Libya: Liberation & questions over Gaddafi’s killing

Associated Press
Libya’s new leaders to declare liberation Sunday amid questions over Gadhafi’s killing

October 22, 2011


TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya’s new leaders will declare liberation on Sunday, officials said, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

But the victory has been clouded by questions over how Gadhafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors.

The long-awaited declaration of liberation will come more than two months after revolutionary forces swept into Tripoli and seized control of most of the oil-rich North African nation. It was stalled by fierce resistance by Gadhafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and pockets in the South.

Sirte was the last to fall, but Gadhafi’s son and one-time heir apparent and many of his fighters have apparently escaped, raising fears they could continue to make trouble.

With Gadhafi gone, however, the governing National Transitional Council was moving forward with efforts to transform the country that was ruled by one man for more than four decades into a democracy.

NTC officials had said the announcement would be made Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution’s birthplace. But spokesman Abdel-Rahman Busin said preparations were under way for a Sunday ceremony instead. He didn’t give an explanation for the delay.

The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and hold elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, then to organize parliamentary and presidential vote within a year after that.

On Saturday, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, who has said he plans to resign after liberation, said the interim government “should last until the first presidential elections.”

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, he also said the NTC must move quickly to disarm rebels who helped to overthrow Gadhafi’s nearly 42-year-old regime. He said it was a priority to ensure huge caches of weapons are turned in over the “next few days.”

Jibril also said the Libyan people must remember the agony of the past and choose a different path for the future. He said he was “relieved” after Gadhafi’s ouster, describing it as a “great moment in my life.”

Gadhafi’s blood-streaked body has been put on display in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata as Libyan authorities argued about where to bury the remains. Fighters from Misrata — a city brutally besieged by Gadhafi’s forces during the civil war — seemed to claim ownership of it, forcing the delay of a planned burial Friday.

Fathi Bashagha, a spokesman for the Misrata military council, said a decision will be made Saturday but he ruled out a full autopsy unless demanded by an international committee or the transitional government “and so far there have been no requests.”

At least four groups of doctors have examined the body and determined the cause of death was a bullet to the head and stomach, Bashagha said. “As far as we are concerned in Misrata, doctors have checked him and determined how he died, so there is no need to cut his body up,” he said.

The bloody siege of Misrata over the summer instilled a particularly virulent hatred of Gadhafi there — a hatred now mixed with pride because he was captured and killed by fighters from Libya’s third-largest city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

Residents crowded into long lines to get a chance to view the body of Gadhafi, which was laid out on a mattress on the floor of an emptied-out vegetable and onions freezer. The body had apparently been stowed in the freezer in an attempt to keep it out of the public eye, but once the location was known, that intention was swept away in the overwhelming desire of residents to see the man they so deeply despised.

Men, women and children filed in to take their picture with the body, with some chanting “We want to see the dog.”

The site’s guards had even organized separate visiting hours for families and single men.

Gadhafi’s 69-year-old body was stripped to the waist, his torso and arms streaked with dried blood. Bullet wounds in the chest, abdomen and left side of the head were visible.

Gadhafi’s family, most of whom are in Algeria or other nearby African nations, issued a statement Friday calling for an investigation into how Gadhafi and another of his sons, Muatassim, were killed. In the statement on the pro-Gadhafi, Syria-based TV station Al-Rai, they asked for international pressure on the NTC to hand over the bodies of the two men to their tribe.

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the images of his last moments were very disturbing.

“More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture,” Colville said.


*Associated Press writers Hadeel al-Shalchi in Cairo and Dale Gavlak in Southern Shuneh, Jordan, contributed to this report.

In Photos: The Revolutionaries of Benghazi

Libyan revolutionaries stand guard underneath anti-Qaddafi graffiti, outside the courthouse in Benghazi.


February 17 revolutionary forces in reclaimed station.


Revolutionary youth with Kalashnikov and victory sign.


Burnt cars in the Qaddafi Brigades HQs. 'Long Live Benghazi!'


Photos, posters and banners of thousands of revolutionary martyrs line the walls of the Supreme Court, and Horreya Square in Benghazi.


Libyan man pays his respects to the thousands of fallen revolutionaries.


Revolutionary youth back from the front-lines.


Officer leads military drills and exercises in Horreya Square.


Suleiman Basha. This kind and hospitable revolutionary drove us around Benghazi; he helped us find, reserve and pay for hotel rooms.


Young and old revolutionaries on main stage.


Young Libyan revolutionary stands on top of captured army tank.


