Video: Brega hit by Gaddafi forces’ shells – dramatic amateur video footage
A video posted on a social media website shows what unknown uploaders say is a 31 March strike on Brega by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Libya
NATO Libya Airstrikes Destroy 30 Percent Of Gaddafi’s Weapons
BRUSSELS — The international aerial onslaught against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces has destroyed 30 percent of Libya’s military capacity, a senior NATO official said Tuesday. NATO warplanes have flown 851 sorties in the six days since the alliance took command of all operations from a U.S.-led international force that had been bombing Libya since March 19.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/nato-libya-airstrikes-des_n_845009.html
Libyan rebels ‘disappointed’ by NATO
Rebel commander says coalition forces are not doing enough to protect civilians, as Gaddafi’s forces take key oil town.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201145191641347449.html
NATO vows to protect Misurata amid criticism
Military alliance says besieged town is now its top priority after rebels accuse bloc of failing to protect civilians.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201146821269546.html
Jordan sends jets to support Libya no-fly zone
(Adds foreign minister’s quotes) AMMAN, April 6 (Reuters) – Jordan has sent fighter aircraft to provide logistical support for the no-fly zone over Libya and to protect aid flights from the kingdom, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said on Wednesday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/jordan-sends-jets-to-support-libya-no-fly-zone
NATO: keeps pressure on Libya despite Gaddafi tactic
BRUSSELS, April 6 (Reuters) – NATO is keeping up the pace of air strikes in Libya despite the use of human shields by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces as a tactic in fighting rebels, the Western military alliance said on Wednesday.NATO, accused by the head of Libya’s rebel army of being too slow to order air strikes to protect civilians, said it had not lowered its sights.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/nato-keeps-pressure-on-libya-despite-gaddafi-tactic
Libyan rebels push towards oil port
AL-ARBAEEN, Libya, April 6 (Reuters) – Libyan rebels pushed back towards the contested oil port of Brega on Wednesday, regaining mostly desert territory lost to Muammar Gaddafi’s army the day before. At the tiny outpost of al-Arbaeen, half way between Brega and Ajdabiyah, on the Mediterranean coastal road, rebels returning from the front reported rocket duels close to the port.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebels-push-towards-oil-port
Bishop: 8 more civilians killed in Libya; hundreds of thousands flee
Eight civilians, “mostly women and children,” were killed by “bombs released by the international forces” on April 1, according to Bishop Giovanni Martinelli.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=9841&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CatholicWorldNewsFeatureStories+%28Catholic+World+News+%28on+CatholicCulture.org%29%29
Video: Child Severely Injured From Gaddafi Forces
April 5, 2011: In this video a toddler cries in misery from a devastating wound she received from Gaddafi troops which nearly took off her arm. She bravely endures being operated on.
http://feb17.info/media/video-child-severely-injured-from-gaddafi-forces/
Video: Demolition of a mosque in Zawiya by Gaddafi forces
April 5, 2011: This video was found on a cell phone of a dead Gaddafi solider who was found in Misrata. It shows evidence of the demolition of a mosque in the western Zawiya.
