slowly pushing towards the main oppostion-held towns in Libya, reports say.


Ajdabiya, the last major town before the freedom fighter base in Benghazi, came under heavy aerial attack. In the west, ground forces and tanks have begun shelling the town of Zuwara. Freedom fighters say they have retaken Brega, but the government has denied the claim.


Earlier, the UN Security Council met to discuss the imposition of a no-fly zone, but there was no consensus. The BBC's Barbara Plett says there were divisions about authorising such a zone, with France calling it a game-changer, but countries such as Russia expressed caution, saying serious questions remained.


Meanwhile, a UN envoy, Abdul Ilah Khatib, has met with Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa in Tripoli.
In the meeting, Mr Khatib, a former Jordanian foreign minister, reiterated demands for an end to the violence and requested access for humanitarian groups, a UN spokesman said.


With fighting continuing in the east of Libya, it is not clear exactly where the front line is.The eastern oil town of Brega changed hands several times over the weekend, amid a relentless barrage of air and ground attacks by government forces.


Sources; BBC, Al Jazeera

Libyan freedom fighters fall back - Dictator Gaddafi advances !

According to state TV reports, Dictator Gaddafi's forces had regained key oil town and freedom fighters fall back towards eastern strongholds.



Libyan armed forces loyal to Dictator and possible suspect of war crimes Muammar Gaddafi have cleared "armed gangs" from the oil-rich town of Brega in the east, an army source told state television on Sunday.


"Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs," the military source was quoted as saying. The report could not immediately be verified. State television has in the past issued false reports claiming territory.


But the claim comes amid a string of setbacks for the rebels who have lost several cities in the east to pro-Gaddafi forces. Brega's fall into the hands of Gaddafi loyalists would deal a further blow to the opposition's morale and momentum. 



Pro-Gaddafi forces have been swiftly advancing on the poorly equipped and loosely organised freedom fighters who had seized much of the eastern parts of the country since the uprising against Gaddafi's decades-long rule began last month.


On Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces pushed the frontline deeper into freedom fighters territory to just 40km outside Brega, the site of a major oil terminal.


The AFP news agency quoted freedom fighter sources as saying dictators forces were advancing from the west after seizing the town of Uqayla and the village of Bisher 20km from Brega.


Retreating freedom fighters, most of them young, were seen on trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns along the coastal road heading towards Ajdabiya, 80km away, the gateway to the main freedom fighters cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.


No air activity was seen but artillery bombardments were continuing, according to freedom fighters.


"We have to remember that this is not an organised army. This is a group of teachers, engineers, street cleaners - people who have had no association with weapons whatsoever. And now they're coming up against very strong, well-equipped forces. And we are seeing a lot of casualties. Basically if it is not sorted out soon, then those casualty figures are going to go up and up and up.It's not a very good situation at the moment; it is not looking very positive, quite the reverse." Tony Birtley (Al Jazeera), reporting from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi said.


International pressure is growing for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Libya but the move, approved in a key resolution by the Arab League on Saturday in Cairo, still faces opposition from UN Security Council heavyweights Russia and China.


Libya responded to the Arab League resolution calling it "an unacceptable departure" from the body's charter, state television said on Sunday.


The US hailed the Arab League decision as an "important step".

Intense fighting in Libyan cities !

Dictator Gaddafi's Forces  and opposition backed forces are locked in intense fighting for control of several cities and towns across Libya. Nearly month-long uprising is threatening to end Dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's more than 41-year-old rule.Some of the fiercest fighting is taking place in the oil rich city of Az-Zawiyah which is 50km west of the capital Tripoli ( Tripoli is Where Gaddafi is Hiding).


"The revolutionaries (Oppostion) control the centre of Zawiyah and Dictator Gadhafi's forces are surrounding it. It's 50-50, anybodies victory" a resident who fled the city said."There was no one in the streets, the town is completely deserted, and there are snipers on the roofs," he said, adding that he did not know which side they were on.


