NTC CHAIRMAN JALIL FINALLY ARRIVES IN TRIPOLI TO A RED CARPET AND DISORDERLY ENTHUSIASM:
FF’S PULL BACK IN BANI WALID AND SIRTE TO ALLOW NATO STRIKES AND OVER CONCERNS FOR CIVILIANS:
AREA AROUND SABHA BECOMING FOCUS FOR THE HUNT FOR GADDAFI:
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL CHARITY COMES TO THE RESCUE AT TRIPOLI ZOO:
TIMELINE – 11th September 2011 10.29 GMT:
Surrounded by disorderly enthusiasm, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the Chairman of the NTC, finally arrived at Mitiga air force base west of Tripoli yesterday.
The red carpet was rolled out, a band played and Jalil was mobbed by fighters and officials as he struggled to make his way to the airport building.
NTC Chairman Jalil Arrives in Tripoli
As Jalil was quickly ushered inside, the enthusiastic crowd knocked over a metal detector gate and a large potted plant and one man unwisely waved a pistol in the air.
However, once things settled down, Jalil addressed a gathering of tribal leaders who had agreed to pledge their loyalty to the NTC. Jalil told them that this was now a time for unity and forgiveness in order to rebuild the country.
“This is not the time for retribution,” Jalil said. “This is not the time for taking matters into your own hands. Many rights have been lost and many tragedies have occurred. We have to realize that Moammar Gadhafi is not done yet and we must direct all our means to liberate the rest of the cities.”
Echoing his comments, Abdullah Gzema, an NTC member from Zawiyah said, “We know we have nothing ahead of us but challenges. The challenge now is to organize the state and that will be harder than the military campaign.”
Ahmed Darrad, the NTC’s Interior Minister, was sanguine over the disorderly welcome. Smiling, he said, “We expected that he would get a popular reception, but we didn’t expect it to be quite to this extent”.
On its way from Benghazi, Jalil’s plane stopped off at Misrata where some of the citizens have been expressing concern over the city’s apparent lack of representation within the new government. Andrew Simmonds for Al Jazeera reports on Misrata’s dissent HERE:
This is perhaps Jalil’s most difficult task, bringing, and keeping, all the many sides and diversive loyalties within Libya together and on side for the common cause. Al Jazeera has a video report of Jalil’s arrival HERE:
FF’S PULL BACK IN BANI WALID AND SIRTE TO ALLOW NATO STRIKES AND OVER CONCERNS FOR CIVILIANS:
In Bani Walid, after heavy fighting late Friday and early Saturday, with Opposition forces penetrating to just 500 metres from the town centre, the fighters withdrew on orders from NTC command to allow NATO to strike Gaddafi troop positions and heavy weapon emplacements.
The Frontline Near Bani Walid – AFP
Resistance is heavier than expected and it is thought that the Gaddafi loyalist side may now number as many as 1,000 after receiving reinforcements from Sirte.
Gaddafi’s supporters were also encouraged to fight by repeated broadcasts from Bani Walid radio station of one of Colonel Gaddafi’s earlier messages. “Shame on you if you don’t fight. If you don’t fight, you will go to hell” and “This is the zero hour,” he said.
Many Opposition fighters are held back emotionally by the restraint of having relatives within the town who are now in danger of being severely hurt or killed in the fighting. A video report from Al Jazeera HERE:
Similar concerns exist at Sirte, where fighters accuse the Gaddafi population of using local people, including women, children and the elderly, as “human shields”.
Steady progress in being made and villages and small towns are being taken on the road to the main target, Sirte itself and Gaddafi’s birthplace. Another video, also from Al Jazeera who seem to have the best coverage today, HERE:
AREA AROUND SABHA BECOMING FOCUS FOR THE HUNT FOR GADDAFI:
The NTC have also now sent significant forces south across the desert towards Sabha, increasingly the focus for the hunt for Gaddafi and members of his family.
General Ahmed Hisnawi, for the Opposition, believes that Gaddafi is somewhere in the area protected by “three or four thousand people”. “We will catch him,” he said.
Sabha is the main base of Gaddafi’s own tribe, the Gaddafa, and is believed to be the most heavily armed city in Libya. Formerly a key site in Libya’s nuclear weapons programme, it is riddled with heavily protected bunkers.
Residents phoning out from the city say that it is very tense and armed gangs of mercenaries roam the streets at night. Food is in short supply and prices have rocketed. A kilo of onions now costs the equivalent of $15 and cooking gas $225 per canister.
The city is also situated near several of Libya’s oilfields and all of these remain under Gaddafi’s control. The Telegraph has more detail HERE:
For a very good idea of what Libyans have sacrificed so far to gain their freedom take a look at 2 videos from France 24′s English Channel.
Memorial Wall to FF’s Killed, Liberation Square, Benghazi – Reuters
A long way from a Hollywood film, 25% of those filmed in these documentaries actually did not survive.
The story of the “Lions of the Tripoli Brigade” Part 1and Part 2 as they prepare for and undertake the assault on Tripoli.
