Libya

[LSN80]

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan rebels seized most of the capital, swiped control of state television, battled Moammar Gadhafi's forces and had three of his sons in custody Monday, as their efforts converged on the one task that could bring an end to their civil war -- and to 42 years of rule: the apprehension of Gadhafi himself.

"The real moment of victory is when Gadhafi is captured," NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil said a news conference in Benghazi, long a rebel stronghold in the conflict.

While opposition officials said it was possible Gadhafi may have fled to southern Tripoli or neighboring Chad or Algeria, they also said he may remain in Tripoli.

The U.S. government said it believes Gadhafi remains in Libya. "We believe he's still in the country," Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan said Monday. "We do not have information he left the country."

U.N. officials have "been trying to get in touch with him," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The U.N. chief described events in Tripoli as "testimony to the courage and determination of the Libyan people to seek a free and democratic future."
Rebels celebrate in Tripoli But even as official control of their country seemed to be within reach, the rebels were engaged in fierce battles for parts of Tripoli.

"A great majority of the capital of Tripoli is under freedom fighters' control," said Guma El-Gamaty, the Britain-based coordinator
for the rebels' National Transitional Council.

At the Rixos hotel where international journalists are staying, close to Gadhafi's compound, intense fighting could be heard Monday afternoon.

Sporadic gunfire and explosions coming from the direction of Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound could be heard Monday morning. Much of Bab al-Aziziya has already been destroyed by NATO airstrikes, and a fight for the compound might be more symbolic in nature.

Rebels on Monday afternoon pulled back from an area near Tripoli's Green Square -- which rebels are renaming Martyrs' Square -- to coordinate some sort of offensive in the city, although it was not immediately


It was also unclear what may happen to Gadhafi's sons in rebel custody, as well as to the leader himself if he is captured. The International Criminal Court has warrants for the arrests of Gadhafi and one of his sons, Saif al-Islam, as well as Abdullah al-Senussi,the head of military intelligence.

The court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, spoke Monday with members of the National Transitional Council about efforts to safeguard the civilian population in Libya. Further conversations will discuss the possibility of surrendering the three men, the court said in a news release.

The rebels on Monday also arrested Hala Misrati, an anchor from Libya's state-run television. Misrati had brandished a gun on air over the weekend and said that staffers at the television station were prepared to become martyrs.

"With this weapon, I either kill or die today," she said Sunday.

Rebels said they found her in her car near a coffee shop Monday. Pandemonium ensued when word got out that Misrati had been arrested.

Libyans seeking Gadhafi's ouster rejoiced Sunday after news that two of the ruler's sons -- Saif al-Islam and Saadi -- had been arrested by opposition forces.

On Monday, a third Gadhafi son, Mohammed, was also taken into custody.

A man identified as Mohammed Gadhafi told Al Jazeera during a live telephone interview early Monday that rebels had entered his home.


"I'm being attacked right now. This is gunfire inside my house. They are inside my house," he told Al Jazeera.

As for Gadhafi's other four sons, El-Gamaty said, "we think they are either hiding or they have run away."

On Sunday, Gadhafi took to the airwaves several times urging citizens, including women, to fight the rebels -- whom he called "very small groups of people who are collaborators with the imperialists."

"Get out and lead, lead, lead the people to paradise," he said.

Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters late Sunday night that about 1,300 people had been killed and about 5,000 wounded in fighting in the previous 12 hours.

"(The city) is being turned into a hellfire," he said from Tripoli.

"Every drop of Libyan blood shed by these rebels is the responsibility of the western world, especially NATO's countries."

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Gadhafi regime is "clearly crumbling."

"The sooner Gadhafi realizes that he cannot win the battle against his own people, the better -- so that the Libyan people can be spared further bloodshed and suffering," Rasmussen said in a statement Monday.

If the Gadhafi regime falls, it would follow revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt this year in what is known as the Arab Spring. A spate of other countries in the region -- including Bahrain, Yemen and Syria -- have also seen protests by citizens demanding more freedom and a change in regime. In many cases, these demonstrations have been met with brute force.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday night the momentum against Gadhafi's regime has reached a tipping point. "Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant," Obama said. "The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end."

One of the better stories Ive read about in a long time, the severe amount of bloodshead not withstanding. As much as I felt for the West Memphis Three who were wrongly convicted, and was glad to see them go free, it pales in comparison to this news. For 42 years, Gadhafi has been using genocide tactics, killing what is believed to be over 100, 000 people The fighting between rebels and Gadhafi's troops for control of the capitol in Tripoli has claimed the lives of 1,300 people, and 5,000 more have been injured in just the past twelve hours.

Much of the discussion Ive seen and heard in my office has been about what will happen to Gadhafi when/if he is found. Three of his sons have already been captured, and the rebels have seized 90% control of the capitol. Yesterday, Gadhafi got to the airwaves and said the following to his troops:

"Citizens, both man and the woman, fight the rebels! They're just a called very small groups of people who are collaborators with the imperialists.
Get out and lead, lead, lead the people to paradise," he said.

