Posts Tagged ‘ Libya ’

"The general in charge of Libya's rebel forces says a car bomb exploded in front of their headquarters in northeast Benghazi. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Younis says no one was injured, but an APTN cameraman saw a person with an arm cut by shattered glass. The blast apparently blew out windows in a high-rise near Benghazi courthouse, where the rebel committee has its headquarters." (05/03/11)

"Italy pledged on Tuesday to seek an end date for NATO's Libya operations as Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought to placate a key government partner opposed to Italian participation in the bombing missions. Italy pledged on Tuesday to seek an end date for NATO's Libya operations as Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought to placate a key government partner opposed to Italian participation in the bombing missions." (05/03/11)

"Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi stepped up their onslaught on rebel areas of Libya's Western Mountains late on Monday, rebels said, and refugees said towns in the isolated region were on the brink of starvation. At least 10 Grad rockets landed on the town of Zintan, rebel spokesman Abdulrahman told Reuters by telephone." (05/02/11)

"Libyan fighters wrangled for control of a checkpoint on the country’s western border with Tunisia, while government forces attacked and entered a remote town in the southeastern desert Thursday in another day of clashes across the country. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi also continued to shell the besieged western city of Misurata, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding at least 30, a rebel spokesman said." (04/28/11)

"For the second time this month, NATO warplanes have accidentally bombed the Libyan rebel forces that were mistaken for Gadhafi regime troops. Today’s strike came in Misrata, and saw the warplane kill 12 rebels and wound five others. The rebel commander said the strike came on a coastal salt factory, which rebels had seized and fortified as a defensive position. They insisted they told NATO about taken over the factory yesterday. NATO has yet to comment." (04/27/11)

"Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticized the Western coalition attacking Libya on Tuesday, saying it had neither a right nor a mandate to kill Moammar Gadhafi. Putin said the coalition had gone beyond the bounds of a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing intervention to protect civilians and suggested Gadhafi's actions did not justify foreign interference, let alone attempts to remove him." (04/26/11)

"NATO airstrikes targeted the center of Moammar Gadhafi's seat of power early Monday, destroying a multi-story library and office and badly damaging a reception hall for visiting dignitaries. Gadhafi's whereabouts at the time of the attack on his sprawling Bab al-Azizya compound were unclear. A security official at the scene said four people were lightly hurt." (04/24/11)

"President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drones in Libya, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. Gates suggested that the unmanned Predator missions may have already begun. He said he believed that the first flights were launched Thursday but were called back due to poor weather." (04/21/11)

"After spending weeks trying to determine who the rebels in Libya are and what they want, the Obama administration has notified Congress it intends to provide the rebels with $25 million in assistance. It will not include arms or ammunition. In a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Friday, obtained by ABC News and first reported by the Washington Times, the State Department said the assistance is meant to help the opposition defend civilians from forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi." (04/20/11)

"The Libyan government on Tuesday firmly rebuffed a proposal from the European Union, saying it would fight any foreign troops that landed on its soil, even if they were supposedly there to escort humanitarian aid convoys. The European Union has outlined a provisional plan that could include sending European troops to the besieged Libyan city of Misurata to protect aid deliveries if requested by the United Nations, although U.N. officials say they want to explore civilian options first." (04/19/11)

"Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials. The shortage of European munitions, along with the limited number of aircraft available, has raised doubts among some officials about whether the United States can continue to avoid returning to the air campaign if Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi hangs onto power for several more months." (04/17/11)

"NATO launched new airstrikes Wednesday on targets held by Moammar Gadhafi as rebel leaders urged a stronger air campaign that will allow them to advance on Gadhafi's territory. Gadhafi's government, meanwhile, denounced proposals by rebel leaders that they be given some of the regime's assets that have been frozen as part of international sanctions." (04/13/11)