Women rush to question Election Commission Officer Abdulla Fortia after he speaks about the rules for the upcoming polls [Al Jazeera/D. Parvaz] Tripoli, Libya - Buoyed by the winds of change sweeping the region, Libyan women are eyeing a far greater role for themselves after next month’s national assembly elections. The June 19 [...]
The Libyan Model and the Oxymoron: Class of 2012 Queen and King By David Swanson http://warisacrime.org/content/libyan-model-and-oxymoron-class-2012-queen-and-king There’s a new Atrocity Prevention Board in town, and its chief tool for preventing atrocities will be . . . wait for it . . . atrocities! What a breakthrough! And this clown is forming a tentative life partnership with an [...]
Ghanem, 69, served under Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi as head of the country’s national oil company [Reuters] Austrian police say former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem was found dead in the Danube river near Vienna. Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger told Al Jazeera his corpse was found on Sunday morning floating in the river and [...]
Jack Straw: civil action seeks to examine former foreign secretary’s role in Belhaj’s return to Libya. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Jack Straw faces legal action over Libya rendition claims Libyan commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj takes legal action against former foreign secretary, alleging complicity in his torture guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 April 2012 18.52 BST Article history A former [...]
The Dark Side of the West’s ‘Humanitarianism’ – How Nato Left Boat People to Die By Matthew Vella April 11, 2012 “Malta Today” – The 19 interviews by Goldsmiths researchers into the ‘left-to-die-boat’ ignored by Nato vessels in the Mediterranean in April 2011 has determined that 72 migrants were ignored [...]
A Nato air strike in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last June. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features Nato must investigate civilian deaths in Libya, says Amnesty Campaigners say scores of Libyans were killed or injured in air strikes but Nato has not provided compensation Nato has failed to properly investigate or provide compensation for civilian deaths caused by its [...]
Refugees often have their passports confiscated, making citizenship verification difficult [EPA] Tripoli, Libya - At the battered terminal of Tripoli’s tiny Mitiga Airport, over 150 young men and women jostle to be repatriated home to Nigeria on Libya‘s Buraq airlines. This journey to Lagos is one of hundreds the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), that has [...]
Libya’s US-Backed Militias Terrorize the Country John Glaser, March 08, 2012 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum Los Angeles Times on how horrible Libya is post-U.S. liberation: Rising inter-tribal violence has left scores dead. About 100 people were reported killed last month when rival tribes battled with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the [...]
As Libya’s eastern region of Cyrenaica declares its semi-autonomy from the central government, political analyst Pepe Escobar says no one will be intervening this time to stop a war among Libyan tribes should it kick off. The Cyrenaica region, with its center in Benghazi, the cradle of last year’s uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, [...]
Faraj Swehli, commander of Swehli militia, said his men found official documents with the journalists [AFP] Two British journalists working for Iran’s Press TV, who were detained late last month in Libya, are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said. Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said on Sunday [...]
Rumor and Anger Mount in Libya by Franklin Lamb Posted on January 15, 2012 by dandelionsalad by Franklin Lamb Featured Writer Dandelion Salad Tripoli, Libya January 14, 2012 This observer was stunned late last week when during a meeting in a Maghreb country with three high ranking former Libyan officials, among hundreds currently in hiding, [...]
“Or Your Lying Eyes…” Truth and Fiction in the News Business by ALEXANDER COCKBURN If you want a sense of what could well lie in store for Syria, go no further than Anthony Shadid’s report from Libya in the New York Times for February 9. Shadid, a good reporter, describes a [...]
US Boots in Libya? 21 January 2012 link to article http://www.abdelbariatwan.com/USBootsinLibya.htm The US Administration has not denied reports that it dispatched 12,000 soldiers to Malta as a prelude to moving them to Libya in an attempt to put the deteriorating situation there under control. Arab satellite channel televisions have [...]
UN says the majority of detainees ”include a large number of sub-saharan, African nationals” [Al Jazeera] Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has halted its work in detention centres in a Libyan city because it said its medical staff were being asked to patch up detainees mid-way through torture sessions so they could go back for [...]
UN says violent crime and fighting between rival armed groups have become part of Libyan life [File: GALLO/GETTY] Detainees from Libya‘s war held by fighters continue to be subjected to torture despite efforts by the provisional government to address the issue, according to the UN human-rights chief. Navi Pillay told the UN Security Council on Wednesday she was extremely [...]
Abdul Hafez Ghoga has resigned as the NTC’s deputy leader after being manhandled at a protest in Benghazi. Photograph: Sabri Elmhedwi/EPA Fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have seized back the town of Bani Walid and raised the late dictator’s green flag, in a blow to Libya‘s struggling provisional government. Reports said at least four people were killed during [...]
Protesters stormed the government office, demanding the sacking of Gaddafi-era officials [Reuters] Abdul Hafez Ghoga, the deputy head of Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has submitted his resignation. “My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage,” he told Al Jazeera on Sunday. “Unfortunately, the consensus has not continued to [...]
