Uprising in Libya

[sandeepdg]

Libyan evacuation to begin this week-end

The first group of Indians to be evacuated are expected to leave the Libyan city of Benghazi this weekend. The passenger ferry, Scotia Prince that can carry 1200 people, is expected to reach Benghazi, the first point of evacuation, on late Saturday or Sunday to take the Indian nationals to Alexandria in Egypt.

From there, they are flown out by Air India flights. There are some 3000 Indians in and around Benghazi, which is reported to be under the protester's control. There are 18000 Indians in Libya.

Permission from Libyan authorities has been sought for air-lifting the Indians from the capital Tripoli. "In Tripoli the focus will be on air evacuation. Aircraft are on stand by for this purpose. Libyan landing clearance is awaited and should be received soon," the ministry of external affairs said. The other plans include taking the citizens by sea to Valletta in Malta from where they can be flown out.

The navy has put three warships on standby anticipating that it may be asked to evacuate Indians stranded in strife-torn Libya. INS Jalashwa, India's second largest warship, and two destroyers currently deployed in the Arabian Sea have been earmarked for the task. However, the navy has so far received no orders for mounting a rescue operation. The Jalashwa can carry 1,200 to 1,500 people, while the other two warships have a capacity of 200 to 300 each.

Preparations are also in hand for evacuation of our nationals from cities in the interior where air access is possible subject to Libyan clearance. This include the Southern Libyan cities of Sebha, and Kufra—where some 3000 Indian citizens are present.

Indian companies, many of them working in Libya for decades have also offered to work with our Embassy in Tripoli in facilitating evacuation.

Ministry of External Affairs is coordinating closely with other Ministries including Defence, Overseas Indian Affairs and Shipping in making evacuation arrangements. Punj Lloyd, DS Constructions and Simplex Projects Limited are among the larger employers of Indians in Libya.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Libyan-evacuation-to-begin-this-week-end/Article1-666339.aspx

 

[S.A.T.A]

Gaddafi crossed the proverbial Rubicon when he unleashed unprecedented violence on the protesters,he knows there is no life in exile.Gaddafi will be hunted down in exile and made to answer for his crimes.world's conscience has often been indulgent towards tyrants,but less so when he turns into bloodcurdling monster without a modicum of respect for human life.Gaddafi will likely prefer going down fighting,i hope it happens sooner.

 

[pmaitra]

I got this image from Time: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2053369_2246765,00.html

This man is allegedly an African mercenary (click to enlarge):


Is he pro-Government?
Is he anti-Government?

Cannot verify.

Don't take sides yet. Just keep your ears and eyes open for the time being.

P.S.: There are other images too at Time website.

 

[AirforcePilot]

I hope the Libyan people capture that psychopath Gaddafi and his whole family. I'm sure justice will be served.

 

[pmaitra]

^^ I have a feeling Gaddafi will rather go down like Hitler than surrender to anybody.

Let's wait and see.

There is one disturbing picture in another thread: What happened in Libya? Viewer discretion is advised

This has left a bitter feeling in me for the past few days. Not feeling good at all.

 

[vijaytripoli]

 

[pmaitra]

^^ I just posted this one.

I got this image from Time: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2053369_2246765,00.html

This man is allegedly an African mercenary (click to enlarge):
View attachment 3184

Is he pro-Government?
Is he anti-Government?

Cannot verify.

Don't take sides yet. Just keep your ears and eyes open for the time being.

P.S.: There are other images too at Time website.

What is an African doing in Libya in military camouflage fatigues?

 

[ejazr]

^^ I just posted this one.

What is an African doing in Libya in military camouflage fatigues?

Gaddafi can no longer trust his people. Most of the Libyan army has defected on the side of the people and the only way he can be sure of his guards loyalty is to use his hired mercenaries. His response as been most pathetic. It has completely exposed his empty rhetoric and sloganeering of being a revolutionary and a "philosopher king" type image that he tried to build up over the years.

Tweets from ShababLibya (Shabab=Youth in Arabic)
@ShababLibya: There'll be a new interim govt set up in the East of Libya, and Benghazi is capital until Tripoli liberated #Libya #Feb17


Also AI and Navy ships have been evacuating Indians with the first flight with 250 passengers landing 2 hours ago. Nirupama Rao on twitter again
291 Indians landed on first Air India flight half an hour ago. Minister of State E Ahamed recd them. They r in good shape.

Interesting tidbit about Pakistan helping out here by her
Phoned FS Salman Bashir in Pakistan for overflight clearance for our AI flight from Tripoli tonite. Response most prompt and positive.