Forces loyal to Gaddafi say they have wrested the city from the hands of rebels, a claim denied by those ranged against the Libyan Dictator.Any independent confirmation of the claims and counter-claims, however, is difficult since  is difficult since journalists are unable to reach the city due to bombs dropped in these cities by Gaddafi.


But residents said the city had been under sustained attack from Dictator Gaddafi baberic forces whic hwere aided by tanks and war planes.There are also reports of fighting raging in the eastern port city of Ras Lanuf, where an oil installation has gone up in flames.Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from the frontline, described a steady volley of mortar and rocket fire, blanketing the sky with dark smoke, turning day to night.


"Pro-Gaddafi forces unleash a savage counter-offencive against the town of Ras Lanuf," Rowland said. "Rebel fighters sitting on the ground are vulnerable, and they know it."The rebel fighters are largely inexperienced. Abdul Razik Bubakar, 32, car mechanic who has joined anti-Gaddafi forces, told the AP news agency that he is learning how to use anti-aircraft gun on the fly."I didn't know anything about it. I just learnt in two or three days. Now I know how to use it, thanks to God. Now I am really quick using it, cleaning it and fixing it," said Bubakar. 



"Maybe I don't have enough knowledge for this, but when I do it, thanks to God, it works out."


The battles are raging as rebels pile on pressure on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to cripple Gaddaf's air force.While several world powers have backed such a measure, the modalities are yet to be worked out with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, saying such a move should be driven by the United Nations and not the United States.


NATO and European Union are beginning fresh talks on a no-fly zone on Thursday.Amid such discussions, Gaddafi has launched his own diplomatic effort, sending emissaries to Brussels and Cairo.


Meanwhile, Britain has condemned the arrest and torture of three BBC journalists in Libya, saying it was more proof of atrocities committed by Gaddafi's regime.

Heavy shellings by Dictator Gaddafi in Ras Lanuf oil city in Libya - Heavy casualties !

Forces loyal to Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi have launched new air raids on the oil city of Ras Lanuf under oppstion control and are closing in on the western town of Az Zawiyah.


Fresh reports of rockets landing on Ras Lanuf came on Wednesday, with one news correspondent there saying there was intense fighting taking place between rebels and the government's fighter jets.


"What we are hearing is intense and repeated attacks by Gaddafi's airplanes on the rebels," Jacky Rowland said. "The air force is concentrating on the big junctions at the entrance to the town. The opposition fighters are extremely panicked."


She said the oil facility there had been hit in three places.


"There are huge plumes of smoke leaping into the air. We can see mortar fire from Gaddafi troops and the rebels are firing rockets towards the west."


Khaled Kwafi, a member of the opposition forces based on the outskirts of Ras Lanuf, told Al Jazeera that people were killed and injured in the attack.


"An hour ago we saw warplanes in the sky. We heard very huge explosions and lots of smoke. Our people tried to go there but they were stopped," he said.


"We heard there are people killed and injured there."



Rebels under pressure


In addition to attacks in Ras Lanuf, forces loyal to Gaddafi launched a bombardment near rebel positions around the east Libyan oil terminal of Sidrah on Wednesday, blowing up storage tanks at the facility.


Rebels retaliated by firing back with rockets as a fireball exploded from one of the oil tanks and the sky above the terminal filled with black smoke.


Clashes were also reported from the town of Bin Jawad, where a witness told Reuters that the Libyan military was using "gunboats" against opposition forces. Other witnesses reported seeing warplanes bomb oil facilities.


Fresh violence was also reported from the town of Az Zawiyah, which has been the focus of repeated battles between pro- and anti-government forces. Late on Wednesday, a witness told Reuters that rebels had retaken the town square, after being driven from it earlier in the day. The Gaddafi government disputed that claim, saying that it had retaken the town.


The claims cannot be independently verified, as the government has refused journalists access to the city, despite promises to conduct a tour.


