Muammar Gaddafi and Libyan crisis

[retro]

LATEST: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade-old rule appeared in increasing jeopardy when days of anti-government protests reached the capital for the first time and security forces killed dozens of people.

Military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in the capital Tripoli, Al Jazeera television said this morning (NZ time) quoting witnesses.

"What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead," Adel Mohamed Saleh, a Libyan resident, told the TV station.

Saleh, who called himself a political activist, said the bombings had initially targeted a funeral procession.

"Our people are dying. It is the policy of scorched earth." he said. "Every 20 minutes they are bombing."

Asked if the attacks were still happening he said: "It is continuing, it is continuing. Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car they will hit you."

No independent verification of the report was immediately available.

Residents said several cities in the east appeared to be in the hands of the opposition as protests spread from Benghazi, the cradle of a popular uprising that threatens to overthrow one of the Arab world's most entrenched governments.

One of Gaddafi's sons said the veteran leader would fight the revolt until "the last man standing."

Protesters rallied in Tripoli's streets, tribal and religious leaders spoke out against Gaddafi, and army units defected to the opposition in a revolt that has cost the lives of more than 200 people.

Some analysts suggested Libya was heading for civil war.

"Libya is the most likely candidate for civil war because the government has lost control over part of its own territory," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Centre in Qatar.

"I think what's going to happen is going to be much more chaotic than what we saw in Egypt or Tunisia. Gaddafi and his sons don't have anywhere else to go...They are going to fight," said North Africa analyst Geoff Porter, contributor to political risk consultancy Wikistrat.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/4680549/Planes-bomb-residents-as-Libyan-revolt-hits-Tripoli

[retro]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

All bloody hell is breaking loose in Libya and Italy has placed it's Airforce on alert. If it's true that Gaddafi is bombing Tripoli he really has lost the plot.

[Eddo211]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

If I was a Libyan Airforce pilot and I got the orders to bomb my own people in the middle of my city I would defect as well, but not before dropping the payload over Gadhafi's last known position.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

I've heard reports of trouble within the ranks of the Libyan military. Basically the military in Tripoli fired on the military in Benghazi for not following orders. They were supposed to bomb weapons depots before the rioters got their hands on them. I think about a 150 soldiers were killed in the dissension among the ranks.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

Anybody want to dig into the claims in the following statement?

"Libya is gonna be far harder to topple because it is where the CIA have all their black bases for training up terrorists and torturing 'terrorist' suspects (i.e., innocent goat-herders from the mountains of Afghanistan).

Both the CIA and MI6 used Libya in the 1970s and 1980s to train up the Provisional IRA in the use of Semtex and guerilla warfare.

The CIA used Libya to train up their Mujahideen and Al Qaeda in the 1980s and 1990s to do all the false flags in the Middle East.

Libya was set up to be a pariah state so that the CIA and MI6 could run all their little black operations from there.

Libyan Intelligence had nothing to do with Lockerbie. It was Mossad that did it.

Gaddaffi is now a tool of the Western Intelligence Agencies and a New World Order stooge."

[Joseph]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

I've heard reports of trouble within the ranks of the Libyan military. Basically the military in Tripoli fired on the military in Benghazi for not following orders. They were supposed to bomb weapons depots before the rioters got their hands on them. I think about a 150 soldiers were killed in the dissension among the ranks.

I've heard that too. After watching his sons mindless ramblings this weekend, I would say they'll be deposed soon. Hopefully Jordan is next. I would love to see the majority Palestinians taking down the Hashemites.

[Eddo211]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

there is a video out there that shows the torched bodies of soldiers who refused to open fire on the people.....there must be a special place in hell for people like this.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

Hard to tell what is really going on, we never get the "real" news

[Joseph]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

We can't even get Al-Jazeera with our cable company. Too bad. Anyway, things are happening so fast that its hard to make sense of what is truly happening. It does seems that Ghadaffi will be gone soon. I hope Jordan is next.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Two Libyan fighter pilots defect, fly to Malta

Libya isn't a typical country, it's people are tribal and the only form is sustenance is the oil wealth. The population is about 5-6 million. I'd say that not much else can be done with the country no matter whose in power. I don't think Gadhafi is going to step down that easily, he has oil on his side to use as leverage. A country in civil war isn't going to help anyone at the moment and might escalate and spread further... either the protesters will be forced to back off or a full scale civil war might break out.