 

[Oracle]

US imposes sanctions on Libya; closes embassy at Tripoli

Going ahead with unilateral sanctions against the Muammar Gaddafi regime, the US suspended its military ties with Libya and temporarily closed down its embassy in Tripoli. Toughening its stand against the authoritarian Libyan government, White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, said more measures against Libya are in the pipeline and would be announced in due course of time.

The US is also in talks with its international partners with regard to collective action against the Libyan regime including those at the United Nations. "There has never been a time when this much has been done quickly," Carney said, adding that the US which has very limited military relationship with Libya and also very limited military sales with them, both of which have been suspended.

"Col Gaddafi has lost the confidence of his people. His legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people," Carney said but was quick to add that it is a matter for the people of Libya to decide on the leadership of the country. The status quo is not acceptable," Carney said.

US President, Barack Obama, would meet the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday, he said. "Given current security conditions in Libya, coupled with our inability to guarantee fully the safety and security of our diplomatic personnel in the country, the Department of State has temporarily withdrawn Embassy personnel from Tripoli and suspended all embassy operations effective February 25, 2011," State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.


Additionally, the United States has suspended the very limited military cooperation it had with Libya. The US military began to cautiously reengage with Libya in 2009 following Libya's decision to halt its weapons of mass destruction programs and compensate victims of terrorism, he said.

Prior to the recent unrest, sales of spare military parts were pending, he said adding that they have been frozen. "Bilateral military events that were in the planning phases have also been frozen," Carney said. The UN Human Rights Council held an emergency session in Geneva, where it adopted by consensus a resolution that condemned the gross and systematic human rights abuses now being committed by the government of Libya, established an international commission of inquiry to investigate these abuses, and recommended accountability measures for those responsible and also recommended that the UN General Assembly suspend Libya's membership on the council.

"The United States strongly supports these efforts and is already closely working with our international partners to carry out this suspension, which will be acted on by the General Assembly early next week," Carney said. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will travel to Geneva on Monday to speak at the Human Rights Council and to discuss with her international counterparts further measures on Libya as well as events in the broader Middle East.

On Monday, Obama will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Washington, and will discuss the diplomatic, legal and other actions needed to put a stop to violence against civilians in Libya. "He will also discuss the range of activities that UN agencies and the international community can undertake to address the significant humanitarian needs created by this crisis," Carney said.

The United States is involved in ongoing negotiations today at the UNSC Security Council, on a resolution that could include a weapons embargo, individual sanctions against key Libyan officials, and an asset freeze. The US is also utilising the full extent of its intelligence capabilities to monitor the Gaddafi regime's actions, and are particularly vigilant for evidence of further violence or atrocities committed against the Libyan people, Carney said.

Source

 

[Oracle]

India backs UN sanctions on Libya as Gaddafi remains defiant

As an unrepentant Muammar Gaddafi refused to heed global calls for an end to violence in Libya, the United Nations Security Council on Sunday unanimously slapped "biting sanctions" on his regime, including a travel ban and asset freezes, with United States President Barack Obama saying the strongman must quit now.

Denouncing the violence against anti-government protesters in Libya, India and 14 other members of the powerful UNSC unanimously voted to impose sanctions on the Gaddafi regime in the form of an arms embargo, asset freezes, travel ban and an immediate referral to the Hague-based International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity probe.

The vote came amid escalating violence in the North African country, with the UN saying that more than 1,000 pro-democracy protesters have lost their lives in the brutal crackdown launched by forces loyal to Gaddafi to crush the revolt against his authoritarian rule.

"We deplore the use of force, which is totally unacceptable," Hardeep Singh Puri, India's ambassador to the UN, said at the council after the resolution was approved. "We also have concerns about the safety of India nationals and their assets in Libya," he added.

Susan Rice, the US envoy to the UN, pointed out that this was the first time a resolution referring a case to the ICC had passed unanimously. She said the council wanted "biting sanctions" targetting Libya's leadership.

In a desperate bid to quell the unprecedented two-week revolt against Gaddafi's 41-year rule, the Libyan regime passed out guns to his civilian supporters, set up checkpoints and sent out armed patrols across his bastion of Tripoli, witnesses were quoted as saying by the Al-Jazeera.

The development came hours after 68-year-old Gaddafi vowed to crush the rebellion against his rule and proposed to arm his supporters. "We can defeat any aggression if necessary and arm the people," he said in footage aired on Libyan state television. "I am in the middle of the people. We will fight; we will defeat them if they want. We will defeat any foreign aggression."

Across Libya, protesters braced up for a potentially lengthy battle to overturn the regime, even as reports said the army in several areas had turned hostile to the government. Footage believed to be filmed on Saturday showed soldiers joining the protesters in the city of Az Zawiyah.