A doctor told Reuters the earlier offensive had left many bodies lying in the streets, with at least 40 people said to have been killed.


Gaddafi's forces are also reported to have surrounded the rebel-held town of Az Zawiyah, close to the capital Tripoli.


Tanks of forces closed in on the rebel-held main square of on Wednesday and their snipers shot at anything that moved, rebel and resident sources said.


They said bodies were lying unrecovered in the ruins of many buildings destroyed in air raids earlier in the week and there was no one in the streets of the centre.


"We can see the tanks. The tanks are everywhere," a rebel fighter told Reuters by phone from inside the city.


One doctor there said that at least forty people were killed in the day's fighting.


The Libyan government claims it has taken back the coastal town of Bin Jawad after heavy shelling there.


Gaddafi himself remains as defiant as ever, saying the Libyan people will take up arms if western powers get involved in events in Libya.


On Wednesday, three of his private planes left Tripoli. At least one of them, carrying a high-ranking official for talks with the head of the Arab League, landed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Opposition repulse ferocious assault by Pro Gaddafi forces - Joy for Opposition in Libya !

CNN ; Standing outside a courthouse Sunday that the Libyan opposition is using for a base of operations in the town of Misrata, a witness described a sense of jubilation against a backdrop of blood stains and rocket fragments."I'm standing in the middle of a ... battlefield," the witness told CNN by phone from Misrata after a fierce fight between rebels and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
People were holding their hands up, singing, chanting and cheering, he said. "Everyone is hugging everyone."


CNN is not identifying witnesses and sources for safety reasons.Videos posted on YouTube and thought to be out of Misrata showed damage to buildings and several shots of people celebrating around the opposition flag -- once being raised on a pole, and another time being waved by a man atop a charred vehicle that had a dead body inside.





A doctor at Central Misrata Hospital said 42 people were killed in the fighting -- 17 from the opposition and 25 from the pro-Gadhafi forces. Among the dead was a 3-year-old child, killed from direct fire, the doctor said. At least 85 people were wounded, the doctor said.


The fighting continued on the city's outskirts Sunday evening.


The witness described the opposition's victory in central Misrata even as people some 200 kilometers (125 miles) west, at a pro-Gadhafi demonstration in Tripoli, insisted the government had taken back the coastal central Libyan city.


After reports of the opposition successfully holding onto Misrata, east of Tripoli, Libyan state TV showed a graphic stating that "strict orders have been issued to the armed forces not to enter cities taken by terrorist gangs."


On Sunday morning, pro-Gadhafi militias converged on Misrata from three different points, trying to retake control of the city, the witness said. He saw four tanks, though other witnesses told him there were a total of six. Using heavy artillery, the ground forces and tanks headed for the courthouse operations base.


Tanks fired rockets at the building, and black smoke could be seen rising from it, he said.


The opposition couldn't match the government's weaponry, but rebels took to the streets using what weapons they had, such as machine guns. And some simply picked up whatever they could find, with some resorting to sticks, he said.


Speaking to CNN during the battle, he said, "People are willing to die for the cause," describing them as "fearless" and "amazing."
Later, after the forces had been repelled from the city center, the witness said, "I can't believe it.


"The will and the determination and dedication that people are showing here on the ground, it just makes you speechless," he said.
Describing the scene, he said, "We're talking about a rocket on the ground. We're talking about blood everywhere."


CNN could not confirm witness reports for many areas in Libya, including Misrata.
Valerie Amos, the United Nations' Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said Sunday that there was "urgent" need for humanitarian aid in Misrata because "people are dying and need help immediately." The world body has gotten reports that Libyan Red Crescent ambulances dispatched from Tripoli have been trying to get into Misrata to transport out dead and injured people.


"I call on the authorities to provide access without delay to allow aid workers to help save lives," Amos said in a statement.


source ; CNN , photo; al jazeera

30 civilians Killed - Attempt by Dictator Gaddafi's Forces to retake Az Zawiyah fails !