Cute and tiny revolutionary does not seem happy with this assault rifle.

Revolutionary Street Art & Graffiti in Benghazi, Libya

Graffiti commemorating the Revolution of Feb. 17


Qaddafi with 'Green Book' shackles.


Qaddafi has "fucked" Libya and its people for 42 years.


Swastikas and Stars of David. Qaddafi and his sons attempt to flee Libya with sacks full of money.


Qaddafi gets the Libyan people's boot. Revolutionary graffiti on side reads "Human insecticide. Production date: September 1, 1969 (date of Qaddafi's military coup). Expiry date: February 17, 2011."


The Libyan people have spoken. Street art on (the destroyed) headquarters of Qaddafi Brigades, Benghazi


Don't fear the dictator!


Libyans express themselves freely after 42 years of censorship and dictatorship.


Street art by British solidarity activists.


Libyan street artists vent their anger towards Qaddafi and his dictatorial regime following 42 years of oppression.


Anti-Qaddafi graffiti on pillars.


Misspelled message to Qaddafi. You get the meaning.


Wanted: Dictator Mu'amar


Spray-painted image of Qaddafi on the wall of a building which has been converted into the "Tyrant's war-crimes museum."


Libyan victory sign painted on a store front.


Qaddafi's tail gets caught in the mousetrap.


bombs fall out of Qaddafi's afro, decorated with swastika.


Image of anti-colonialist freedom-fighter Omar al-Mokhtar. Qaddafi screaming at this historic revolutionary.


Graffiti on building quotes freedom fighter Omar al-Mokhtar: "We shall never surrender. We shall be victorious, or die."


Qaddafi "The Butcher" with serpent tongue coming out of his mouth.


Anarchy sign in Benghazi's media center. My foot on Qaddafi door mat.


Graffiti on garbage can reads: "Donations for Qaddafi."

Libya: Death toll mounts as fighting rages in Tripoli

Oman Observer
Fighting rages as death toll in Tripoli mounts

Fri, 26 August 2011


TRIPOLI — Libyan opposition fighters battled government troops across Tripoli yesterday and stifle any counter-attack.

Machinegun bursts and the crack of sniper fire kept the capital’s two million civilians pinned indoors, with supplies running low.

More than 20,000 people have been killled in the six-month unrest in the country, opposition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil opined yesterday.

“I do not have the exact figure, but the armed conflict has resulted in more than 20,000 dead,” said Abdel Jalil, head of the Transitional National Council.
Asked about the possible presence of chemical weapons in the country, he said there was nothing to fear.

“I know very well that those weapons have expired,” he said.
Hundreds of opposition fighters launched an attack on a Tripoli hideout of government forces, an AFP TV reporter said.

More than 300 fighters armed with Kalashnikov, rocket launchers and assault rifles streamed into the Abu Salim district where they traded fire with troops and launched a house-to-house search.

“Today we are freeing Abu Salim,” and “Today we will conquer Abu Salim,” the dissidents yelled as they headed into battle. Dissidents said they arrested two government fighters, accusing one of them of being a sniper. One dissident tore down one of the many green flags raised in support of the regime in the low-income district renowned for its political prison.

Two days after the headquarters of Col Muammar Gaddafi in the capital was intruded, his forces still appear to control his tribal home city of Sirte on the coast and were reported to be fighting at Sabha in the south. Gaddafi broadcast a message on Wednesday calling on Libyans to fight back against the Nato-backed forces.

Opposition leaders, offering a million-dollar reward, say the war will be over only when Gaddafi is found, “dead or alive”.

The ex-international high representative in Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, said there was a need for speed if Libya was to avoid a lingering threat from the predecessor, unlike what transpired in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq.

“The best time to capture these defeated leaders is immediately after the conflict finishes,” Ashdown said. “The longer it takes the more chance they have of being spirited away to a place which is much more difficult to find.”

With fighting raging in Tripoli, there was evidence of the kind of bitter bloodletting in recent days that the opposition leaders are anxious to stop in the interests of uniting Libyans, including former Gaddafi supporters, in a democracy.

A correspondent counted 30 bodies at a site in central Tripoli. At least two had their hands bound. One was strapped to a hospital trolley. All the bodies had been riddled with bullets.

Elsewhere, a British medical worker said she had counted 17 bodies.

The French magazine Paris Match quoted an intelligence source saying Libyan commandos found evidence that he had stayed at a safe house which they raided on Wednesday. Nato was helping the opposition with intelligence and reconnaissance, Britain said, and its jets kept up their bombing campaign overnight.