http://feb17.info/media/video-demolition-of-a-mosque-in-zawiya-by-gaddafi-forces/
Gaddafi forces shelled Misrata, two dead -rebels
TUNIS, April 5 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shelled the besieged city of Misrata for much of Tuesday and two people were killed in the attacks, rebels said. Like many cities, Misrata rejected Gaddafi’s rule in a revolt in February. In a violent crackdown, Gaddafi’s forces restored control in most places in western Libya, leaving Misrata cut off and surrounded, with dwindling supplies.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-forces-shelled-misrata-two-dead–rebels
Qaddafi’s troops, rebels locked in standoff around Brega: April 5 Mideast update
Libya’s rebels want Brega’s oil resources to finance their troops. Meanwhile, the US increasingly sees Yemen’s Saleh as a destabilizing factor.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/pXDBQNf3Qkc/Qaddafi-s-troops-rebels-locked-in-standoff-around-Brega-April-5-Mideast-update
Human Rights Watch Libya: Abandoned Weapons, Landmines Endanger Civilians
(New York) – Eastern Libya is littered with massive amounts of unexploded ordnance, abandoned and unsecured weapons and munitions, and recently-laid landmines from the fighting since February 2011, posing a great threat to civilians, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/libya-abandoned-weapons-landmines-endanger-civilians-0
Gadhafi planned civilian killings before unrest, Hague court says
THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court has evidence Moammar Gadhafi’s government planned to put down protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out, the ICC’s prosecutor said Tuesday. The peaceful protests that erupted on Feb. 15 descended into civil war as Gadhafi’s forces first fired on demonstrators.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126826
Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi
A discovery by journalists was the latest reminder of the government’s long record of violence against civilians.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06libya.html
Libya appoints new foreign minister
TRIPOLI, April 5 (Reuters) – The Libyan government has appointed Abdelati Obeidi as its new foreign minister, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Obeidi, who had served as deputy foreign minister, has been on a foreign tour to discuss solutions to Libya’s crisis. Asked if he had been promoted to the top ministry job, another deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said: “Yes, he has.” Obeidi replaces Moussa Koussa, once one of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s closest advisers and a former spy chief, who defected and flew to Britain last week.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-appoints-new-foreign-minister
Gaddafi sends message to Obama – Libyan news agency
ALGIERS, April 6 (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has sent a message to U.S. President Barack Obama “following the withdrawal of America from the crusader colonial alliance against Libya,” Libya’s official news agency JANA said on Wednesday. It gave no further details.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafi-sends-message-to-obama-libyan-news-agency
Former US Rep. Curt Weldon: Meeting with Qaddafi today
Weldon said that in addition to Gadhafi stepping down, he is proposing a cease-fire on both sides; a withdrawal of government forces from key cities; no further advances by rebel forces; a joint interim government run by Libya’s current prime minister and an opposition leader; unfettered humanitarian access; and the establishment of a parliamentary commission that would include American, Middle Eastern, European and African politicians helping to establish a new parliament in Libya. As for as the Gadhafi family, Weldon’s proposals also suggest a possible title for Gadhafi as honorary chairman of the African Union and allowing his second-oldest son, Saif, to stand in elections.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/06/libya.weldon.visit/?hpt=T2
Allies Count on Defiant Streak in Libya to Drive Out Qaddafi
Coalition forces are banking on a challenge to official authority from the people and tribes of western Libya to drive Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi from power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/africa/30libya.html
Fatah investigating Libya arms deal allegations
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah Central Committee is investigating reports that one of its members was involved in supplying arms to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a spokesman said. Rebel forces currently battling Gadhafi’s regime said they seized Israeli arms smuggled into Libya. According to media reports, the Transitional National Council said Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Dahlan was involved in sending the weapons. Dahlan has denied the charge. A spokesman for the committee said it was against Fatah’s principles and the Palestinian people’s interests to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Palestinian Khaled Salam was also said to have been involved in the arms deal, but he is not a Fatah member, a statement from the committee said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375866
Freed from Captivity in Libya, Anthony Shadid of the New York Times Recounts Ordeal under Gaddafi’s Forces
