New leaders declare Libya freed

[beowulf]

not good at all.....................need to try harder!

 

[Evil Eye]

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has said he is in a place where Nato bombs cannot reach, in an audio message broadcast on state television.



He also condemned as cowardly an attack on his compound in Tripoli on Thursday.



Libyan officials said the strike killed three people. Nato officials said a command-and-control bunker was hit.



Col Gaddafi's statement came after Italy's foreign minister said he had probably been wounded in an air strike and was believed to have left Tripoli.



Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said he heard the report from the Roman Catholic bishop of Tripoli, Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli.



He told us that Gaddafi is very probably outside Tripoli and is probably also wounded. We don't know where or how, said Mr Frattini.



He also said international pressure was causing the disintegration of the regime from the inside.



The Vatican's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, told the BBC that he could not confirm that Bishop Martinelli had made the comments.



Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report was nonsense. He insisted Col Gaddafi was had not been harmed by any strikes and was leading the country day by day from Tripoli.



The leader is in very good health, high morale and high spirits.

'Crusader cowards'



On Friday evening, state TV unexpectedly broadcast a message from Col Gaddafi which sought to prove that he was alive and well.



He thanked those outside Libya who had expressed deep and strong concern, enthusiasm and love for me by carrying out all these contacts to enquire about my safety after hearing about the Crusader, cowardly and treacherous missile attack on the Bab al-Aziziya compound.



I say to the Crusader cowards that I live in a place that you cannot reach and kill me in it because I live in the hearts of the millions, he added.



Immortality is for the martyrs, and death, infamy and disgrace are for the treacherous agents and their cowardly masters.



It was the first time since the conflict began that Col Gaddafi did not deliver his message in vision - fuelling speculation that he may be injured, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Tripoli.



Mr Ibrahim said that early on Thursday missiles had hit a spot near where Libyans, some with their children, gather at night to show their support for Col Gaddafi. He showed journalists a small park near one of the craters where children were playing on a carousel.



Nato said that in addition to the command-and-control bunker complex at Bab al-Aziziya, other targets on the same day included anti-aircraft missile launchers near Tripoli and several buildings and gun emplacements being used by government forces in their siege of the western city of Misrata.



State TV also reported that a Nato strike on the eastern city of Brega on Friday had hit a boarding house, killing 11 imams and wounding 45 people.



It showed pictures of at least nine charred and disfigured bodies wrapped in blankets.



A government spokesman said the victims were part of a larger group who had travelled to the government-held town from across Libya seeking peace talks in rebel-held Benghazi.



Nato has confirmed it attacked a government command and control facility and said it was still checking details.

'Systematic attacks'



Meanwhile, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that on Monday he would seek arrest warrants for three people considered most responsible for crimes against humanity in Libya. Diplomats said Col Gaddafi was likely to top the list.



Last week, he said forces loyal to Col Gaddafi were murdering and persecuting civilians in widespread and systematic attacks.



Following the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Libya's uprising was sparked by February's arrest of a human rights campaigner in the eastern city of Benghazi that rapidly spread to other cities.



Rebel forces called on Col Gaddafi to relinquish his five-decade rule and open Libya up to a more democratic rule.



Nato said earlier this week that its planes had carried out 6,000 missions over Libya since its military operations began at the end of March.



The air strikes have helped secure rebels in their strongholds in eastern Libya, but observers say it remains unclear to what extent they have loosened Col Gaddafi's grip on the west of the country.

Source and video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13397327

 

[beowulf]

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has said he is in a place where Nato bombs cannot reach, in an audio message broadcast on state television.

 

[The Dragon Master]

Nice one Beowulf XD



I keep reading NATO cannot reach me in a Scottish accent

Might have something to do with watching the G.I. Nebulous movie. And he's an idiot if he thinks that nothing will stop him.

 

[Evil Eye]

Whoever made that can't spell.

 

[beowulf]

i was in a hurry and paint.net doesnt have spellcheck!

 

[Evil Eye]

Hehe. It's pretty much all I can do, being an eye and all, isn't it?

 

[The Dragon Master]

The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor is seeking the arrest of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and two others for crimes against humanity.



Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Col Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi bore the greatest responsibility for widespread and systematic attacks on civilians.



ICC judges must still decide whether or not to issue warrants for their arrest.



The Libyan government has already said it will ignore the announcement.



Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim said the court was a baby of the European Union designed for African politicians and leaders and its practices were questionable.



Libya did not recognise its jurisdiction, like most African countries and the United States, and would ignore any announcement, he added.

Rest of article and quote: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13408931

 

[Jazzy]

British attack helicopters will be deployed in Libya within days in a significant expansion of the military mission against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.



The Daily Telegraph has learned that Apache helicopters will fly into Libya from a Royal Navy warship, in a joint operation with the French.



As many as 18 British and French helicopters will be deployed to support rebels trying to consolidate gains against Gaddafi’s forces.



The helicopter operation – expected to be supported by Special Forces troops – will take the allies closer still to a full ground operation in Libya.



Whitehall officials said that later this week, the Apaches will begin flying missions in from HMS Ocean, a helicopter carrier in the Mediterranean.



Their use was authorised by David Cameron at a meeting of the National Security Council after the Prime Minister asked military chiefs for new ways to increase the pressure on the Libyan regime.



“We are constantly looking for ways to intensify the diplomatic and military pressure on the Libyan regime,” said a spokesman for Mr Cameron.



One of the helicopters’ principal tasks will be to enforce a 16-mile buffer zone around the beseiged city of Misurata.