“There are areas of resistance which has had considerable levels of military expertise, still has stockpiles of weapons and still has the ability for command and control,” British Defence Minister Liam Fox told Sky News.

“They may take some time to completely eliminate and it is likely there will be some frustrating days ahead.”

Medical supplies, never especially plentiful, were dwindling to critical levels in many places where some of the hundreds of casualties from the fighting were being treated. Shooting in the street also kept medics away from work.

“The hospitals that I’ve been to have been full of wounded — gunshot wounded,” said Jonathan Whittall, head of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) mission to Libya.

“In one health facility that I visited, they had converted some houses next to the clinic into an in-patient department ... But because of the shortage of staff, there was no nursing staff and the patients were essentially caring for themselves.”

More than 30 men have been killed at a military encampment in central Tripoli and at least two were bound with plastic handcuffs, indicating they had been executed.

A correspondent counted 30 bodies riddled with bullets in an area of the Libyan capital where there had been fighting between Gaddafi forces and rebels.

Five of the dead were at a field hospital nearby, with one in an ambulance. Some of the dead wore military uniforms while others wore civilian clothes. Some were African men; Two of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The incident took place at a traffic circle in an area of Tripoli that had been held by forces loyal to Gaddafi.

The encampment was littered with abandoned food, weapons boxes and the shells of wrecked vehicles. Blankets had been placed over the dead.

Elsewhere in the city, a British medical worker said a hospital had received the bodies of 17 civilians believed to have been killed in recent days.

“Yesterday a truck arrived at the hospital with 17 dead bodies,” Kirsty Campbell of the International Medical Corps said at Mitiga hospital.

Amnesty International said yesterday a delegation it had sent to Libya received reports of abuses by both sides in the conflict, including detaining and beating migrants suspected of being mercenaries.

*Photo courtesy of Reuters

Libyan Revolutionaries Capture Tripoli's Green Square

All Voices
Libyan Rebels Enter Tripoli's Green Square

22/08/11

TRIPOLI: Libyan rebels entered the capital Tripoli on Sunday with little sign of resistance from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in the Libyan leader's last remaining stronghold in the North African nation.

Libyan rebels waved opposition flags and shot into the air in jubilation after reaching Tripoli's central Green Square, live footage from the scene showed in the early hours of Monday.

The vast square, reserved until now for carefully orchestrated rallies praising Muammar Gaddafi, erupted in celebration after rebel troops pushed into the center of the Libyan capital overnight.

Following are reactions from analysts and political players to the fluid events unfolding in Libya following six months of fighting between rebels and Gaddafi's forces.

John Drake, Senior Risk Consultant, UK-based Consultancy Ake "Had the rebels marched into Tripoli in late February the situation would have been very different and the city may have fallen relatively quickly and easily.

"Now, after six months of fighting, the animosity between the two sides is likely to be a lot higher, so there is going to be a risk of violent retribution against those seen as having supported the regime over that time."

Ashour Shamis, Opposition Activist and Journalist, "The game is over for Gaddafi. There's bound to be some resistance here and there but his forces seem to be falling apart. He no longer directs his men.

"I think most Libyans want his men to peacefully surrender but if they resist they will have to be fought.

"If rebel forces capture people who are wanted by The Hague court, they will have to keep them safe until they are handed over to Libyan legal authorities.

"What then happens to those persons arrested, in terms of whether they end up at The Hague court, will I think depend in part on how they conduct themselves (in custody)."

According to Anthony Skinner, Middle East Analyst at Maplecroft, "it does look like it is coming to an end. But there are still plenty of questions. The most important is exactly what Gaddafi does now. Does he flee or can he fight? In the slightly longer term, what happens next? We know there have been some serious divisions between the rebel movement and we don't know yet if they will be able to form a cohesive front is to run the country.

"Looking further afield, it is obviously going to be very uncomfortable viewing for Assad in Syria. Obviously they are very different cases, particularly because of the outside military involvement in Libya. But it's another sign that when you use brutal force against protesters, you lose legitimacy. It just inflames the situation and at the end of the day we have seen another regional leader forced from power.

Tuesday's Protests in Tahrir Square & Downtown Cairo

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, tens of thousands showed-up to protest for unmet demands in Tahrir Square; and to stand in solidarity with the "February 17 Uprising" outside the Libyan Embassy.


