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| Africa North | |
| Libya rebels control Zawiyah, so they say | |
| 2011-08-15 | |
| ZAWIYAH: Libyan rebels hoisted their flag in the center of this town near the capital on Sunday after the most dramatic advance in months cut off Muammar Qaddafi’s capital from its main link to the outside world. The swift rebel advance on the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km west of Tripoli, will deal a psychological blow to Qaddafi’s supporters and also cuts the coastal highway to Tunisia which keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel. But there was no sign Tripoli was under immediate threat from a rebel attack: Heavily armed pro-Qaddafi forces still lie between Zawiyah and the capital. After their initial rapid advances were beaten back by Qaddafi’s heavy armor, the Libyan rebels have largely been unable to break the stalemate, even with the help of NATO air strikes. But rebel forces are now in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Qaddafi’s rule began in February. They now control the coast both east and west of Tripoli, to the north is the Mediterranean and a NATO naval blockade, while to the south is empty desert. Rebels from the Western Mountains region south of this Mediterranean coastal town dashed forward into Zawiyah late on Saturday, encountering little sustained resistance from Qaddafi’s forces. Near Zawiyah’s central produce market early on Sunday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around and triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is greatest.” The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop. Rebel fighters said there were still forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the town, including snipers who they said had positioned themselves on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machine gun fire could be heard. One rebel fighter said Qaddafi’s forces were still in control of the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiyah — a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya and Qaddafi’s forces depend on it for fuel. Rebels said the capital was their next target once Zawiyah was fully under their control.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 In any event the boys will be home before Columbus Day. |
| Posted by: S 2011-08-15 19:21 |
| #3 Holy crap, they simultaneously took Gharyan and broke into Zawiyah this weekend? That's a hell of a thing, that's a front collapse! At this point, I'm thinking that the Ghaddafi "fire brigades" are fully committed to Brega & Zlitan, and the Nafusa Berber & Arab rebels are basically doing whatever they feel like doing. They've taken strategic points on the western and southern lines of communication out of Tripoli. Combine those two occupations with the static coastal rebel front around Misrata, and it isn't exactly a siege situation, but Tripoli will start to feel the pinch. Gharyan in particular sits on the primary north-south road network between the irrigated farmland of south-central Libya and the capital. Let's see if the Duck can pull another rabbit out of his hat & drive them out of one of the two towns. But can he get reaction forces to *both* towns without exposing them to destruction from the air? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2011-08-15 13:42 |
| #2 ...about 50 rebel fighters were milling around and triumphantly shouting "Allahu Akbar!"... Oh yeah...this is gonna end well. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2011-08-15 09:14 |
| #1 Meanwhile ... * WORLD NEWS > I FEAR OSAMA BIN LADEN HIT SQUAD WILL KILL LOCKERBIE BOMBER AL-MEGRAHI TOO, SAYS FATHER OF [Lockerbie]VICTIM. HMMMMM, HHMMM, Victim Dad believes al-Megrahi is innocent of the 1980's Lockerbie Bombing, + is afraid that SEAL TEAM SIX [US SPECOPS] will sneak into Libyuh after Megrahi + kill him like OBL??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-08-15 01:36 |