Anthony Shadid is one of four New York Times reporters who were captured in Libya last month by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. They were held for nearly a week, during which they were beaten and threatened before ultimately being set free. Just two weeks after their release, Shadid joins us for an extensive interview on his ordeal in Libya, the outlook of the conflict, and his thoughts on the rolling rebellions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. A two-time Pulitzer winner, Shadid is the New York Times Beirut bureau chief. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/6/freed_from_captivity_in_libya_anthony
Intervention Could Make Things Worse: New York Times’ Anthony Shadid on Rebellions in Libya and the Middle East
In Libya, government and rebel forces remain locked in a deadly stalemate, as rebels fight for an end to Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s nearly 42-year-rule. We speak with New York Times correspondent and two-time Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Anthony Shadid, who covered the conflict between government and rebel forces before he and three colleagues were kidnapped and beaten by Gaddafi’s forces. They were released two weeks ago. We speak with Shadid about the situation in Libya and the popular rebellions rising up across the Middle East and North Africa. “There’s going to be a desire to intervene, I think, as this gets more dangerous and more complicated and more violent, but I think that intervention [by allied forces], that very intervention, could very well make things worse,” says Shadid.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/6/anthony_shadid_of_the_new_york
Al Jazeera demands release of journalists
Three journalists working for this network have been imprisoned illegally by Libyan authorities for weeks.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114664556946541.html
The Lede: Signs of Repression in Tripoli on the Faces of Two Women
After Eman al-Obeidy, a Libyan lawyer, told foreign reporters in Tripoli that she had been gang-raped by government security forces, Rana al-Aqbani, a detained journalist, was forced to appear on Libyan state television and explain why she had expressed support for the uprising.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=65dcef9d3aa2d83f2b5003e4700bb257
Iman al-Obeidi, Libya Woman Who Claimed Rape, Speaks With Anderson Cooper (VIDEO)
Iman al-Obeidi, the Libyan woman who claimed she was raped by Gaddafi forces, told Anderson Cooper horrifying details of her ordeal in an interview on Monday night. Al-Obeidi, who was reportedly free on Monday, said that she is still being harassed by government forces and had been told not to discuss her experiences. However, Cooper said that she felt she had “nothing left to lose” after her abduction.In a tearful audio interview, al-Obeidi recounted how she was abducted at a government checkpoint and held for days while being told she would “never see the light of day again.” She described being bound, beaten, and having alcohol poured over her eyes. She also said that she was gang raped repeatedly, and that one of the soldiers sodomized her with his Kalishnikov while her hands were bound. “Let the men from Eastern Libya come and see how we treat their women, how we rape their women,” she reports the guards saying.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/iman-al-obeidi-libya-woman-rape_n_845119.html
Gaddafi Gets Love From Serbian Nationalists On Facebook
BELGRADE, Serbia — Five years after their leader Slobodan Milosevic died while on trial for genocide, some Serb nationalists have found a new idol: Col. Moammar Gadhafi. A Facebook group supporting the Libyan leader has gathered more than 66,000 “likes” by Tuesday, reflecting the deep hatred that some Serbs feel for the West over the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia, which ended Belgrade’s rule over the former province of Kosovo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/gaddafi-facebook-serbian-nationalists_n_845074.html
Gadhafi’s nurse: no sex but he gives gold watches as gifts
MOSCOW: A Ukrainian nurse who treated Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Tuesday dismissed rumors that he had a nurse as a mistress but said the man they call “Papa” gives his staff gold watches every year. Speaking to Russian mass-circulation newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, nurse Oksana Balinskaya denied a rumor in a WikiLeaks dispatch that Gadhafi had a “voluptuous blonde”.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126827
Well-connected Washington firm aids Libyan rebels
WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) – The Harbour Group, a small but well-connected Washington public relations firm, is helping Libya’s most prominent rebel organization to raise its profile among journalists and politicians in the U.S. capital. Richard Mintz, a Harbour Group principal, said his company was not getting paid for its work for the Washington office of Libya’s transitional national council that is headed by Ali Aujali, who resigned in February as Tripoli’s ambassador to United States.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/well-connected-washington-firm-aids-libyan-rebels
Cornyn to introduce resolution on Libyan regime change
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) will soon become the first senator to introduce a non-binding resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the war in Libya, and it calls for regime change to be the explicit policy of the United States. Cornyn could introduce his resolution as early as today. The resolution, which was obtained by The Cable (PDF), states, “the policy of the United States should be to remove Muammar al-Qaddafi from power and to use military force, if necessary, to achieve that goal.”
