Misurata is today a city besieged. Gaddafi's forces have been shelling it from outside and roaming through its streets with tanks and APCs, firing into houses and crowds of unarmed civilians. This video was tweeted by ShababLibya, and shows the kind of criminal attacks being perpetrated on the inhabitants of that city as I write.
I went over the critical segment frame by frame. Here are thirteen chilling frames, amounting to less than a second of the video:
The effects of this constant bombardment could be seen in the hospitals and clinics which were completely overwhelmed with the victims.
Without decisive foreign intervention, former Army Captain Patrick Bury writes in Left Foot Forward, Libyan rebels will be annihilated, or a protracted asymmetrical civil war will develop, likely to last years.
In this revealing personal essay, a former classmate of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi reminisces about downing drinks and ogling damsels with the "good" Saif. What it shows, in almost too much detail, is the development of what might be termed the "Tony Blair Syndrome": an ethical disorder characterized by moral laziness that enables one to share in the fruits of oppression without feeling the least bit responsible for it.
Zawiya today is a crime scene, a crime scene in the possession of the criminals, who are busily cleaning the place of evidence, eliminating the witnesses and terrorizing the victims into silence. It was once a symbol of Libyan resistance in the West, critical in countering the Gaddafi narrative that the rebellion was regional in nature. It became instead the first crime in the Gaddafi clan's bid to retake the country. And as with all serial killers, the Gaddafis were emboldened by the relative ease with which it was accomplished and the indifference it met among the community of nations. It has become the model for the current campaign against Misurata and the cities of the East, including Benghazi.
Zawiya (also Az Zawiya) is a city about 50 km west of Tripoli along the coast of the Mediterranean, and before the uprising it was home to over 300,000 people. It is the fourth largest city in Libya, after Tripoli, Benghazi and Misurata.
There is a long history of protest against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi in Zawiya, but the most recent round dates from the week leading up to the "Day of Rage" on February 17, 2011. These protests were repressed with increasing violence, and protesters responded essentially by running Gaddafi's security forces out of the city. The following videos document this process, which culminated in the taking of the city by demonstrators a week later.
This video is dated February 18th.
This video is dated February 19th.
This video of protesters burning a huge portrait of Gaddafi in Zawiya, was posted on Youtube February 22nd.
Demonstrators fired on by security forces, February 24th.
Princeton Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter attempts a point-by-point refutation of arguments against the imposition of a "no-flight" zone over Libyan airspace in today's NYTimes. The rebels themselves seem to welcome the idea, but they had better not plan on it. The West has turned its attention elsewhere; the Arab League will do nothing on its own. They are reportedly digging berms outside Ajdabiya; they might want to think about tunnels.
At this point, the only real hope the rebels have is that the enemy overplays his hand, and they catch him at it. Such an opportunity is indeed quite likely to present itself; the impetuousness of the Gaddafis is legendary. Like Hannibal did with a succession of Roman generals, the rebels might use this to their advantage. Yet this presupposes a unified command and coordination among units. This does not seem to obtain among the rebels of the East, nor does it seem likely to materialize anytime soon.
Anonymous and its army of hackers has fought battles in the past with celebrities, cults and corporations, but its current campaign against the government of Muammar Gaddafi looks more like a virtual war. Consider this post, tweeted today by Anonops, on of the many Anonymous twitter feeds, detailing the mechanics of jamming a satellite signal, for use against Libyan State TV:
Ali Hassan al-Jaber, a cameraman with Al-Jazeera is the most recent victim of the Gaddafi family's war against the free press. His team was apparently lured into an ambush on their way back to Benghazi and their car sprayed with bullets. His casket was carried through Benghazi in a large demonstration. There is a wonderful tribute to his network's concern for him and all its correspondents here.
This is a video of the procession through Benghazi:
In an Op-Ed piece in the NYTimes today, Libyan author Hisham Matar recounts how his father and uncles "disappeared" for decades in Gadaffi's prisons for their political activity and beliefs. He also makes a plea on behalf of the rebels for medical and military assistance from the international community.
While Gaddafi's forces were dislodging rebels in Ras Lanuf, the people of Derna, a city to the east of Benghazi, came out to protest. The prayer led by the speaker is chilling.
This is a story that deserves more attention. Fresh on the heels of the detention and torture of two BBC journalists who attempted to enter Zawiya, the Guardian (UK) reports that one of its top correspondents, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, has disappeared en route to Zawiya, along with a Brazilian colleague, Andrei Netto from the paper Estado.
This blog is inspired by the courage and determination displayed by the people of Libya in their struggle for freedom and human rights, and is meant to assist in some small way the creation of the new, free Libya born on the 17th of February, 2011. It will attempt a comprehensive view of both current events and history, collating useful information and links about the ongoing struggle in Libya, as well as perspectives on the region's past. Participation is welcome, including feedback on the administration and design of the blog.