Some semblance of normality has returned to the city since rebels captured the airport and attacked Libyan army artillery positions more than a week ago.



British military planners said the helicopters would help the rebels entrench their control over Misurata and deal a symbolic blow to Col Gaddafi.



“It is very important that we sustain that buffer zone to demonstrate the sense of normality that is building in Misurata now that it is no longer significantly under threat from Gaddafi,” one source said.



The Apaches, which carry Hellfire missiles and 30mm cannons, will target mortar batteries, light military vehicles and individuals including snipers and commanders. The helicopters have been highly effective in Afghanistan, targeting Taliban leaders and foot-soldiers in Helmand.



Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...1704/British-attack-helicopters-to-Libya.html

 

[Evil Eye]

To be honest, I didn't think it'd take this long...

 

[Jazzy]

WASHINGTON -Republicans and Democrats scolded President Barack Obama on Friday for dispatching U.S. forces against Libya without getting congressional approval as the House moved toward approval of a resolution demanding a rationale for the mission.



Nearly three months after Obama launched air strikes against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, the House held the first significant debate on the conflict as it considered two resolutions — one by anti-war Rep. Dennis Kucinich to end U.S. involvement in the NATO-led operation and another by Speaker John Boehner insisting on information on the scope of the operation and its costs within 14 days.



The GOP leadership hastily pulled together the Boehner resolution amid concerns in both parties that the Kucinich measure was gaining ground. The House is likely to approve the Boehner measure that chastises Obama for failing to provide Congress with a compelling rationale for the Libya operation.



The Senate had no plans to consider the measure, which would allow the U.S. to continue to remain engaged in the mission and would have no impact on the logistical and intelligence support the Americans have been providing.



Boehner said too many questions remained unanswered.



Today's debate on Libya is the first step and clearly there's information that we want from the administration that we asked for in this resolution and it's information that we expect to get, the Ohio Republican told reporters. But there isn't any question in my mind that Congress is going to take further action in the weeks to come.



The White House pushed back against both resolutions, with spokesman Josh Earnest calling them unnecessary and unhelpful.



Rest of article: http://www.aolnews.com/story/house-scolds-obama-on-libya-dozens-of/1831317/

 

[Jazzy]

British Apache attack helicopters have been used to strike targets in Libya for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The Apaches hit targets near the Libyan town of Brega during the latest wave of Nato strikes against forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the MoD said.



This successful engagement demonstrates the unique capabilities brought to bear by attack helicopters, said Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, Commander of Operation Unified Protector.



We will continue to use these assets whenever and wherever needed, using the same precision as we do in all of our missions.



The Apaches attacked and destroyed two military installations - a radar site and an armed checkpoint - near Brega, the BBC reported. It said that French Gazelle helicopters also took part in simultaneous attacks on different targets in Libya for the first time.



Major General Nick Pope, the Chief of the Defence Staff's Strategic Communications Officer, said: The mission was carefully co-ordinated with other allied air missions by Nato's air operations centre, based at Poggio in Italy, under Operation Unified Protector, and in particular was planned alongside an operation by French helicopters from the assault ship Tonnerre.



Rest of article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...-attack-helicopters-launch-first-strikes.html

 

[Jazzy]

TRIPOLI, Libya -Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi defiantly vowed to fight to the death in an audio recording broadcast Tuesday after NATO military craft unleashed a ferocious series of nearly 30 daytime airstrikes on Tripoli.



In a phone call to Libyan state television station, Gadhafi angrily denounced the rebels and said he would not surrender.



We will not kneel! he shouted in the phone call that appeared to also take state television by surprise. The sound was hastily adjusted to make it louder.



We will not surrender: we only have one choice — to the end! Death, victory, it does not matter, we are not surrendering! he shouted.



We are stronger than your weapons, than your planes. The voices of the Libyan people are stronger than the sounds of explosions, he said, angrily calling the rebels who have risen up against him bastards.



Minutes after he spoke, another explosion shook the capital as NATO apparently launched another strike. Pro-Gadhafi loyalists also fired a round of celebratory gunfire after his speech, which lasted at least six minutes.



The date of the recording could not be confirmed, but his words suggested it was likely made Tuesday in the capital.



As he spoke, the sound of low-flying military craft could be heard whooshing through Tripoli again and Gadhafi quickly hung up.



Gadhafi has mostly been in hiding since NATO strikes in April targeted one of his homes. Libyan officials said one of his sons, Saif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren were killed.



Link: http://www.aolnews.com/story/libyan-leader-gadhafi-vows-to-fight-to/1609203/

 

[Evil Eye]

Hmm, well, at least he's willing to die for his cause.

Good for him.

 

[Headliner]

Diplomats including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are meeting in Turkey to discuss ways of ending the Libya conflict.

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[Headliner]

Tripoli condemns the UK's decision to recognise the rebels as Libya's sole governmental authority after similar moves by France and the US.

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[Headliner]

Pro-Gaddafi forces are fighting rebels for control of a key coastal oil refinery in Zawiya, as the rebels edge closer to the capital Tripoli.

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[Headliner]

The territory remaining under Qaddafi's control has been shrinking dramatically, with rebels moving closer to Tripoli<div class=feedflare>
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[Headliner]

Libyan rebels face heavy fighting in Zawiya and Zlitan on either side of Tripoli, as they continue an offensive against Col Muammar Gaddafi.

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[Headliner]

Pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya fight back at the oil port of Brega in the east, as rebels consolidate their hold on two strategic coastal cities either side of Tripoli.

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