To me, it's unthinkable how a leader could possibly urge his troops to kill his own people. As much as all of us complain about the problems in America, and they are many, we're blessed that we live in a nation where it would be unimaginable for Barack Obama to urge the military to " kill the Republicans." Obama issued his own statement not too long ago. NATO Security General Anders Rasmussin has said the following regarding the "war" in Libya.

"The Gadhafi regime is clearly crumbling. The sooner Gadhafi realizes that he cannot win the battle against his own people, the better -- so that the Libyan people can be spared further bloodshed and suffering,"

Not long ago, US President Barack Obama issued a statement. Here's an excerpt from it.

"Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Gadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end. The United States will be a friend and partner to the people of Libya during this tough transition.Extraordinary circumstances can show us how how fear can turn into hope."

Obama is also urging the few troops left, and Gadhafi himself, to escape further bloodshed, Gadhafi and his family included. The difficult part of this is where Libya goes from here, as they've been under the thumb of a dictator for 42 years. Further, Libya has been the 17 largest oil supplier in the world, representing about 2% of the world's oil supply. This is a significant amount and its yet to be known how much time it will take before Libya is able to be a supplier again. All of this raises several questions for me:

When and if he is found, will/should Moaamir Gadhafi be taken alive, or killed on the spot? Why do you believe the rebels in Libya have been able to seize control now after 42 years under Gadhafi's thumb?

What role should the US government play going forward in terms of helping Libya?

What should be the highest priority for the Libyan people once the fighting has stopped and Gadhafi is completely toppled? Should providing oil be a high priority?

Obviously, Im just touching on the tip of the iceburg with these questions. Feel free to discuss the questions, or anything else about this story that springs to mind for you. Any thoughts and discussion is welcome surrounding this story.

 

[Барбоса]

When and if he is found, will/should Moaamir Gadhafi be taken alive, or killed on the spot?

It all depends on who finds him. I would not be at all surprised if he makes sure to turn himself over to a foreign power if he is able to get out of Libya. He will try his best to get a deal much like Idi Amin managed to secure after being ousted from Uganda.

I would not put it passed the anti-Gaddafi forces to issue a covert shoot on sight order for the Colonel. While a public trial would be a good way to show the world that they are setting up a viable system, the debacle of the Saddam Hussein trial will weigh heavy on them. A "killed while resisting arrest" might be the least messy and damaging scenario.

Why do you believe the rebels in Libya have been able to seize control now after 42 years under Gadhafi's thumb?

It has been handy for rebels that any potential aid from neighbouring Muslim countries was rendered impossible due to the internal troubles of Tunisia, Egypt and the Sudan.

However, the most important reason behind the success of rebels has been NATO. Without the bombing of strategic and tactical targets in Gaddafi-held Libya, the rebellion had litte chance of winning (there must have been some other physical aide too). Unlike the Tunisian and Egyptian governments, who realised with varying degrees of alacrity that police violence was not going to quell the protests, Gaddafi proved extremely willing to turn the full force of his military against them.

What role should the US government play going forward in terms of helping Libya?

In a word - none. I think there is potential for a rather nasty surprise for any Americans, British etc who think that they are going to get anything out of the new Libya. Anti-westernism may have been fostered by Gaddafi but it will not be so easily removed. Certainly, the western forces will need to be patient and wait for the new Libyan government to ask for help either financial, medical or infrastructurally. Otherwise, they risk treading on toes.

What should be the highest priority for the Libyan people once the fighting has stopped and Gadhafi is completely toppled? Should providing oil be a high priority?

The most immediate goal will be to deal with the rest of the pro-Gaddafi forces whilst setting up a viable government. The former will almost certainly be easier than the latter. The Libyan rebels are an incredibly diverse number of tribes who are more used to being at each others throats. A shared enemy has seen those tribal difference set aside but once it comes to setting in the instruments of government, law and order, all of the old rivalries could easily emerge.

The story of the Libyan rebellion is far from over

 

[The Prince of Phenomenal]

One of the better stories Ive read about in a long time, the severe amount of bloodshead not withstanding. As much as I felt for the West Memphis Three who were wrongly convicted, and was glad to see them go free, it pales in comparison to this news. For 42 years, Gadhafi has been using genocide tactics, killing what is believed to be over 100, 000 people The fighting between rebels and Gadhafi's troops for control of the capitol in Tripoli has claimed the lives of 1,300 people, and 5,000 more have been injured in just the past twelve hours.

Much of the discussion Ive seen and heard in my office has been about what will happen to Gadhafi when/if he is found. Three of his sons have already been captured, and the rebels have seized 90% control of the capitol. Yesterday, Gadhafi got to the airwaves and said the following to his troops:



To me, it's unthinkable how a leader could possibly urge his troops to kill his own people. As much as all of us complain about the problems in America, and they are many, we're blessed that we live in a nation where it would be unimaginable for Barack Obama to urge the military to " kill the Republicans." Obama issued his own statement not too long ago. NATO Security General Anders Rasmussin has said the following regarding the "war" in Libya.



Not long ago, US President Barack Obama issued a statement. Here's an excerpt from it.