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/04/05/cornyn_to_introduce_resolution_on_libyan_regime_change
Libya: Rebels Should Open Books on Oil Sales
(New York) – Reports that opposition forces in Libya will begin exporting crude oil from areas under their control raise concerns about the transparency of oil revenues, Human Rights Watch said today. Libya’s people have a right to information about a major national resource, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/libya-rebels-should-open-books-oil-sales
Rebels in Libya insist they’re no fans of Al Qaeda
Moammar Kadafi has accused the terrorist network of working to overthrow him, especially in the eastern city of Derna. Rebels there deny it, although one militia leader describes Osama bin Laden as ‘a good Muslim.’ Col. Moammar Kadafi has depicted this coastal city of squat concrete homes and graceful blue harbor as the staging ground for an Al Qaeda takeover of Libya.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/tp7PqZ3G7qQ/la-fg-libya-derna-qaeda-20110406,0,6899455.story
Who are the Libyan revolutionaries? Pt.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC0OXxZdi34&feature=player_embedded
Who are the Libyan revolutionaries? Pt.2
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/04/05/who-are-the-libyan-revolutionaries-pt-2/
Who are the Libyan revolutionaries? Pt.3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdr5J6Pi48Y&feature=player_embedded
Bahrain
Bahrain’s hospital of ghosts
Bahrainis with protest-related injuries are reportedly being kept away from family in a hospital guarded by soldiers.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/04/20114512347348853.html
Bahrain workers fired for supporting protests
Opposition group says hundreds of mostly Shia workers have been laid off for going on strike in March.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011460205145476.html
Turkey rejects foreign meddling in Bahrain
MANAMA: The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated Turkey’s rejection of any foreign interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs while in Manama Tuesday. Bahrain imposed martial law last month and called in troops from Gulf neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, to quell a protest movement led mostly by the state’s Shiite majority. Iran’s criticism of Saudi Arabia.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126831
Iran clerics denounce Saudi role in Bahrain (AP)
AP – Iranian clerics have denounced Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia for putting down anti-government protests in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110406/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_bahrain
Inside Story: Tensions in the Gulf
Internal unrest through the Arabian gulf. But the country being painted as the aggressor is just 300 kilometres across the famous stretch of water – Iran. The unrest is being billed as one between the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations and their Persian neighbour. The foreign ministers of the six nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recently met in Riyadh. They released a statement criticising what they called Iran’s blatant interference in internal affairs, particularly in Bahrain and Kuwait. This comes after Iran’s objection to Saudi Arabia sending in troops to Bahrain during the uprising there. In return, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday the GCC statement was issued under the pressure of the US government and its allies. This episode of Inside Story discusses what ‘Iranian meddling’ may or may not amount to, and just what the GCC and indeed Iran are achieving by ratcheting up the rhetoric at this time. Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with guests: Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for Asharq Alaw-sat newspaper; Ghanbar Naderi, a political commentator and jounalist; and Fahad Shulemi, a security analyst and a former colonel in the Kuwaiti army. This episode of Inside Story aired from Tuesday, April 5, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyq5apgBVag&feature=youtube_gdata
Yemen
Tens of thousands rally as Yemen toll mounts
Tens of thousands of Yemenis rallied Wednesday as police shot dead one demonstrator and wounded 30 others even after calls mounted for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stand down over the bloodshed.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/06/144435.html
International pressure mounts on Yemen leader
US calls for a negotiated transition of power “as quickly as possible” after more bloodshed in anti-government protests.
International community must help probe Yemen’s protest killings
New report documents the brutal repression of protests against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh which has left 94 dead. The international community must play a more active role if Yemenis are to get accountability for the bloody killings of recent weeks, Amnesty International said as it released a new report into human rights violations in Yemen over the last year.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/international-community-must-help-probe-yemen%E2%80%99s-protest-killings-2011-04-06
Deaths in Yemen protests
Renewed violence has broken out in both capital Sanaa and the city of Taiz, with supporters of embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents blaming each other for at least three deaths and hundreds of injuries. UN officials have urged government forces not to attack protesters, while president Saleh has called for negotiations with his opponents. Al Jazeera’s Tarek Bazley has more on the deepening divisions in Yemen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0yDvILPNWA&feature=youtube_gdata
Yemen general says clash was assassination attempt