Libya's former interior minister Gen Abdul Fatteh Younis told Al Jazeera that most of the country is out of control of the Gaddafi government and his grip on power may soon be confined only to the capital Tripoli. Younis said he has called on Gaddafi to end his resistance to the uprising, although he does not expect him to do so.

In Washington, Obama telephoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the deteriorating situation in Libya.

"The President stated that when a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," the White House said in a statement after the telephonic conversation between Obama and Merkel.

Asserting that Gaddafi has lost the confidence of his people, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it is time that the Libyan leader quits without further bloodshed and violence. "We have always said that the Gaddafi government's future is a matter for the Libyan people to decide, and they have made themselves clear," she said in a statement.

Several western countries have evacuated their embassy staff and other foreign nationals from Libya in secret military operations and temporarily closed their diplomatic missions there. Over 130 foreigners, among them dozens of Germans and European Union nationals, were flown out of Libya on Saturday by two German military aircraft in a daring operation in which armed soldiers were reportedly involved.

The rescue operation, without the permission of the Libyan authorities, was approved by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. The US, Canada, Britain and France have temporarily closed their diplomatic missions in Tripoli after evacuating their ambassadors and embassy staff, media reports said.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said two Royal Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft landed in the desert near Benghazi in a secret operation and evacuated about 150 workers of British and other nationalities and they were flown to Malta.

The Canadian embassy in Tripoli also suspended its operation after its ambassador, five embassy staff, 18 other Canadians, 12 British nationals and the Austrian embassy staff were evacuated on board a military aircraft, which had no permission to land in Libya.

In Paris, the French foreign ministry said its embassy in Tripoli was closed down temporarily after its ambassador and the entire embassy staff were evacuated on board a French air force plane. The aircraft carried 128 foreigners, including 28 French nationals and the entire embassy staff.

Libya's former justice minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Ajleil, meanwhile, reportedly said that he had formed a transitional government based in the eastern city of Benghazi, which would lead the country for three months to prepare for elections. He said the transitional government includes military as well as civilian representatives.

Source

 

[amoy]

30,000 Chinese in Lybia

China evacuates largest-ever number of citizens amid Libya unrest
2011/02/25


Chinese workers arrive at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 24, 2011. The first group of 43 Chinese evacuated from riot-torn Libya arrived in Beijing Thursday morning on a flight from Egypt's northern city of Alexandria. (Xinhua/Ma Ruzhuang)

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- About 4,600 Chinese had left Libya by Thursday in China's largest-ever evacuation, the rescue of about 30,000 nationals stuck in the riot-torn north African state.

China's first chartered flight to evacuate its nationals left Tripoli for Beijing at 1:40 p.m. Beijing time, with 200 Chinese aboard, most of them women and children, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu.

The government dispatched the second chartered flight early Thursday.

Meanwhile, two groups of Chinese evacuees returned China through commercial flights Thursday.

The first group of 43 arrived at Beijing Capital Airport at 10:23 a.m. Thursday. They took flight EY888 of Etihad Airways, national airline of the United Arab Emirates, which left Alexandria on Wednesday.

Another group of 40 Chinese arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at around 2 p.m. Thursday on Qatar Airways flight QR888, which also left Alexandria on Wednesday.

"The situation is very critical there. People broke into houses, threatening and robbing us with knives and guns," said Xie Guangfu, the first worker to complete entry procedures at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.


The workers were employed by China Building Technique Group Co. Ltd. and the company would send them home soon, said Su Juhui, manager of the construction group.

An estimated 30,000 Chinese nationals were awaiting evacuation and the figure was changing as the evacuation proceeded, said Du Minghao, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Libya.

It was expected to be China's largest-ever evacuation, said Gao Zugui, director of the Institute of World Politics of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

About 75 Chinese companies were operating in Libya, involving about 36,000 staff and 50 projects, said a statement on the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) website.As of Wednesday, 27 Chinese construction sites or camps had been attacked and robbed, with injuries reported but no deaths so far, the MOC statement said.

Armed gangsters attacked some Chinese companies, institutions and project camps in Libya, robbing them of grain and leaving people with shortages of materials, said the statement.
The MOC sent emergency materials to Libya Thursday aboard a chartered flight, including 10 tonnes of food, 4.5 tones of drinking water, 2,000 flashlights and medicines.

The evacuation was carried out by sea, air and land.


The plane carrying Chinese workers lands on the tarmac at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 24, 2011. The first group of 43 Chinese evacuated from riot-torn Libya arrived in Beijing Thursday morning on a flight from Egypt's northern city of Alexandria.

Among the 4,600 Chinese evacuees, more than 4,000 left Libya Thursday on two Greek ocean liners chartered by the Chinese embassy in Greece, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The "Hellenic Spirit" and "Olympic Champion" left Benghazi, Libya's eastern port and second-largest city, at 7 a.m. Beijing time (2300 GMT, Wednesday) and were expected to arrive at the port of Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete at about 8 p.m. Beijing time (1200 GMT).

