Oorlog in Libië #95. Wie A zegt, moet ook B zeggen! Buigen of barsten!

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BBC Global News
Ex-Libyan foreign minister appointed as UN Ambassador Ali Abdussalm Treki refuses to take up position after condemning 'spilling of blood'

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Sultan Al Qassemi
Al Jazeera: US Defense Secretary: deposing Gaddafi is not part of the military operations. US expects Libyan people to depose him with time.

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Gaddafi forces sow landmines in east Libya
Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:28am GMT

By Angus MacSwan

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces have sown land mines in areas around the city of Ajdabiyah, adding a dangerous new element to the war on the eastern front, human rights and mine experts said on Thursday.

The mines include Brazilian-made anti-personnel mines and Egyptian-made anti-tank mines.

Two minefields were discovered by monitors in the days following last Saturday's retreat from Ajdabiyah by Gaddafi's troops and appear to be have been laid during their 10-day occupation of the crossroads town 150 km (90 miles) south of the rebel capital Benghazi.

His forces have since reversed the retreat with a counter-attack and were at the gates of Ajdabiyah once again on Thursday.

The first field was sown around electricity pylons a few yards off the Ajdabiyah-Benghazi road in an area of sand near the town's Eastern Gate, Peter Bouckaert, a Human Rights Watch monitor in Benghazi, told Reuters.

An electrical repair truck hit a mine there on Monday and then another as men tried to pull it out, he said. There were no casualties.

Mine clearers marked out 24 anti-tank mines and 30 to 40 anti-personnel mines, he said, adding that many vehicles and people on foot pass by the area.

A second field with a similar number of mines was found near a clutch of buildings about a kilometre away.

The use of landmines brings a dangerous new dimension to the conflict that has been fought over 100s of kilometres up and down Libya's main coastal highway linking the east and the west.

The rebel army, made up largely of untrained volunteers and a cavalcade of supporters, is highly undisciplined and is scattered over a wide area behind the vanguard.

Bouckaert said his team had also found stocks of mines abandoned by Gaddafi's forces.

"We found 12 warehouses of anti-vehicle mines in Benghazi, tens of thousands of them," he said.

They also came across 35 warehouses full of munitions in Ajdabiyah. They held no stocks of landmines but had vast quantities of artillery shells, mortar bombs and anti-tank missiles.

Libya has not signed the 1997 Mines Ban Treaty, which in any case does not prohibit the use of anti-vehicle mines.

"The only mines that are banned are the anti-personnel mines so they can put as many anti-tank mines as they like. It's part of the game," said an international mines expert, who asked not to be identified to protect the confidentiality of his mission.

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BBC Global News
Coalition strikes have seriously degraded #Gaddafi's forces but he's not 'close to a military breaking point', most senior US general says

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Reuters Top News
FLASH: US Defense chief tells congress can't speak to CIA activities but assures no U.S. military boots on ground in Libya

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Nic Robertson
After day of silence on Musa Kusa, government spksman says will have press conference in 20 mins

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libihorr Libi Horr
retweeted by ChangeInLibya
@NicRobertsonCNN What gains?Braiga already back in the hands of pro-democracy forces. Soon they will retake Ras Lanof & Ben Jawad then Sirte

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NATO takes over air operations as CIA works the ground in Libya

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- NATO took sole command of air operations in Libya on Thursday as CIA operatives worked the field to connect with rebel fighters who have seen their surge toward Tripoli impeded.

A U.S. intelligence source said the CIA is operating in the country to help increase U.S. "military and political understanding" of the situation. "Yes, we are gathering intel firsthand and we are in contact with some opposition entities," the source told CNN.

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, indicated Thursday that in his view, the presence of foreign intelligence personnel would not violate the U.N. resolution authorizing action in Libya. The resolution prohibits "occupation forces," a term that "has a quite clear meaning," Di Paola said at a news conference in response to a question from CNN.

He also said NATO receives and uses intelligence from allies and does not judge the sources.

The CIA has had a presence in Libya for some time, a U.S. official told CNN earlier this month. "The intelligence community is aggressively pursuing information on the ground," the official said.

The CIA sent additional personnel to Libya to augment officers on the ground after the anti-government protests erupted, a U.S. official told CNN. The official did not give details.

CIA officers assisted with the rescue of one of two U.S. airmen whose fighter jet crashed in Libya on March 21, a knowledgeable U.S. source said.

The NATO mission -- called Operation Unified Protector -- includes an arms embargo, a no-fly zone and "actions to protect civilians and civilian centers," the alliance said Thursday.

