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Fighting Erupts in Tripoli

mbig

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Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

Could it be!
Could Wacky Qadaffi finally be going, going, gone?

Fighting Erupts in Tripoli
Charles Levinson
AUGUST 20, 2011, 7:27 P.M. ET
Gunfire, Explosions Rattle Tripoli as Rebels Advance - WSJ.com

ZAWIYA, Libya -- Fierce street fights broke out in several neighborhoods of Tripoli on Saturday night, according to Tripoli residents and rebel fighters, as rebels inside the capital took to the streets and clashed with heavily armed government forces.

After six months of war, it appeared that the climactic final battle for control of the capital of two million residents, had at last begun. After over four decades in power, Col. Moammar Gadhafi's rule teetered on the brink of collapse just 12 days shy of the 42nd anniversary of his coming to power on September 1, 1969.

As reports poured in to rebel-held areas of Libya of Tripoli's budding uprising, Libyans poured into the streets to celebrate. In Zawiya, the coastal city 30 miles west of Tripoli which rebels cleared of Mr. Gadhafi's fighters on Friday night, jubilant residents paraded through the streets, honking car horns, screeching tires, and firing celebratory gunfire into the air.

In Benghazi, the rebels' de facto capital in eastern Libya and the city where the uprising against Col. Gadhafi's rule first began on Feb. 17, thousands of people poured into the seaside courthouse square.

Residents tracked Tripoli's developments minute-by-minute by phone calls from friends in the capital, and by news reports on Al Jazeera and the rebel controlled news network Libya Ahrar. Cellular phone networks in Libya were overloaded by the traffic.
[............]

Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli
Fighting has erupted in Tripoli after rebels closed in on the Libyan capital, raising hopes among his opponents that Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is finally on the brink of Collapse.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...nal-battle-as-fighting-erupts-in-Tripoli.html
By Nick Meo, In Zintan, Libya
12:03AM BST 21 Aug 2011
Gunfire, anti-aircraft fire and explosions rang out across the city on Saturday night as rebel commanders hailed the start of an attack on the dictator’s final stronghold.

Residents reported fighting in several neighbourhoods and said rebels were in the streets, although the Libyan government insisted the capital was “safe and stable”.

Jumma Ibrahim, a rebel spokesman, said: “The revolution from inside Tripoli has officially started in many parts...of Tripoli, and is expected to spread to all of Tripoli.”

Colonel Fadlallah Haroun, a rebel military commander in Benghazi, claimed the fighting marked the beginning of an assault on the capital coordinated with NATO forces.

Col Haroun said that weapons were assembled and sent by tugboats to Tripoli on Friday night.

But perhaps be measured in our exuberance as a headless Libya would be a pretty complicated situation.
[.......]
 
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Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

I saw this earlier and was thrilled. Hopefully Ghadaffi gives up once Tripoli falls. If he does then this war wont draw itself out.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

Looks like he's toast, and good riddance.

Thanks for doing the right thing, President Obama.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

One of those times when it's good to familiarize yourself with AJE - Al Jazeera English

Libyan fighting reaches streets of Tripoli - Africa - Al Jazeera English
Rebels herald "zero hour" as gunfire and explosions shake Libyan capital and Muammar Gaddafi urges supporters to fight.
Last Modified: 21 Aug 2011 00:42

201182135117641734_20.jpg

Battle for Tripoli intensifies as fighting rages in the Tajourah district, an area said to be under rebel control [REUTERS]


Sustained automatic gunfire and a series of explosions have rung out in Tripoli, according to reports from the Libyan capital.

Blasts and gunfire rocked the city after sunset on Saturday, and witnesses reported fighting in the eastern neighbourhoods of Souq al-Jomaa, Arada and Tajoura.

A government spokesman had earlier said an attack on Tripoli by rebels seeking to depose Muammar Gaddafi had been "dealt with".
"Sure, there were some armed militants who escaped into some neighbourhoods and there were some scuffles, but we dealt with it within a half hour and it is now calm," Moussa Ibrahim said.
"The situation is under control," Ibrahim said on television, adding that pro-regime volunteers had repelled insurgents’ attacks in several neighbourhoods.
Ibrahim dismissed mounting speculation that the regime was on the brink as a "media attack," but more gunfire was heard after he spoke on television.