The Chinese embassy in Greece had been preparing for the evacuees' arrival, said the statement.

Chinese companies, including China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, China Shipping (Group) Company and China State Construction Engineering Corporation, had actively participated in the evacuation, Ma said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Egypt had received more than 400 Chinese who left Libya by road.

Some had flown back to China and 10 of them, who took a Bulgarian government flight, were expected to arrive in Beijing Thursday after a transfer, said the statement.

The rescue would be difficult, due to the tense situation and poor telecommunications, said the statement.

However, all relevant departments and overseas Chinese embassies and consulates would maintain close coordination and make all-out efforts to evacuate Chinese nationals from Libya as soon as possible, Ma said.
The majority of Chinese nationals in Libya are employees of Chinese companies with businesses in the country.

 

[pmaitra]

Gaddafi forces mass as world raises pressure on Libya

Gaddafi forces mass as world raises pressure on Libya

By Maria Golovnina
TRIPOLI | Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:40pm EST
Reuters

(Reuters) - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were massed near the Tunisian border on Tuesday, residents said, and the United States said it was moving warships and air forces closer to Libya.

Residents feared pro-Gaddafi forces were preparing an attack to regain control of Nalut, about 60 km (38 miles) from the Tunisian border in western Libya, from protesters seeking an end to Gaddafi's rule.

The United States and other foreign governments discussed military options on Monday for dealing with Libya as Gaddafi scoffed at the threat to his government from a spreading popular uprising.

In the hardest-hitting U.S. denunciation yet of Libya's leader, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Gaddafi was "disconnected from reality," was "slaughtering his own people" and was unfit to lead.

She said Washington was in talks with its NATO partners and other allies about military options. The United States also said about $30 billion in assets in the United States had been blocked from access by Gaddafi and his family.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said his government would work to prepare for a "no-fly" zone in Libya to protect the people from attacks by Gaddafi's forces.

Gaddafi rejected calls for him to step down and dismissed the strength of the uprising against his 41-year rule that has ended his control over eastern Libya and is closing in on the capital Tripoli.

"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," he told the U.S. ABC network and the BBC on Monday.

He denied using his air force to attack protesters but said planes had bombed military sites and ammunition depots. He also denied there had been demonstrations and said young people were given drugs by al Qaeda and therefore took to the streets. Libyan forces had orders not to fire back at them, he said.

LOOKING RELAXED AND LAUGHING

Gaddafi, 68, looked relaxed and laughed at times during the interview at a restaurant on Tripoli's Mediterranean coast.

Ambassador Rice called him "delusional."

As the uprising entered its third week, the situation on the ground was often hard for reporters to assess due to the difficulties of moving around some parts of the desert nation and the patchy communications.

A Nalut resident, Sami, told Reuters by telephone: "They have surrounded the area near the Tunisian border ... They came with heavy machineguns mounted on four-wheel drive vehicles and dozens of armed men equipped with light weaponry.

"They said they came to hunt down the thugs. But the people of Nalut are not buying this. Everybody is on alert for a possible attack by the same forces to retake the city."

Another Nalut resident, who declined to be named, said he had heard Libyan soldiers had moved to the border with Tunisia.

"There was no fighting in Nalut. They passed it and went to the border, around the area of Wazin. People do not know what will happen here," he said.

On Monday, witnesses in Misrata, a city of half a million people 200 km (125 miles) to the east of Tripoli, and Zawiyah, a strategic refinery town 50 km (30 miles) to the west, said government forces were mounting or preparing attacks.

"An aircraft was shot down this morning while it was firing on the local radio station. Protesters captured its crew," a witness in Misrata, Mohamed, told Reuters by telephone.

A battle for the military air base was also under way, he said. A Libyan government source denied the report.

A resident of Zawiyah called Ibrahim told Reuters by telephone that brigades commanded by Gaddafi's son Khamis were on the outskirts of the town and looked ready to attack.

In Tripoli, Gaddafi's last stronghold, several people were killed and others wounded on Monday when forces loyal to him opened fire to disperse a protest in Tajoura neighborhood, Morocco's Quryna newspaper reported. The protest gathered close to 10,000 protesters, the Libyan newspaper said.

A doctor in the neighborhood later told Reuters that protesters dispersed after seeing cars packed with armed militia.

Another Tripoli resident told Reuters by telephone there was a heavy security presence: "We are waiting for the chance to protest. We are more determined to go out and protest. We hope this will end soon but I think it will take much longer than anticipated," he said.

NOT ENOUGH FOOD

In Tripoli, queues outside bakeries and soaring rice and flour prices fueled public anger.