On the international front, the G8 group of industrialised countries, including Russia, have agreed to pledge $40 billion of financial aid to help rebuild Arab countries affected by the Arab Spring revolutions, in particular Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also recognised the NTC, which will allow Libya to obtain loans in the future should it require them.
The BBC has an interesting video on the role of Qatar, a tiny but extremely rich Arab state of 250,000 people, which has openly supported the NTC with money, weapons and military advisors HERE:
By contrast, the Prime Minister of another tiny country, Carlos Gomes Junior, in West African state of Guinea-Bissau, has said that it would welcome Colonel Gaddafi “with open arms”. Gaddafi, who visited in 2009, has invested heavily in Guinea-Bissau in the past with interests in hotels and agriculture.
While Guinea-Bissau is a signatory to the International Court treaty, it has never ratified it. The NTC flag, which flew above the Libyan embassy in the capital Bissau last week, was removed on Friday.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL CHARITY COMES TO THE RESCUE AT TRIPOLI ZOO:
Lastly, those who followed the earlier reports about the animals at Tripoli zoo in desperate need of food and water, will be relieved to know that the international animal rescue organisation Four Paws has sent a team from South Africa to help.
All the animals are being assessed for their needs, keepers retrained, food supply lines established and vacination drugs, which were rendered useless by the break down in refridgeration, replaced. Further information from Four Paws:
Resistance is heavier than expected and it is thought that the Gaddafi loyalist side may now number as many as 1,000 after receiving reinforcements from Sirte.
Gaddafi’s supporters were also encouraged to fight by repeated broadcasts from Bani Walid radio station of one of Colonel Gaddafi’s earlier messages. “Shame on you if you don’t fight. If you don’t fight, you will go to hell” and “This is the zero hour,” he said.
Many Opposition fighters are held back emotionally by the restraint of having relatives within the town who are now in danger of being severely hurt or killed in the fighting. A video report from Al Jazeera HERE:
Similar concerns exist at Sirte, where fighters accuse the Gaddafi population of using local people, including women, children and the elderly, as “human shields”.
Steady progress in being made and villages and small towns are being taken on the road to the main target, Sirte itself and Gaddafi’s birthplace. Another video, also from Al Jazeera who seem to have the best coverage today, HERE:
AREA AROUND SABHA BECOMING FOCUS FOR THE HUNT FOR GADDAFI:
The NTC have also now sent significant forces south across the desert towards Sabha, increasingly the focus for the hunt for Gaddafi and members of his family.
General Ahmed Hisnawi, for the Opposition, believes that Gaddafi is somewhere in the area protected by “three or four thousand people”. “We will catch him,” he said.
Sabha is the main base of Gaddafi’s own tribe, the Gaddafa, and is believed to be the most heavily armed city in Libya. Formerly a key site in Libya’s nuclear weapons programme, it is riddled with heavily protected bunkers.
Residents phoning out from the city say that it is very tense and armed gangs of mercenaries roam the streets at night. Food is in short supply and prices have rocketed. A kilo of onions now costs the equivalent of $15 and cooking gas $225 per canister.
The city is also situated near several of Libya’s oilfields and all of these remain under Gaddafi’s control. The Telegraph has more detail HERE:
For a very good idea of what Libyans have sacrificed so far to gain their freedom take a look at 2 videos from France 24′s English Channel.
Memorial Wall to FF’s Killed, Liberation Square, Benghazi – ReutersA long way from a Hollywood film, 25% of those filmed in these documentaries actually did not survive.
The story of the “Lions of the Tripoli Brigade” Part 1and Part 2 as they prepare for and undertake the assault on Tripoli.
On the international front, the G8 group of industrialised countries, including Russia, have agreed to pledge $40 billion of financial aid to help rebuild Arab countries affected by the Arab Spring revolutions, in particular Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also recognised the NTC, which will allow Libya to obtain loans in the future should it require them.
The BBC has an interesting video on the role of Qatar, a tiny but extremely rich Arab state of 250,000 people, which has openly supported the NTC with money, weapons and military advisors HERE:
By contrast, the Prime Minister of another tiny country, Carlos Gomes Junior, in West African state of Guinea-Bissau, has said that it would welcome Colonel Gaddafi “with open arms”. Gaddafi, who visited in 2009, has invested heavily in Guinea-Bissau in the past with interests in hotels and agriculture.
While Guinea-Bissau is a signatory to the International Court treaty, it has never ratified it. The NTC flag, which flew above the Libyan embassy in the capital Bissau last week, was removed on Friday.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL CHARITY COMES TO THE RESCUE AT TRIPOLI ZOO:
Lastly, those who followed the earlier reports about the animals at Tripoli zoo in desperate need of food and water, will be relieved to know that the international animal rescue organisation Four Paws has sent a team from South Africa to help.
All the animals are being assessed for their needs, keepers retrained, food supply lines established and vacination drugs, which were rendered useless by the break down in refridgeration, replaced. Further information from Four Paws:
Four Paws Charity Comes to the Rescue at Tripoli Zoo
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