The day the Katiba fell - Libya Gaddafi's forces lost control of the Katiba after three days of fierce clashes [Evan Hill/Al Jazeera] Benghazi, Libya - If Benghazi, Libya's second city, has become the symbolic heart of the revolution in this north African nation, then the battle to overwhelm the military garrison here was the revolt's key turning point. Over the course of three days, civilians opposed to the 42-year rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi managed to outlast and overpower a fortified base guarded by detachments of several Libyan military units, one of them the feared and reportedly highly trained Khamis Brigade - a special forces unit led by Gaddafi's youngest son. In the end, both anti-government protesters and Gaddafi loyalists lost hundreds and many more were wounded, and Gaddafi's forces fled the city. Benghazi fell completely into opposition hands and became the seat of the national coalition bent on ending the Gaddafi regime. A sudden spark
Libya rebels seize key city - World Moammar Gadhafi remained defiant Sunday, blaming outside forces for the uprising in Libya and promising to crush the opposition, Reuters is reporting. Gadhafi told Serbian television in a phone interview that sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council won't work. The CBC's Raymond Saint-Pierre was among a few western journalists invited by the Libyan government for an interview with one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons and a one-day tour of the Tripoli capital over the weekend.
National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya (Arabic: المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي al-majlis al-waṭanī al-intiqālī ), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council,[3] was the de facto government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan civil war, in which rebel forces overthrew the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The NTC governed Libya for a period of ten months after the end of the war, holding elections to a General National Congress on 7 July 2012, and handing power to the newly elected assembly on 8 August.[4] The formation of the NTC was announced in the city of Benghazi on 27 February 2011 with the purpose to act as the "political face of the revolution". The council gained international recognition as the legitimate governing authority in Libya[8] and occupied the country's seat at the United Nations.[9] In referring to the Libyan state, the council used simply "Libya".
European Parliament Audiovisual Parliament debates on Wednesday the situation in Libya and the wider region of the southern Mediterranean with High Representative/Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton, ahead of a vote on a resolution on Thursday on the situation in Libya and another on the UN Human Rights Council from which Libya has been suspended, and in view Friday's EU summit on the issue. The most urgent questions concern the way in which the EU should respond to the crisis, possibly imposing sanctions and sending the troops. As the uprising edges towards civil war, the UN says over a million people need humanitarian aid. For further information go to: EP President Buzek on events in Libya Union for the Mediterranean Assembly calls for a "Marshall plan" for transition countries
Obama to Appoint Special Representative to Libyan Rebels Mr. Obama said the representative, who White House officials said would probably be chosen by Secretary of State in the next few days, would determine how the United States could help the Libyan opposition. The move is significant because although the United States has not formally recognized the rebels as legitimate representatives of the Libyan people, the appointment of a special representative is bound to be interpreted as a move toward de facto recognition. France was the first country to recognize the Libyan National Council, the rebels’ shadow government, as the representative of the Libyan people on Thursday, after a meeting between President and two representatives of the movement, which has its headquarters in Benghazi, Libya. At the news conference on Friday where Mr.
US, France, Britain set up bases in Libya US, France, Britain set up bases in Libya US troops (file photo) Britain, France and the United States have dispatched hundreds of military advisors to Libya to set up military bases in the country's oil-rich east, reports say. Several Libyan diplomats have been quoted by news outlets as saying these forces are setting up bases in the eastern cities of Benghazi and Tobruk -- the two oil-rich cities that have been liberated by the opposition forces. British and US special forces entered Libyan port cities of Benghazi and Toburk on February 23 and 24. Three Indian navy warships are also expected to be deployed in the region.