Gaddafi message

In a live audio broadcast aired on state television early on Sunday morning, Gaddafi congratulated his supporters for repelling an attack by rebel "rats".

Gaddafi accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to steal the country's oil and said that the rebels were "bent on the destruction of the Libyan people".

Gun battles and the explosion of apparent mortar rounds could be heard clearly at the hotel where foreign correspondents stay in the capital. Their movements are tightly restricted by the regime.
[........]
 
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Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

And so begins the real test, the aftermath of a revolution.
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

they have suffered under a dictatorship for a long time. best wishes to the Libyan people as they rebuild their country. i hope that they make good choices.
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

I hope it's really the end this time. What happened to Gaddafi's forces?
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

His daughter lost her standing with the UN, because she supported her daddy. She always seemed really smart, so I wonder what this will mean for her future.
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

Gaddafi has resorted to asking tribes to defend Tripoli..
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

Aww, some people on the news are saying this is the happiest day of their lives. They are saying the rebels represent them and aren't paid, but they are defending Libya.
 
Re: Libyan Rebels Advance Into Central Tripoli

Always nice to see a little good news for a change.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

Benghazi Erupts With Joy as Rebels Advance in Tripoli - Dispatch - WSJ
By Muneef Halawa

Amid the rebel advances against Col. Gadhafi’s stronghold in Tripoli, the rebel-held heartland of Benghzai erupted with joy overnight at what appeared to be a quick victory by the opposition forces in the capital.

Hundreds of cars crammed the streets of Benghazi, with drivers honking their horns and passengers waving the rebel flag. “Your day has come, Gadhafi, your day has come,” they chanted as cars flooded the streets.

Crowds congregated around the city’s famous seafront courthouse, chanting “Allah is Great” and “We are one voice united.” They urged Libyan soldiers to drop their weapons and join the rebels in the capital Tripoli to present bloodshed.

“This is our revolution,” said Zainab Al Houni, a 27-year-old old expatriate who returned to Libya from Paris to witness the end of the Gadhafi regime.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

Benghazi Erupts With Joy as Rebels Advance in Tripoli - Dispatch - WSJ
By Muneef Halawa

Amid the rebel advances against Col. Gadhafi’s stronghold in Tripoli, the rebel-held heartland of Benghzai erupted with joy overnight at what appeared to be a quick victory by the opposition forces in the capital.

Hundreds of cars crammed the streets of Benghazi, with drivers honking their horns and passengers waving the rebel flag. “Your day has come, Gadhafi, your day has come,” they chanted as cars flooded the streets.

Crowds congregated around the city’s famous seafront courthouse, chanting “Allah is Great” and “We are one voice united.” They urged Libyan soldiers to drop their weapons and join the rebels in the capital Tripoli to present bloodshed.

“This is our revolution,” said Zainab Al Houni, a 27-year-old old expatriate who returned to Libya from Paris to witness the end of the Gadhafi regime.

Wow, I am just wondering how much longer their victory will be.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

I am not seeing any footage from inside Tripoli on tv...
 
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The most censorship by the Lamestream media on any particular subject in some time. All the liberal talk hosts hope to ignore the subject and then hope for a quick Obama victory. Then, they will all in unison boast a victory for the Party and defend this horrendous illegal invasion, saying "See - the Preznit made the right decision.":roll:
 
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The most censorship by the Lamestream media on any particular subject in some time. All the liberal talk hosts hope to ignore the subject and then hope for a quick Obama victory. Then, they will all in unison boast a victory for the Party and defend this horrendous illegal invasion, saying "See - the Preznit made the right decision.":roll:

It's like the GOP wasn't jumping his ass for not getting involved in the first place.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

While I'm glad that Gaddafi will finally be gone and I'm hopeful that this means that we can extricate ourselves from this messy situation as soon as possible, I'm deeply pessimistic that the new Libyan government will form anything resembling a functional democracy anytime soon. Either they'll become dictators allied with the United States (in which case it won't be long before they're regarded in the same low esteem as Hosni Mubarak), or they'll become America's newest enemy which we'll regret assisting just like we do with Saddam Hussein or the Taliban.