"There isn't enough food," said Basim, 25, a bank employee, adding many workers in the public sector had yet to receive salaries for February.

Crowds also massed outside state banks, which have started distributing handouts of about $400 per family in an effort by Gaddafi's government to drum up support.

Foreign governments increased the pressure on Gaddafi to leave in the hope of ending fighting that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and restoring order to a country that accounts for 2 percent of the world's oil production.

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday imposed sanctions on Gaddafi and other Libyan officials, imposed an arms embargo and froze Libyan assets. European Union governments approved their sanctions against Gaddafi in Brussels on Monday.

The United States, whose Sixth Fleet operates out of Italy, said it was moving U.S. naval and air forces closer to Libya and working on various contingency plans.

But analysts said military action against Gaddafi was unlikely. [nN28272644]

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy, formerly Libya's closest ally in Europe, said a no-fly zone was a useful measure. Italy would consider allowing allies to use its bases but the U.N. Security Council must first approve the measure, he said.

Revolutions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt have helped to ignite resentment of four decades of often bloody political repression under Gaddafi as well as his failure to use Libya's oil wealth to tackle widespread poverty and lack of opportunity.

Regional experts expect rebels eventually to take the capital and kill or capture Gaddafi but say he has the firepower to foment chaos or civil war.

Opposition forces are largely in control of Libya's oil facilities, which are mostly located in the east.

Industry reports suggested Libya's oil output had been halved as expatriate workers pulled out, Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, said.

(Additional reporting by Yvonne Bell and Chris Helgren in Tripoli, Dina Zayed and Caroline Drees in Cairo, Tom Pfeiffer, Alexander Dziadosz and Mohammed Abbas in Benghazi, Christian Lowe and Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Souhail Karam and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Rabat; Writing by Janet Lawrence; Editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-libya-protests-idUSTRE71G0A620110301?pageNumber=1

 

[pmaitra]

self deleted ...........

 

[sandeepdg]

Gaddafi has lost control over oil, gas fields: European Union

BRUSSELS: The European Union says that Libya's strongman Muammar Gaddafi no longer controls most of oil and gas fields in the country.

EU Energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Monday that control over much of the oil and gas fields is in the hands of regional families or provisional regional leaders that have emerged from the revolt and chaos.

The unrest in the North African nation has sent shudders through global oil markets, with concern centering on the possibility that the unrest could spread to other OPEC members, triggering a major supply crunch that would propel prices forward and potentially undercut global economic recovery efforts.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...fields-European-Union/articleshow/7596289.cms

 

[sandeepdg]

Holy cow's now fair game, Libyans take aim at despot

BENGHAZI: Cowed for four decades by Muammar Gaddafi's oppressive rule, eastern Libya is now awash with cartoons and jokes about him, helping people shake off his personality cult and deep fear of his security apparatus.

In Benghazi, Libya's second city, one cartoon on the wall of a state building portrays the Libyan leader as " Super Thief" in a superman costume with a dollar sign instead of an "S" on his chest; another shows him in a dustbin labelled "history" .

Gaddafi's quirky, eccentric style, his penchant for flowing robes, Ruritanian military uniforms and flamboyant women bodyguards, has given cartoonists and others a rich seam of material for mockery. On Benghazi's seafront promenade, a youth dressed in a scraggly Gaddafi wig, aviator sunglasses and holding an umbrella paraded in an open truck, bringing traffic to a near standstill to hoots of laughter and blaring of car horns.

"We're letting off steam, expressing ourselves. He didn't just commit military crimes, but crimes against our minds, thought crimes," said teacher Fatima al-Shaksy , 42.

Protesters have in the past week paraded with a Gaddafi stuffed monkey toy holding an umbrella, and a Gaddafi rat in a cage — Gaddafi has labelled his protester opponents vermin .

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ns-take-aim-at-despot/articleshow/7598856.cms

 

[sandeepdg]

Gaddafi in control of a smaller part of Libyan capital: Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is increasingly losing control over his country and now he appears to be in control of a small part of the capital Tripoli, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said.

"The situation for Gaddafi is worsening... he is in control of a smaller part of the country, really now probably only a part of Tripoli. But he still has allies who are not yet turning against him, and we are trying to send very clear messages that that needs to happen," Clinton told the BBC News in an interview.

Clinton said the US and its international partners are looking at all forms of action and nothing is off the table.

"We want to be prepared in the event that some other steps is necessary," she said.

At the same time, she acknowledged that the option of use of military force is a very difficult decision to make for many reasons.

"First of all, none of the countries with whom I've consulted today put that at the top of the list because it's always fraught with uncertainty. And in a country like Libya, where we don't have enough information to know exactly what is happening on the ground, it would be particularly difficult," she said.