In Swift, Decisive Action, Security Council Imposes Tough Measures on Libyan Regime, Adopting Resolution 1970 in Wake of Crackdown on Protesters Security Council 6491st Meeting* (PM) Situation Referred to International Criminal Court; Secretary-General Expresses Hope Message ‘Heard and Heeded’ in Libya Deploring what it called “the gross and systematic violation of human rights” in strife-torn Libya, the Security Council this evening demanded an end to the violence and decided to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court while imposing an arms embargo on the country and a travel ban and assets freeze on the family of Muammar Al-Qadhafi and certain Government officials. Unanimously adopting resolution 1970 (2011) under Article 41 of the Charter’s Chapter VII, the Council authorized all Member States to seize and dispose of military-related materiel banned by the text.
The Libyan Republic - The Interim Transitional National Council In this important historical juncture which Libya is passing through right now, we find ourselves at a turning point with only two solutions. Either we achieve freedom and race to catch up with humanity and world developments, or we are shackled and enslaved under the feet of the tyrant Mu’ammar Gaddafi where we shall live in the midst of history. From this junction came the announcement of the Transitional National Council, a step on the road to liberate every part of the Libyan lands from Aamsaad in the east to Raas Ajdair in the west, and from Sirte in the north to Gatrun in the south. To liberate Libya from the hands of the tyrant Mu’ammar Gaddafi who made lawful to himself the exploitation of his people and the wealth of this country. The number of martyrs and wounded and the extreme use of excessive force and mercenaries against his own people requires us to take the initiative and work on the Liberalization of Libya from such insanities.
Libya's helicopter forces are greatest threat, U.S. Marine chief says At a committee hearing Tuesday, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos said he thought Libya's helicopters were its greatest threat. Gen. Obama vows US pressure on Gaddafi 11 March 2011 Last updated at 17:01 ET President Barack Obama suggested all options were on the table US President Barack Obama has said the world is “tightening the noose” on Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, as rebels seek to drive him from power. He said the world had an obligation to prevent any massacre of civilians in Libya similar to those that took place in Rwanda and Bosnia during the 1990s. The US would take a range of actions to ensure Col Gaddafi left power, he said, and all options were on the table. Meanwhile, US sanctions were extended to Gaddafi family members and aides.
10 more Maltese fly home from Libya, another arrives on frigate Passengers disembark from HMS Cumberland. 10 more Maltese oil workers arrived back in Malta this evening from Libya. They were flown in on a private Medavia flight, the third organised in coordination with the Maltese government. Another worker arrived this afternoon on HMS Cumberland and 23 are on their way back on a catamaran. In Tunisia, an army of volunteers rushes to aid Libyans RAS JDIR, TUNISIA - On Friday, Khadiga Mhiri, a 32-year-old pharmacist, was watching scenes of desperate people fleeing over the border from Libya on the television screen of her home in the Tunisian capital, Tunis. Hours later, she hopped on a bus to make the eight-hour trek south, joining what has become an extraordinary outpouring of solidarity in this country, where the uprisings sweeping the Arab world began. The mounting crisis in Libya has so deeply touched this nation - which threw off the yoke of its authoritarian ruler, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, on Jan. 14 - that Tunisians from all walks of life, of all social classes, are banding together to aid Libyans and others fleeing that neighboring country. "You must understand what this means for us, we who have just won our own freedom," Mhiri said. "I am here to transmit that freedom to my brothers across the border, to help in any way I can."
BBC staff 'arrested and tortured in Libya by Gaddafi forces' Two journalists working for the BBC in Libya describe their ordeal after being arrested by Gaddafi's security forces Link to video: BBC journalists 'arrested and tortured by Gaddafi forces in Libya' Journalists working for the BBC in Libya have been arrested, tortured and subjected to a mock execution by security forces of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The shocking account of their experiences, including being held in a cage in a militia barracks while others were tortured around them, was made available to media colleagues in Tripoli after the men had been released and left the country. At one point during their captivity the men say they had shots fired past their heads as they were led into a barracks.
Libya: Gaddafi forces detain and beat BBC team 10 March 2011Last updated at 14:04 Goktay Koraltan and Feras Killani said other detainees had been badly beaten Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya. Members of the three-man team were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by Libyan troops and secret police. The three were detained on Monday and held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya. The UN Human Rights Commissioner says their treatment may amount to torture.