I don't see any conceivable way that a democracy is formed and sustained. The combination of oil money, a lack of civil institutions, and a history of totalitarianism doesn't bode well for aspiring democrats.
 
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Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

While I'm glad that Gaddafi will finally be gone and I'm hopeful that this means that we can extricate ourselves from this messy situation as soon as possible, I'm deeply pessimistic that the new Libyan government will form anything resembling a functional democracy anytime soon. Either they'll become dictators allied with the United States (in which case it won't be long before they're regarded in the same low esteem as Hosni Mubarak), or they'll become America's newest enemy which we'll regret assisting just like we do with Saddam Hussein or the Taliban.

I don't see any conceivable way that a democracy is formed and sustained. The combination of oil money, a lack of civil institutions, and a history of totalitarianism doesn't bode well for aspiring democrats.
The future govt remains an iffy situation

This is a very tribal/fractious country. The Rebel leaders/Govt-in-waiting seem decent but it remains to be seen whether they can keep it together.
we may get a 'Federation of Libyan States' situation at some point.
 
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Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

They are showing photos on CNN and it looks like some rebel fighters are women, which is pretty cool.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

It's been reported that two of Khadafi's sons have been captured, and plans are being made to ship one of them to the Hague, which had indicted him for war crimes. When I saw one of Khadafi's cabinet officials on international tv imploring NATO to force the rebels into negotiations and implement a cease fire, I figured things must look pretty bleak for the old boy.

I said when this started that the only way Khadafi would leave power was if the rebels stormed his compound and dragged him out in pieces. That might actually happen. So the Libyans, after they celebrate, will find out if the devil they don't know is better than the devil they knew. The Egyptians thought they had the answer. Turns out things are not exactly going the way they'd hoped.

Fingers crossed, and I hope the Libyan people do experience a true democracy in the near future.
 
Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

The Fall of Tripoli
With NATO's help, the rebels close in on the Gadhafis.
Review & Outlook: The Fall of Tripoli - WSJ.com
Rebel forces in Libya surged into Tripoli Sunday, in what looks like the final days in power for Moammar Gadhafi and his sons. How the end plays out will go a long way to determining how peaceful the transition in that country of seven million will be.

The U.S. and NATO interest lies in executing as rapid a denouement as possible consistent with a minimum of bloodshed. The best outcome would be a quick Gadhafi exit, if not directly to some jail cell then to an Arab redoubt where he can sit in the prison of exile. The worst result would be an urban bloodbath, which would exacerbate tribal furies and make post-Gadhafi reconciliation that much harder.

As we went to press Gadhafi wasn't cooperating, saying he would fight in Tripoli "until the end" and calling on allies around the country to save him. But journalists entering Tripoli with the rebels said they were greeted more by exultant residents waving rebel flags than by armed resistance.

Wire reports out of the rebel capital of Benghazi said the rebels had Captured two of Gadhafi's sons,
including Seif al-Islam, his heir apparent and for years the regime's face to the West.

The rebels lack any dominant single leader, which could mean a fractious scramble for power. So it's at least a hopeful sign that Husam Najjair, one of their leaders, has said that "the first thing my brigade will do is set up checkpoints to disarm everyone, including other rebel groups, because otherwise it will be a bloodbath."
Another leader, Mustapha El Jalil, told Al Arabiya television that Gadhafi and his sons would get safe passage out of Libya if they left immediately.
[..........]
Seems conflicting whether his sons were captured or will be offered asylum/exile.
 
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Re: Libya: Gaddafi faces final battle as fighting erupts in Tripoli

Al-Jazeera is showing pictures of rebel forces in Tripoli's central square. It's almost over.
 
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