"At the same time, we know that this violence must end. And if we can take action that would expedite its end, we have to consider that," Clinton asserted.

"We do believe that, according to pilots who chose to disobey orders they were given that certainly the Gaddafi regime tried to direct certain actions from the air against targets on the land. We also have heard of additional accountings concerning limited but unmistakable efforts using helicopters and the like," she said.

"But it is unclear at this time, and we don't want to make any decisions based on anecdotes. What we do know is that most of the violence is on the ground. And frankly, that's one of the drawbacks of a no-fly zone is, as we learned in Iraq when we ran a no-fly zone in northern Iraq, sometimes absolutely horrible regimes decide that that means it's open fire on the ground. So this is a much more complicated decision matrix than it might at first appear," she said.

Clinton said the UN Security Council resolution slapping sanctions on Gaddafi regime is a step toward ending the violence, because what it does is to send a clear message, not just to Gaddafi, who may or may not be listening, but to the people around him, people who may want to live longer, people who may no want to be pariahs, people who have a stake in ending the violence.

"So I think that the message of what we are doing is part of an overall international effort to end the violence," she said.

"In addition, there will be other steps taken to freeze the assets, to prevent access to those assets, so that Gaddafi can't use them to perpetuate and escalate the violence, which is something we're worried about," she said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...pital-Hillary-Clinton/articleshow/7599951.cms

 

[sandeepdg]

Opposition forces close to Tripoli, US mulls no-fly zone

CAIRO/WASHINGTON: Opposition forces today stormed close to the Libyan capital Tripoli for a final showdown with militia still loyal to beleaguered strong-man Muammar Gaddafi, as US and its European allies readied plans for a possible imposition of a 'no-fly zone' over the embattled country.

Three areas close to the east of the capital fell to the opposition forces advancing from Az-Zawiyah, just 50 kms west of the capital, Al-Jazeera channel reported.

Quoting its correspondent moving with the opposition forces, the channel said heavily armed Gaddafi's forces were manning check-posts between Az-Zawiyah and Tripoli.

It said there were also reports of Gaddafi loyalists demonstrating in small towns on the periphery of the capital.

"Gaddafi was reported to be holed up in the heavily fortified Bab al-Aziziya area of the capital with his mercenaries militia men ringing him," the channel said.

It claimed that Gaddafi loyalists were also venturing to launch probing attacks outside the capital and said that at the moment "the capital was still in his control".

As Gaddafi and opposition forces seemed to be locking into a final battle, US and its European allies appeared to be stiffening their attitude to fast paced developments in Libya.

Obama administration officials were in talks with European and other allied governments for a possible imposition of 'no-fly zone' over Libya to prevent further killings of civilians by troops loyal to Gaddafi, New York Times reported.

US officials are also discussing whether the American military could move to disrupt communications to prevent Col Gaddafi from broadcasting in Libya.

The paper also said Washington was also pondering to set up 'safe corridors' leading from Libya into neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt to assist the refugees, whose numbers are multiplying.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-US-mulls-no-fly-zone/articleshow/7594969.cms

 

[sandeepdg]

UK, Germany fly secret evac missions into Libya

BERLIN – British and German military planes swooped into Libya's desert, rescuing hundreds of oil workers and civilians stranded at remote sites, as thousands of other foreigners are still stuck in Tripoli by bad weather and red tape.

The secret military missions into the turbulent North Africa country signal the readiness of Western nations to disregard Libya's territorial integrity when it comes to the safety of their citizens.

Three British Royal Air Force planes plucked 150 stranded civilians from multiple locations in the eastern Libyan desert before flying them to Malta on Sunday, the British Defense Ministry said in a statement.The rescue follows a similar secret commando raid Saturday by British Special Forces that got another 150 oil workers from the remote Libyan desert.

Separately, Germany said its air force had evacuated 132 people also from the desert during a secret military mission on Saturday.German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Sunday that two German military planes landed on a private runway belonging to the Wintershall AG company and evacuated 22 Germans and 112 others and flew them to the Greek island of Crete.Another 18 German citizens were rescued by the British military in a separate military operation Saturday that targeted remote oil installations in the Libyan desert, Westerwelle said. He said around 100 other German citizens are still in Libya and the government was trying to get them out as quickly as possible.

"I want to thank the members of the Germany military for their brave mission," Westerwelle said.German military missions abroad need approval by parliament, and Westerwelle said he had spoken to all party leaders in parliament Friday to tell them about the upcoming military mission. He said the coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel had evaluated the situation in Libya as "very dangerous" and therefore ordered an immediate evacuation by the air force.