Obama is also urging the few troops left, and Gadhafi himself, to escape further bloodshed, Gadhafi and his family included. The difficult part of this is where Libya goes from here, as they've been under the thumb of a dictator for 42 years. Further, Libya has been the 17 largest oil supplier in the world, representing about 2% of the world's oil supply. This is a significant amount and its yet to be known how much time it will take before Libya is able to be a supplier again. All of this raises several questions for me:

When and if he is found, will/should Moaamir Gadhafi be taken alive, or killed on the spot? Why do you believe the rebels in Libya have been able to seize control now after 42 years under Gadhafi's thumb?

What role should the US government play going forward in terms of helping Libya?

What should be the highest priority for the Libyan people once the fighting has stopped and Gadhafi is completely toppled? Should providing oil be a high priority?

Obviously, Im just touching on the tip of the iceburg with these questions. Feel free to discuss the questions, or anything else about this story that springs to mind for you. Any thoughts and discussion is welcome surrounding this story.

OH MY GOD is what we all say i'm from Libya i'm in Tripoli and i finally can write my thoughts if u let me i will tell u a story and i hope u read it and i'm sorry for any errors as english isn't my 1st language correct me on my mistakes so i can get better and thx.
let me start by saying if anybody wrote what i'm about to write in the last 42 years they would be killed in a heart beat here is a story of murderer a terrorist who killed his own ppl :
i'm 16 years old from Tripoli from tajora to be exact and i hated my Ghaddafi since i was 5 for lots of reasons mainly taking my uncles house after he passed away and my uncle's businesses and when i was about 11 i learned about all the things he did unthinkable and far more worst killed killed his friends and comrades just because of fear that they would turn on him someday and then he turned to us the ppl he hanged college students because they said they didn't want him everyday around the afternoon for 30 days in ramadan "holy month for muslims" he then blew up the plane over lockerby "sorry for the spelling" and when he got blamed what did he do ya that's right he blew up a libyan plane filled with libyan ppl and then ended up paying from the millions he stole from us btw there was no budget for the country for over 20 years just the same money circling with a little contributions here and there and then he killed 1200 of the ppl in prison who were there without trial and more and more if u want u can find them all if u search mainly look for the aids kids it will break ur heart .
then after 42 years tunisians rose up fallowed by egybtions i remember joking with my friend when he asked me " what if libyans one day rise up?" and i replied "he would kill them all and rule a desert" and on february 17 he did exactly that ppl said one word it was "Freedom" and what did they receive in return yup guns and death just because they said we want change sorry i tear up each time i remember this because my friend the one who asked me died at that time one of many and then zawiya rose up and my cousin was there and boy did he have stories a 17 year old on an AA and there was a genocide there over 6 thousand of military and civilians .
back to Tripoli on the 20th ppl protested and made it all the way to the center of the city i was there with some friends and family we were happy we thought he escaped and then boom from nowhere bullets my cousin was shot in the leg i held him up and some bastard shot him again in the head i'm sorry but i'm tearing up right now .
ppl in the east were winning giving us hope and then he sent everything at them and they were defeated we all thought it was over and he commanded his military to wipe out Benghazi as he said i wanna stand and see only the sea he called us rats and said he would burn us all from street to street and zanga to zanga "which means boulevard" and then France USA and UK stepped in and saved the east .
then heroes woke up in musrata "if u don't know what happened there search plz" for 3 months he threw every thing at it and they took it and then destroyed the troops civilians destroyed military that's how strong u get when u fight for freedom and then it was all great news from there on and although ppl were fighting it was worst here in Tripoli if u said a word u die if u don't have a photo of him u die and if u think about freedom u die until August 20 when we started fighting and on the 23rd we were free finally free .
but look at what that man did me 16 holding a gun to defend my family not just me every single libyan from 11 to 70 i was almost killed numerous times by bullets and bombs one fell on the neighbors good thing they weren't there and now after all of that i finally know what freedom means .
THANK YOU all of you for helping usand i hope we can repay u someday.
i'll try to answer as much as i can :

When and if he is found, will/should Moaamir Gadhafi be taken alive, or killed on the spot?

it depends on who finds him allot want him dead but allot want to see him hanged to make sure all libyans see his death "ya that's how much we hate him"

Why do you believe the rebels in Libya have been able to seize control now after 42 years under Gadhafi's thumb?

it was in all ways the right time we had finally had enough and with the success of others we had confidence and for the other reply yes if it wasn't for NATO the east would've been desert

What role should the US government play going forward in terms of helping Libya?

right now when ever they can as long there is no troops for right now we have no problem with america "like the bastard say" or any other country but they should stay away at least for now just to avoid any misunderstanding


What should be the highest priority for the Libyan people once the fighting has stopped and Gadhafi is completely toppled? Should providing oil be a high priority?

yes a oil is a priority but the highest is figuring out the next period "making the government" and capturing the rest of his forces and about the tribes comment yes we have tribes but they lost all poser 42 years ago we don't rely on them any more and Ghaddafi tried to use this to spread fear but i assure u tribes has no power in Libya over name value and thx

if anybody has any questions i'll be happy to answer any time via this thread or via private messages " btw i'm a fan of TNA and a big one just thought i'd say it to get some sympathy for the company " sorry for the long article but plz take your time and read all of it