 -  Forces attacked us with machine guns and heavy weapons" - Civilian Says


Nearly  30 civilians of Az Zawiyah killed after Gaddafi's forces tried to retake oppostion held town of Az Zawiyah.The oppostion in Az Zawiyah - the closest rebel-held territory to the capital and also the site of an oil refinery - has been an embarassment to the Libyan authorities who are trying to show they control at least the west of the country.


Eastern regions of the country, around the city of Benghazi, have already fallen out of Gaddafi's control after a popular revolt against his four decades of rule.


On Friday evening, at least 12 people were killed and another 10 injured after explosions took place at an ammunition dump near Benghazi. There were conflicting reports regarding the cause of the blast.


Hospital sources said it was triggered when people went into the storage facility to collect weapons, while others blamed pro-Gaddafi forces.


"The two explosions took place at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT). The casualties started to arrive at hospital an hour later," said Idriss Ghazali, a doctor at the Houari hospital.





Anwar Mahmud al-Tajuri, a witness, told the AFP news agency that a fire had broken out in one warehouse, which spread to the second in about five minutes.


"After the first explosion, we left. When the firefighters arrived, they were caught in the second blast."



In Az Zawiyah, Mohamed, a resident of the town, told the Reuters news agency that "dozens were killed" and more wounded in violence there.


"We have counted 30 dead civilians. The hospital was full. They could not find space for the casualties."


Another resident, Mohamed Nusrat, told Al Jazeera: "Gaddafi forces tried to prohibit us from entering the middle square of Az Zawiyah and join the gathering there. They attacked us with machine guns and heavy weapons."


"The opposition movement is now in control of most Az Zawiyah, except for the oil refinery and some outside entrances which are still being guarded by Gaddafi forces."


Their accounts could not be independently verified because reporters' movements in Libya are restricted.


Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tripoli, said a source close to the Libyan government had told her that Az Zawiyah "has been retaken by government forces".


"Zawiyah now is calm, and its under control by locals and the army and everything is OK. There are a few terrorists, they escaped with some Kalashinikovs and some revolvers and now [security forces] are chasing them," said Khalid Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister.


A rebel leader in Az Zawiyah was also killed in the clashes on Friday. 


"Many people were killed in Harsha, which is now occupied by them," Youssef Shagan, a rebel spokesman, told the Reuters news agency, referring to a small town just outside Az Zawiyah.


"They shot at civilians. We still control [Az Zawiyah's] central square. They are four to five kilometers away. Our army commander has been killed in Harsha. We have appointed a new one."


Late on Friday night, residents reported that pro-Gaddafi forces had surrounded the city.


"We are under siege, we are surrounded from the east, west and south, only the north is open because it opens to the sea," Ali, a resident, told Reuters by phone. "Electricity has been cut, we are in the dark ... Maybe they are planning an attack."

GADDAFI, SADDAM AND THE CIA

Baghdad in former days. cesare.salvetti

The USA did not free Iraq.

They wrecked it.

This was deliberate.

Satellite TV has been kept away from the recent deadly protests against poverty and misery in Iraq.

(February 2011 -Iraq's protests test Maliki's leadership‎)

Baghdad rail station 1959 - Website for this image iraqimojo.blogspot.com

Iraqis can see what could be going to happen to Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.

On 3 March 2011, we read that, Iraq's Moqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqis to protest against any possible US military intervention in Libya. (Iraq's Sadr urges protests against US over Libya)

According to Sadr, the USA installed Gaddafi and now wants to remove him.

Sadr accused the USA and western nations of:

1. Planting agents in Arab states.

2. Supporting dictatorships.

3. Then intervening in the name of democracy and claiming to liberate Arabs.

Saddam was put into power by the CIA.

Saddam offered to leave Iraq in order to avoid a war.

The real Saddam escaped to Belarus.