The German foreign ministry refused to name the exact location of the company and the site where the evacuation took place.The head of Wintershall, Rainer Seele, thanked the government. "We are all relieved and grateful," he was quoted as saying by the DAPD news agency.

Prior to their secret missions in Libya, the British government had been embarrassed by earlier botched attempts to rescue its citizens stranded by the uprising in this North African nation. Its first rescue flight broke down and became stuck on a London runway on Wednesday.

But on Sunday, newspapers could not gush enough about the "daring and dramatic" military operation by two RAF Hercules planes that brought stranded citizens to Malta."SAS swoops in dramatic Libya rescue," the Sunday Telegraph headline read, in reference to the storied Special Air Service. The mission was risky because Britain sent the planes in without obtaining prior Libyan permission, Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

"We are working intensively to establish who is still in Libya and where they are," Hague told the BBC.One evacuee said his military plane was supposed to carry around 65 people out of Libya, but quickly grew to double that."It was very cramped but we were just glad to be out of there," Patrick Eyles, a 43-year-old Briton, said at Malta International Airport.

As thousands finally made it to safety on the Greek island of Crete, two ships trying to ferry foreigners out of Libya were still struggling to leave Tripoli, delayed by officialdom and rough seas. A Russian-chartered ferry arrived at a Libyan port further east to pick up more than 1,000 people.The UK frigate HMS Cumberland also returned to the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi from Malta to evacuate more people.

Lt. Cmdr. James Farrant of the Cumberland said they were expecting 250-400 evacuees. Because of adverse weather conditions and rough seas the first trip to Malta lasted nearly two days, he said.One of those waiting to board the ship, was oil company worker Mike Broadbent, who together with other colleagues made a six-hour trip from a southern oil field after realizing that no help was coming."We did a high speed drive across the desert — foot down, fingers crossed," said Broadbent, who works for Zueitina Oil Company.

Thousands of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Somalis, Ethiopians and others spilled out of a row of port side shelters and shivered in the strong winds and torrential rains. These are some of the foreigner workers whose governments have not organized evacuation for them. Many work for Chinese and Turkish construction firms.

On Crete, three more ships arrived from the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi early Sunday carrying about 4,200 passengers, mostly Chinese but also 750 Bangladeshis and 200 Vietnamese, authorities said. Air China planned four flights Sunday from Crete, carrying about 1,200 Chinese back to their homeland.Another ferry from Benghazi with 2,000 more Chinese was expected to reach Crete on Monday night, shipping agents said.

The sheer numbers of foreigners leaving Libya as Moammar Gadhafi's regime battles anti-government protesters has been staggering. At least 20,000 Chinese, 15,000 Turks and 1,400 Italians had been evacuated, most working in the construction and oil industries.

In addition, some 22,000 people have fled across the Libyan border to Tunisia and another 15,000 crossed the border into Egypt, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council.Italy's San Giorgio military ship arrived in Sicily on Sunday, carrying about 250 people, half of them Italian."Having come back to Italy is a miracle to us, we couldn't wait to get back," Francesco Baldassarre, an Italian evacuated with his father Gino, told the ANSA news agency.

One cruise ship carried some 1,750 evacuees — mostly from Vietnam and Thailand — from Libya to Malta early Sunday, and another ship reached the Athens port of Piraeus carrying 390 evacuees, chiefly Brazilians, Portuguese and British.
In Tripoli, Henri Saliba, managing director of Virtu Ferries, said the ferry San Gwann was accepting anyone and was almost at capacity with more than 400 passengers. The Maria Dolores ferry has been chartered by a private company and has some 90 passengers on board.

They started taking passengers on Saturday evening but Libyan police only let people board in a trickle. Then bad weather on Sunday morning prevented their departure. Saliba said the ferries hope to leave Tripoli on Sunday evening and arrive in Valletta, Malta, on Monday.He said conditions at Tripoli's port were safe and calm.

The Interfax news agency, citing Russia's Emergencies Ministry, said the St. Stephan ferry had docked in the central Libyan port of Ras Lanuf, where it was taking aboard 1,126 evacuees, including 124 Russians.Two Turkish frigates evacuating more than 1,700 people were expected to arrive in Turkey's Mediterranean port of Marmaris late Sunday. Four other Turkish civilian ships — escorted by the Turkish navy — were also on their way to evacuate more people from three Libyan ports — Tripoli, Misrata and Ras Lanuf.