Elsewhere, musicians protested outside their syndicate headquarters in downtown Cairo, on Sherif Street. Over 100 musician-protesters briefly blocked-off the street, held-up signs reading "Where's our money?" and chanted slogans in which they demanded the recall of their Syndicate President, Mounir el-Wesseimi.

They also demanded monetary compensations for their dues and membership fees. Members of the Musicians' Syndicate receive virtually no services from their syndicate.


Standing in solidarity with the Libyan people and their democratic uprising, a protester in Tahrir Square holds up a sign - save Libyans, and kill Gaddafi.


Protesters keep returning to Tahrir Square - in the millions, because they still have numerous unmet demands. A large banner hung-up between two lampposts spelled out the demands:

*No to the interim cabinet of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq - Mubarak's handpicked puppet.
*Yes to an interim presidential council - including two civilian figures, and one military figure
*Yes for the immediate release of all political prisoners/prisoners of conscience.
*Yes to lifting/terminating the emergency law - enforced under Mubarak's Dictatorship for 30 years
*Yes for the dissolution of the State Security (Political Police) Apparatus
*Yes to the combating of corruption - and trial of corrupt officials


The central part of the square was flooded with water to keep protesters from camping or congregating there; while for the first time, the lampposts in Tahrir Square were not lit.

Amidst this darkness, military police and plain-clothed thugs forcefully dispersed hundreds of protesters who wanted to sit-in or sleep-in at the Square. When the curfew came into effect (midnight) the authorities utilized thuggery, threats and intimidation to remove protesters from the square.

Nevertheless, another million-person protest in Tahrir Square is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 25. The people's democratic demands will be put forth, and unmet demands will be raised once again.

Over 560 Killed in Libyan Uprising

Times LIVE
Opposition says over 560 killed in Libya

Feb 22, 2011

By Sapa-dpa

More than 560 people have been killed in Libya since the unrest began, according to estimates by the opposition. About 1,400 people were still missing, broadcaster Al Arabiya reported Tuesday.



An unconfirmed number of bodies of people killed in the protests in Janzour, a town on the outskirts of the capital Tripoli, were lying on the streets Tuesday, an opposition news website reported.

The Libya al-Youm website reported that armed men were preventing people from leaving Janzour.

However, the mood in Benghazi, which saw some of the worst bloodshed of the Libyan uprising, was calmer Tuesday. But protests continued as hundreds slept outside the city's central courthouse overnight, a resident told the German Press Agency dpa by telephone.

The widening protests entered their seventh day on Tuesday, following Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's 20-second appearance on state television overnight to refute reports that he had fled the capital.

Gaddafi - sitting in a car in Tripoli holding an umbrella - said: "I am in Tripoli. I am not in Venezuela."

The footage was broadcast after 24 hours of speculation that Libya's leader of 41 years had left for South America.

A resident in coastal Benghazi, where at least 230 people are thought to have been killed in recent days according to Human Rights Watch, said: "Some people were scared. Families and children went home after Gaddafi's remarks. But many stayed until early morning and others slept outside the courthouse."

The resident, who only wanted to be named as Fathi, for fear of reprisals, said that the Saaka, or Libyan marines, had joined the protesters in Benghazi and promised security.

"Removing the government is the number one demand of protesters because there is a lot of bloodshed, there is no way they will back up on their demands," Fathi told dpa.

The death toll from the protests calling for Gaddafi's ouster is expected to have reached 150 in Tripoli, according to witnesses.

Other cities are also reporting deaths but casualty figures for areas beyond the capital are difficult to independently verify due to the government's clampdown on communications and travel.

The chaotic situation in Libya is to be discussed in a closed session of the United Nations Security Council in New York.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday called for an international independent investigation into the violent suppression of the protests.

"Widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity," said the UN's Navi Pillay.

Several overseas Libyan diplomats have resigned in protest at the regime's crackdown.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference also joined in condemning the violence, saying it considered the violence against protesters in Libya "a humanitarian disaster incompatible with Islamic and human values."

Unconfirmed reports speak of foreign militias gunning down demonstrators, snipers in the capital and the Libyan air force shooting at protesters from the air.

On Monday two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta, with their pilots defecting in revolt at the command to attack demonstrators.

The demonstrations follow popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, where long-time rulers were ousted.

The Egyptian Army has meanwhile announced that the border to Libya would be open for anyone who wants to flee and Egyptian aid convoys are on hand to assist.

However, according to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, the runway of Benghazi airport has been totally destroyed and no planes will be able to land there to bring back hundreds of Egyptians working in Libya.