CNN (CNN.com - UAE official: Hussein was open to exile - Nov 2, 2005) reported:

"Days before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein agreed in principle to accept an offer of exile from the United Arab Emirates... a UAE government senior official told CNN.

"The reported offer came before an emergency Arab League meeting in Egypt in discussions between UAE officials and a Hussein aide...

"The UAE official's account was repeated by another source who attended the Arab League summit and, separately, by a senior UAE government official...

"News of the reported offer from the UAE emerged... during an interview broadcast by the Arab network Al-Arabiya with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates.

"The offer was spearheaded by his father, then-UAE President Sheikh Zayed Ben Sultan Al Nahayan, who died November 3...

'"We had secured the approval of the main players, everyone who was involved, and the man concerned - Saddam Hussein - in 24 hours,' he said...

CNN.com - UAE official: Hussein was open to exile - "Nov 2, 2005

Saddam was put into power by the CIA.

Richard Sale, UPI Intelligence Correspondent, wrote about Saddam and the CIA on 4/10/2003 (Exclusive: Saddam Was key in early CIA plot).

According to Sale, British scholars and former U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials say that Saddam Hussein was used by the U.S. intelligences services for over 40 years.

In 1959, Saddam was part of a CIA-authorized six-man squad trying to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim.

CIA operative Miles Copeland told UPI the CIA had had "close ties" with Iraq's Baath Party, and with the Egyptian intelligence service.

Roger Morris, a former National Security Council staffer, confirmed that the CIA had chosen the Baath Party "as its instrument."

According to another former senior State Department official, Saddam was in his early 20s, when he became a part of the U.S. plot to get rid of Qasim.

Adel Darwish, Middle East expert and author of "Unholy Babylon," said that Saddam's CIA handler was an Iraqi dentist working for CIA and Egyptian intelligence.

U.S. officials separately confirmed Darwish's account.

The 1959 assassination was botched. Qasim escaped death, and Saddam escaped to Tikrit, thanks to CIA and Egyptian intelligence agents, several U.S. government officials said.

Saddam then moved to Beirut, according to Darwish and former senior CIA officials. In Beirut, the CIA put Saddam through a training course, former CIA officials said.

Saddam then moved to Cairo. According to former U.S. intelligence officials, Saddam made frequent visits to the American Embassy.

In 1963 Qasim was killed in a Baath Party coup. Morris claimed that the CIA was behind the coup.

The CIA provided the Iraqi National Guardsmen with lists of suspected communists who were then murdered, according to former U.S. intelligence officials.

Middle East expert Adel Darwish told UPI that Saddam presided over the mass killings.

A former senior CIA official said: "It was a bit like the mysterious killings of Iran's communists just after Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979. All 4,000 of his communists suddenly got killed."

Saddam became head of al-Jihaz a-Khas, the secret intelligence service of the Baath Party.

The CIA/Defense Intelligence Agency connection with Saddam continued.

According to a former DIA official, the U.S. shared satellite intelligence with both Iraq and Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in an attempt to produce a military stalemate.

The typical CIA guy.

According to bhtimes.blogspot (In Search of Saddam Hussein’s WMD:Russian Intelligence, Belarus & Highway 11 http://bhtimes.blogspot.com/search?q=highway+11+saddam)

"On March 29 and 30, Saddam contacted Belarus.

"The former Soviet Republic had been one of many that offered Saddam exile in the days just prior to the war...

"Saddam had a Belarusian IL-76 transport plane flown to Baghdad... and flown back to Belarus.

"After the fall of Saddam's regime, it was found that many of the senior leaders who had fled went to Syria and Belarus."

Faisal II, King of Iraq

Hussein Given Safe Haven in Belarus?

"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has obtained safe haven in Belarus, several intelligence agencies believe.

"Western intelligence sources said several intelligence agencies in the Middle East and Europe base this assessment on new information about a March 29 flight from Baghdad to Minsk.

"They said the flight of a chartered cargo plane could have transported Saddam, his sons and much of his family to Belarus.