US Takes Full Control Over NATO Operation in Libya – Lavrov By Itar-Tass MOSCOW, January 18 (Itar-Tass) — The United States was not an onlooker in the Libyan events and took full control over the NATO operation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Speaking at a press [...]
Art work by Libyan graffiti artist Adnan Al Gargani [Imran Khan] Over the last four weeks I have crisscrossed what feels like the whole of Libya, but in reality is probably only half of it. The one constant in every town I have visited is the sometimes extraordinary, sometimes awful graffiti that covers every white [...]
Libyan Central Bank: West Still Hasn’t Returned $20 Billion in ‘Freed’ Assets ‘We Never Received the $20 Billion’ by Jason Ditz, January 13, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Governor al-Seddiq Omar al-Kabir, the head of Libya’s Central Bank, denied reports coming out of the nation’s [...]
Under Gaddafi, Libya‘s independence had been diverted to celebrate his ascension to power in 1969 [Reuters] For the first time in more than four decades, Libyans have celebrated the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence from Italy. Under Muammar Gaddafi‘s 42-year rule, the celebration was scrapped and instead, only the 1969 date of his coup was [...]
Protesters Condemn Rebel Troops in Tripoli Rally Demonstrators Sick of Militias Meddling in Local Affairs by Jason Ditz, December 07, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Hundreds of protesters gathered today in the Libyan capital city of Tripoli, calling [...]
Protesters from all social strata took part in the battle of Muhammad Mahmoud Street [EPA] Cairo, Egypt - “The people in Muhammad Mahmoud are decidedly not revolutionaries, they are vandals,” a police captain insisted in a phone-in to Yusri Foda’s prime TV show Akhir Kalam. The officer in the video had a point. Four days into what [...]
The Road to Hell: Libya and Now Syria? By Jeremy Salt – Ankara The report just issued by the UN Human Rights Council‘s ‘independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic‘ is now being passed along the line to the UN Security Council, with the recommendation by the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi [...]
The Troubling Case of Saif Gadhafi by Franklin Lamb Posted on November 27, 2011 by dandelionsalad by Franklin Lamb Featured Writer Dandelion Salad Zintan , Libya November 25, 2011 Despite the claims of the National Transitional Council of Libya (NTC) that Saif al Islam Gadhafi, the apprehended subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant that ordered his transport [...]
The “Left” and Libya by ALEXANDER COCKBURN The last time we met Michael Bérubé on this site was back in 2007, and he was up to his neck in a rubbish dump, where I’d placed him, in the company of other promoters of the 2003 war on Iraq: where, I asked, are those parlor warriors [...]
Leaked UN Report: Torture and Lynchings in Post-Gadhafi Libya Estimated 7,000 ‘Disappeared’ by New Regime by Jason Ditz, November 23, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum NATO officials are continuing to trumpet the regime change in Libya as a great military success for the alliance. But while we wait for the current regime to [...]
by Franklin Lamb Featured Writer Dandelion Salad Sirte, Libya November 18, 2011 This observer, with his sandaled feet comfortably dug into the sand of a chilly Mediterranean beach and huddled next to a camp fire with a congenial and bright group of still heavily [...]
NATO took months to scramble jets to Libya and relied heavily on US support utilities to operate effectively [EPA] Cambridge, UK – Is NATO’s operation in Libya a model for future Western interventions? Many argue that the combination of UN legitimacy, Western airpower and indigenous resistance forces is a powerful recipe for taking down dictators. [...]
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi at United Nations NATO’s Law of the Jungle in Libya November 11, 2011 Exclusive: The murder of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi was widely hailed in the West as a just outcome. But it involved powerful nations making up the rules as they went along, the law of the jungle disguised as international justice, [...]
Abdullah al-Senoussi, former head of Libyan intelligence, was found at his sisters house, revolutionary fighters said. Photograph: Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Gaddafi’s intelligence chief captured, says Libyan minister Revolutionary fighters catch Abdullah al-Senoussi in southern desert region near where Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam was found reddit this Agencies guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 November 2011 17.16 GMT Article history [...]
Libya pledges ‘fair trial’ for Saif al-Islam Prime minister promises “justice and transparency” in handling of case of former leader’s internationally wanted son This Al Jazeera article also comes with video coverage that you can watch at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/11/2011112052915845986.html The article continues Libya’s prime minister has promised a fair trial for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, [...]
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi sitting in a plane in Zintan after his capture. Photograph: Ismail Zitouni/Reuters Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: what next for Libya and the west? With calls for his transfer to the international criminal court, Saif’s treatment will be an important test for Libya’s changing profile reddit this Ian Black, Middle East editor guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 [...]
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi after his capture, his fingers wrapped in bandages and his legs covered with a blanket. Photograph: Reuters Tv/Reuters Saif al-Islam Gaddafi captured in Libya Interim Tripoli government says son of Muammar Gaddafi was arrested while attempting to flee to neighbouring Niger reddit this Chris Stephen in Tripoli and David Batty guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 November [...]
