Libyan rebel army prepares for war

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

Ragtag units gather and organise themselves to march on the capital, Tripoli, still under Gaddafi's control.

Last Modified: Mar 02 2011 05:34 GMT

Opposition fighters in Libya, who have withstood several large-scale attacks by government forces, are preparing to march on the capital, Tripoli.

At locations across the eastern city of Benghazi, civilians are gathering for boot camp, learning how to move as a battalion and fire weapons, in preparation to the march.

The leaders of these ragtag units springing up across eastern Libya say they already have 5,000 volunteers.

For their part, forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, are battling to regain control of the rebel-held towns close to Tripoli, trying to create a buffer zone around his seat of power.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/20113242554921501.html

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Video report of them getting ready at the link.



Images from http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/live-blog-libya-march-2">AJE's Live Blog

[maddezmom]

1. CNNI reporting 4 large explosions in Tripoli

fire engines, ambulance in the background. Not sure of the source or the location at this point.

[Turborama]

2. Thanks for the heads up

Turning it on now.

[maddezmom]

3. they've moved off of it, but Nic Robertson was live

said it sounded deliberate as it was 4 blasts, not an accident. Also made sure to say there had been no aircraft flying over head.

[Turborama]

4. I changed channels from CNNI to BBC World and they were briefly mentioning it there, too

Nothing on AJE, yet.

[David__77]

5. Sadly, there will be many more to come.

I hope that there is as little bloodshed as possible.

[David__77]

6. Thousands flee as Gadhafi loyalists prepare for battle

LIBYA – At least 14,000 desperate refugees fled Libya and crossed into the Tunisian border on Tuesday as pro-government forces prepare to gain control of Libya.

"I was in shock when I first arrived,” Red Cross worker Katherine Roux said. “There are thousands and thousands of people waiting to cross. The biggest thing that hits me is just the desperation of people when you see migrants come in; I mean you know how far they have walked. They're carrying baggage, blankets. It’s really devastating."

http://www.examiner.com/world-news-in-national/thousands-flee-as-gadhafi-loyalists-prepares-for-battle-news-video

Regardless of the disposition of the conflict, it is critical that there be no Anglo-American or other attacks against Libya. Libya needn't follow Iraq and Afghanistan into the hellfire of new-fashioned colonialism. Best of luck to the people of Libya to establish a progressive national unity!

[Avant Guardian]

7. Fortunately for them the Libyan military sucks bigtime

I remember when he tried to occupy Chad with 300 tanks and got chased out and defeated by a few toyota pickup trucks with guns mounted on the back.

[Posteritatis]

8. The fact that they're using the same equipment might be a problem

Also, the trucks in question had some fairly modern anti-tank missiles at the time too, which was a bit of an equalizer.

That doesn't mean that was any less of a fiasco of course.