Turkey had up to 30,000 citizens mostly working in construction projects in Libya before the trouble began. It was not clear how many more needed to be evacuated.A plane carrying 185 evacuees also landed Sunday at Boryspil Airport in Kiev.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110227/ap_on_re_eu/libya_evacuations

 

[kickok1975]

China dispatches warship to protect Libya evacuation mission

China dispatches warship to protect Libya evacuation mission: Marks the PRC's first use of frontline military assets to protect an evacuation mission

What we know

The PLA Navy has just dispatched Xuzhou, a Type 054 Jiangkai-II class missile frigate, from the ongoing seventh PLAN anti-piracy task force deployment off Somalia to steam to Libyan coast to provide support and protection for the ongoing evacuation mission there. The escort mission has been approved by the Central Military Commission, according to Xinhua, and at least 6,300 of the roughly 30,000 PRC citizens in Libya have been evacuated. The news agency adds that the Chinese evacuation is also utilizing chartered aircraft, overland routes to Egypt and Tunisia, ships from China's major state shipping firms, and Greek merchant vessels in the region, which are said to be closely coordinating their operations with the Chinese government and plan to evacuate up to 15,000 Chinese from Libya.

Beijing's speedy response shows nimbleness in handling a situation where descent into chaos has directly impacted Chinese citizens' security. As of 23 February 2011, the Ministry of Commerce said at least 27 Chinese-run construction sites had been attacked by armed individuals and that there were numerous injuries. Commissioned in 2008, Xuzhou is a 4,000-ton frigate with a Vertical Launch System capable of launching HHQ-16 surface-to-air missiles to protect against air threats and a hangar with one Z-9 helicopter. It is a solid medium-sized warship, but cannot carry many people and thus would not be useful as a rescue vessel. Xuzhou's escort mission is likely designed to serve several related immediate objectives, including avoiding a USS Cole-style terrorism or irregular attack scenario that could harm evacuees, and sending a clear message to various elements in Libya not to harm Chinese civilians or disrupt their evacuation. This latest initiative is part of a larger ongoing increase in Chinese power, presence, and influence around the world, and should come as no surprise. China has global interests, cannot free ride forever, and requires a presence in critical areas and situations in order to have a voice.

Tactical and strategic implications

Xuzhou's mission marks an important milestone because to the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever dispatch of a PLA military platform specifically assigned to help protect a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) to help PRC citizens trapped in an active conflict zone. Chinese policymakers now have a precedent for future military operations in areas where the lives and property of expatriate PRC citizens come under threat. We expect that the Chinese people's popular support for the mission will be high.
This action fits with the 2008 decision to launch the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. On the tactical level, it reflects the PLAN's growing confidence and capacity in conducting long-range operations. The mission is also a booster shot for the PLAN's public image in China and will likely help it secure more funding in coming years.

Successfully protecting Chinese merchant ships from pirates and evacuating Chinese citizens from violent areas are great cards for PLA senior naval officers and civilian supporters of a strong navy to play during internal procurement debates. Having the PLAN consistently answer the call when China's overseas comrades and commercial interests needs protection clearly explains the force's value and will smooth the way for advocates of the carrier program, as well as those who seek a more robust long-range naval capability in general.

Finally, as China's military modernizes its platforms and bolsters its long-range operational capabilities and experience, it can draw on the precedent set in this mission if protection missions or interventions become necessary in the future. On the international level, safeguarding the evacuation of PRC citizens provides a positive and peaceful rationale for logistically-useful operations that also provide advantageous military training opportunities. We think such contingencies are very likely as China's expatriate workers continue seeking their fortunes in potentially volatile regions such as Africa. Xuzhou's deployment reflects the reality that Beijing is now more willing to employ military power when PRC citizens overseas are threatened. By demonstrating concrete will and operational capability, a more muscular Chinese foreign military posture such as that shown by Xuzhou's mission may actually be a positive lever for cooperation against non-traditional security threats. Therefore, we think once the dust settles, Xuzhou's dispatch should be discussed with Chinese diplomatic and security officials to explore ways to better coordinate bilateral and multilateral military cooperation.

 

[kickok1975]

Nearly 16,000 Chinese Evacuated from Libya

BEIJING (AFP) – Beijing said Saturday nearly 16,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from strife-torn Libya, where a popular uprising has left hundreds dead.
The foreign ministry said Chinese citizens had been sent to Greece, Tunisia, Egypt and Malta where they were waiting for government-chartered planes and commercial flights to take them back to China "as soon as possible".
The Civil Aviation Administration of China agreed Saturday to send 15 aircraft a day for the next two weeks to speed up the evacuation of Chinese citizens.
About 700 Chinese nationals have so far returned to China, the statement said.
China has ramped up a massive air, sea and land operation to evacuate more than 30,000 citizens from oil-rich Libya, as violence in the North African country escalates.
According to state media, Chinese citizens living in Libya work mainly in the oil, rail and telecom sectors.
Terrified residents in the capital Tripoli were braced for bloody battles on Saturday after a night of gunfire as Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said he was ready to arm civilian supporters to defeat the popular revolt.