Tyler Hicks/The New York Times At the oil refinery in Zawiyah, rebels soldered valves closed and stationed guards for protection. By CLIFFORD KRAUSS ZAWIYAH, Libya — The bullet holes in the oil tanks have been patched, the damaged backup generator is being repaired, and most important, the pipeline that feeds the giant oil refinery here has [...]
. A local commander in the coastal city of Zawiya has claimed to be fighting Gaddafi loyalists [Reuters] At least two men have been killed in a second day of clashes as fighters from Zawiya set up roablocks to prevent rivals from the nearby town of Wershefana entering their territory. There are conflicting reports about what triggered [...]
UN Envoy: Much of Libya’s Weaponry Already Looted Says Missing Missiles a ‘Very, Very Serious Cause for Concern’ by Jason Ditz, November 06, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum In an interview today with the Associated Press, UN envoy to Libya Ian Martin cautioned that many of Libya’s weapons depots still [...]
Libya Victory Portends Endless Intervention by Ivan Eland, November 02, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum NATO’s “victory” in Libya has sown many seeds of possible future calamity. But none is fraught with as much danger as providing a new “war on the cheap” model for Western nations that have fallen on hard economic [...]
West rushes to grab its Libya reward SEYED ABDOLLAH HOSEINI: NEOCOLONIALISM Nov 04 2011 00:00 2 Comments and 3 Reactions ARTICLE TOOLS Print Add to Clippings It certainly didn’t take them long. Literally one day after the gory images of Muammar Gaddafi being dragged, kicked and stabbed through the streets of Sirte [...]
A Palestinian vendor holds a newspaper announcing the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in Jerusalem’s Old City (Reuters/Amir Cohen) RAMALLAH (Reuters) — Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah and in the Gaza Strip on Friday said that the killing of Moammar Gadhafi did not come as a surprise. Gadhafi was [...]
Libyans‘ Tainted Joy 25 October 2011 Hundreds of Libyans in various cities celebrated the “liberation” of the whole of Libya, and the fall of Colonel Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi‘s regime after a dictatorial rule that lasted over 40 years during which the citizens suffered all kinds of oppression, persecution, and deprivation. So it came [...]
Anti-Gaddafi fighters gesture to the crowds in front of a Kingdom of Libya flag during celebrations in Benghazi on 23 October. Photograph: Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters reddit this Comments (529) Seumas Milne guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011 22.20 BST Article history As the most hopeful offshoot of the “Arab spring” so far flowered this week in [...]
The entrance to the Mahari Hotel in Sirte, where at least 53 persons were apparently executed. At the time of their killing the hotel was apparently controlled by anti-Gaddafi fighters from Misrata. The red graffiti on the right states “Tiger Brigade,” the name of a prominent Misrata fighting group. © 2011 Peter Bouckaert/Human Rights Watch [...]
Libyan interim leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil had asked for an extension of NATO‘s presence in the country Reuters] The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to end NATO’s no-fly zone over Libya, despite the country’s calls for a delay. The 15-member body voted on Thursday to end the no-fly zone, in place since March, [...]
The killing of Gaddafi after his capture in Sirte, which was recorded on mobile phone cameras, has attracted international criticism. Photograph: Rick Gershon/Getty Images NTC backs down from insistence Gaddafi died in crossfire and pledges justice for anyone proven to have fired lethal shot reddit this Martin Chulov and agencies guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 October 2011 [...]
The Man Who Knew Too Much Libyans may be celebrating the killing of Muammar al-Qaddafi, but you’d better believe that Western governments are breathing a sigh of relief themselves. BY DAVID RIEFF | OCTOBER 24, 2011 Whether the NATO countries — who had only a few years ago welcomed Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi back into the international fold [...]
Brian Beyer, October 26, 2011 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum Journalist Lizzy Phelan on Her Experience in Libya Regular readers of Antiwar.com will not be surprised by Ms. Phelan’s account of what she saw in Libya. Just like the war in Iraq, the bombing of Libya was based on a whole lot of [...]
Libya‘s interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil (left), at the ‘friends of Libya’ group meeting in Qatar. Photograph: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images reddit this Reuters in Doha guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011 12.11 BST Article history Nato should stay involved in Libya until the end of the year to help prevent Gaddafi loyalists from leaving the country, interim [...]
Image Credit: Luiz Vazquez/©Gulf News By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News Shortly before committing suicide in 1961, the American author Ernest Hemingway wrote about his electroshock therapy. “Well, what is the sense of ruining my head and erasing my memory, which is my capital, and putting me out of [...]
The question of where Libya‘s Muammar Gaddafi will be laid to rest is sure to be a contentious one. After all, where to bury a man so associated with his country? The question has been asked before – and in some cases, such as with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, there are no easy answers. The body of [...]