"'There's no proof that Saddam was on the plane but we have proof that a plane left on that day from Baghdad airport and arrived in Minsk,' a senior intelligence source said.

"'If you can think of anybody else who could obtain permission to fly out of Baghdad in the middle of a war, then please tell me.'...

"U.S. officials said Saddam had been exploring the prospect of fleeing to Belarus over the last year.

"They said the Iraqi ruler was in close contact with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and that Minsk became a major military supplier to Baghdad.

"Within hours after the departure of the cargo flight to Minsk on March 29, the Saddam regime was awash with rumors that the president had escaped.

"Intelligence sources said the rumors spread rapidly throughout the military command and among field officers.

"'There was a significant decline in Iraqi combat strength starting from around March 31,' an intelligence source said.

"'In interviews with coalition interrogators, Iraqi commanders have attributed the decline in combat to the feeling that Saddam had fled.'"

Photos: www.cloakanddagger.de/
http://www.breakfornews.com/TopStoriesJune05.htm

Was Saddam put on trial or was it a double?

It seems to us that the Saddam who was on trial was a fake.

The body language was not that of the dictator.

The face looked different.

1950s Baghdad.

Mrs. Saddam says defendant Saddam is not her Saddam

From: Idaho Observer: Mrs. Saddam says defendant is not her husband

BAGHDAD -- Seldom in history has there been a question as to the true identity of a defendant in a court trial.

However, in the alleged trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, controversy abounds as to whether or not the man being tried is, indeed, Saddam Hussein.

Mike Ruppert reported June 18, 2004, that the Russian newspaper Pravda published a story claiming the U.S. finally allowed Saddam's wife Sajida Heiralla Tuffa to see her husband.

Within moments of entering the prison in Quatar where the deposed president is allegedly being held, she reportedly reemerged screaming in a rage, “This is not my husband, it's his double, where is my husband? Take me to my husband!”

Since Tuffa's public display of outrage, several reporters have noted that live footage and photos of the man being tried as Saddam reveal that he has bad teeth and an underbite. Conversely, photos of the real Saddam consistently show that he has near perfect teeth and an overbite.



The following is from Prison Planet and was written by Joe Vials.

Sajida Heiralla Tuffah was Saddam's wife and the mother of his children.

Mrs Saddam says Saddam is not Saddam Joe Vialls June 18 2004

"After the Russians applied enormous diplomatic pressure, America was finally obliged to allow Sajida Heiralla Tuffah access to her husband in Qatar, where he had been flown in some luxury aboard a United States Air Force VIP jet.

"The facilities at Baghdad Airport were considered to be sub-standard, besides which, people were beginning to talk about the laughing and bourbon-swilling Muslim prisoner, who was the only one in sight not wearing a hood and sensory deprivation earphones, and not being sexually abused by Ricardo Sanchez.

"Well, you could have heard a pin drop all the way across Qatar.

"Sajida arrived from Syria with her official escort Sheikh Hamad Al-Tani, and then entered the prison, emerging only moments later pink with rage and shouting, "This is not my husband but his double. Where is my husband? Take me to my husband".

"American officials rushed forward to shield Mrs Saddam from perplexed Russian observers, trying to insist that Saddam had changed a lot while in custody and she probably didn't recognise him.

"This was certainly not the best way to handle the Iraqi President's wife. "You think I do not know my husband?" Sajida shouted furiously, "I was married to the man for more than twenty-five years!" Then she stormed off, never to return.

"This remarkable confrontation was reported by Pravda and four other newspapers in the east between 13 and 17 April, but the New York Times and others made damn sure you didn't read or hear about it in the west."

CAPTION CONTEST

It is entirely likely that Saddam, who was trained and put into power by the CIA ( aangirfan: Saddam worked for the CIA), was not hanged and that the hanging video was some kind of fake.

We know that Saddam offered to leave Iraq before the war started.