SANAA, April 5 (Reuters) – A clash on Tuesday between supporters of Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh and an army unit defending protesters demanding his ouster was a government attempt to assassinate General Ali Mohsen, the Saleh opponent said. “The issue appeared to be a trick to assassinate Ali Mohsen, intermediaries and a group of tribal sheikhs,” a statement from Mohsen’s office said, referring to tribal chiefs the government sent to mediate with Mohsen. The defence ministry said earlier three people died when the tribesmen were attacked by protesters and Mohsen’s troops, who are protecting the activists. Mohsen is a key general who turned against Saleh last month. A Reuters reporter at the scene said one person died when clashes broke out after protesters tried to leave the entrance of their camp around Sanaa University for a march. The statement said that when Mohsen came out to meet the delegation of tribal mediators, snipers opened fire.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/yemen-general-says-clash-was-assassination-attempt
Yemen tribesmen clash with soldiers
Tribesmen loyal to Yemen’s embattled president have clashed with a group of soldiers whose commander has sided with the opposition, leaving three tribesmen dead, according to tribal elders and military officials.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yemen-tribesmen-clash-with-soldiers-2263167.html
Ali Abdullah Saleh is finished, but someone should tell him
Ali Abdullah Saleh is finished as the president of Yemen. Popular democratic protests that started on a small scale in the middle of February outside Sanaa University have widened to encompass the whole country. The continuity and strength of the demonstrations clearly indicate that the regime’s days are numbered.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=126836
Yemen’s Saleh urges opposition to attend talks in Saudi Arabia
SANAA: Yemen’s president urged the opposition to join talks in Saudi Arabia to try to end weeks of turmoil and violence in which at least three more people were killed Tuesday. The Gulf Cooperation Council Monday invited government and opposition representatives to talks in Saudi Arabia, at a date yet to be set, with the United States pressing the veteran political survivor to negotiate with his opponents.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126853
Other Mideast
Oman protesters seek prosecution of those behind killings
MUSCAT, April 6 (Reuters) – Omani protesters asked the public prosecutor on Wednesday to charge members of the security forces responsible for killing two demonstrators in separate clashes in the northeast industrial city of Sohar. One protester died and eight were wounded when security forces opened fire into a crowd of stone-throwing protesters on Friday, three days after police cleared them from their base at two roundabouts.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/oman-protesters-seek-prosecution-of-those-behind-killings
Two Syrian police killed by gunmen – state TV
BEIRUT, April 5 (Reuters) – Two Syrian policemen were shot dead by unidentified gunmen near Damascus, state television said on Tuesday. The policemen were carrying out a “normal patrol” when the gunmen fired on them in the area of Kafar Batna, the television channel said, without giving further details. The area is near the Damascus suburb of Douma, where security forces shot dead at least eight protesters on Friday who took part in a large demonstration demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption. Thousands of people showed up for the funeral of the eight and for subsequent mourning events, shouting slogans emphasising what they termed the non-violent nature of their action and vowing to stick to civil disobedience as the tool to achieve their demands. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad faces the most serious challenge to his 11-year rule from protests which broke out last month in the southern city of Deraa and have spread to other parts of the country.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/two-syrian-police-killed-by-gunmen-state-tv
Human Rights Watch: Syria: Stop Shooting Protesters
(New York) – President Bashar al-Asad should immediately order Syrian security forces to stop using unjustified lethal force against anti-government protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should investigate each shooting, and hold accountable anyone responsible for the unlawful use of force, Human Rights Watch said.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/syria-stop-shooting-protesters
Al Jazeera & various reporters threatened in Jordan
(Committee to Protect Journalists)-“… A local journalist, who asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisal, told CPJ that several reporters received phone and email threats of physical harm and unless they stop covering the reform movement in the kingdom. “The situation is no longer about censorship or repressive legislation–the danger has become personal,” the journalist said. On March 24, journalists covering pro-reform demonstrations were beaten and had their equipment confiscated or destroyed. At least 20 journalists were attacked on that day by plainclothes attackers and security forces, according to local news reports…”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/04/al-jazeera-various-reporters-threatened.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+friday-lunch-club+%28%22friday-lunch-club%22%29
Human Rights Watch Morocco: Restore Accreditation to Al Jazeera
(New York) – Morocco should stop revoking the accreditation of journalists for foreign media whose reporting displeases them, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/morocco-restore-accreditation-al-jazeera
Arab revolts set to transform face of Mideast
BEIRUT: In countries which have offered reform – Morocco, Algeria, Jordan – it remains to be seen whether leaders will stick to pledges and peacefully cede real power, or find ways to divide, co-opt or cow their opponents. “Thus far, no Arab ruler has really made a substantial offer of political reform to protesters,” said Robert Springborg.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=126829