It follows U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 allowing member states to take all necessary measures -- "while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form" -- to protect civilians under the threat of attack in Libya.

Over the weekend, CNN reported that rebels had taken al-Brega, Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad and reached a town just east of Sirte. But in the last three days, opposition fighters have been pushed back eastward.

Rebel forces -- hampered by a lack of organization, training and military know-how when compared to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's troops -- have been demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year rule in Libya.

But they have been facing sustained attacks and have called for the international community to supply them with better and more powerful equipment.

Saddoun El-Misurati, a spokesman for the Libyan opposition in Misrata, described intense fighting and casualties in the city.

"We managed to get two shipments so far of badly needed medical supplies to the hospitals. But obviously we still need more supplies in dealing with the day-to-day casualties and the situation on the ground," he said.

"Our greatest hope will rely mainly on the support of the international coalition forces in the form of change of tactics from the air to (not only) target tanks and heavy artillery of Gadhafi's forces but also take out groups of snipers positioned on buildings and in the city."

Rebel forces have lost Bin Jawad and the key oil town of Ras Lanuf and are backed up to the al-Brega area, opposition member Col. Ahmed Bani said Wednesday.

Ajdabiya, which is east of al-Brega, will be prepared as a "defense point" if the withdrawal continues farther east, he said.

Weather conditions prevented a NATO-led coalition from launching more airstrikes in an attempt to weaken Gadhafi's ability to attack civilians, a U.S. representative said Wednesday.

U.S. and British officials say no decision has been made about whether to arm the opposition.

"We're not ruling it out or ruling it in," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement Wednesday. "We're assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people, and have consulted directly with the opposition and our international partners about these matters."

Robert Baer, a former CIA operative, said the CIA's effectiveness might be limited.

"I would rather see the Defense Department on the ground, if you have to be there, training," Baer said. "The CIA hates covert action. It rarely works. It worked in Afghanistan, but other times it's almost impossible to do."

Paul Wolfowitz, a former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, said he thinks "we should be doing everything we possibly can to support the opposition," and a prolonged stalemate would be bad for both Libyans who continue to suffer and for the United States.

"It's true we don't know what the opposition would be like when they do take over, but there are actually some promising signs," Wolfowitz said. "But the important thing is we should be in there, we should be working with them."

Amid the setbacks faced by rebels Wednesday, a significant crack in Gadhafi's armor surfaced when Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa fled to London and told the government there that he has resigned, the UK Foreign Office said.

Koussa -- a former head of Libyan intelligence -- was a stalwart defender of the government as recently as a month ago. But in recent weeks, his demeanor visibly changed. At one recent media briefing, he kept his head down as he read a statement and left early.

The UK Foreign Office called on other members of the regime to follow Koussa's example and "embrace a better future for Libya."

As the battles in Libya continue unfolding, the end game in the North African nation -- and whether a negotiated exit for Gadhafi would be possible or desirable -- remains uncertain.

The InternationalCriminal Court, at the request of the United Nations Security Council, is investigating alleged "crimes against humanity" by Gadhafi.

Last week, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was certain his investigation would lead to charges against Gadhafi and members of his inner circle. That could complicate any efforts to reach a negotiated exit for the Libyan leader.

Baer said a more drastic approach could be the most effective course.

"I hate to say it, but right now our best chance of ending this conflict is eliminating Gadhafi," he said. "I'm not advocating -- I'm just saying this is the quickest solution. He is the problem. We're doing these stop-gap measures like bombing. It's stopping a massacre, but on the other hand ... we're getting pulled into a quagmire."

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Op donderdag 31 maart 2011 16:56 schreef Hans_van_Baalen het volgende:
Onze F16's mogen zich niet verdedigen Wat doen ze daar

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Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

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Onze F16's mogen zich niet verdedigen Wat doen ze daar

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Op donderdag 31 maart 2011 19:46 schreef Chooselife het volgende:
Kijk eens aan. Wat een snelle en handige jongens die rebellen. Ze hebben in rap tempo zowel een nieuwe centrale Libische bank opgericht, als een nieuwe centrale Libische oliemaatschappij.

http://theeconomiccollaps(...)entral-bank-of-libya

http://www.bloomberg.com/(...)place-qaddafi-s.html

Zouden ze er ongeluk hulp hebben gekregen?

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Op donderdag 31 maart 2011 19:54 schreef Apache4U het volgende:

[..]

Ziet dit eruit als iemand die hulp nodig heeft? Dacht het niet.. zo te zien heeft ie ook de avondvierdaagse gelopen, dus een bank en oliemaatschappij moeten geen probleem zijn .

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