Libya: On Ground Updates
We start with events from last Sunday and end post this afternoon, Friday
Libya Rebel Force Claims 13 Rebel Fighters, Seven Civilians Accidentally Killed in Coalition Air Strike near Brega last Sunday / Today, NATO acknowledges their planes struck Libyan rebels... again, this time while manning tanks outside the port of Brega
- The Fight Continues -
Sunday-Friday, April 03- 08, 2011
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.About above photo: HMS Triumph in Plymouth Sound, by the Plymouth Hoe lighthouse - Read the story HERE
Image Credit: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011 .
-- Sunday - April 03, 2011 --
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* FOX News had the following report this past Sunday afternoon and it starts off like this... NATO has asked the U.S. military to continue flying airstrike missions over Libya through Monday, extending the previously announced timeline for U.S. participation in that mission by two days, NATO and Pentagon officials tell Fox News...
Read this report in full at link below...
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* BBC.co.uk had the following report up on their website Sunday and it starts off like this... The east Libyan oil town of Brega has seen continued fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi... [BUT,] A BBC correspondent near the town says an uneasy stalemate is developing... days after a NATO air strike on a rebel convoy killed at least 13 people...
Read the full report at link below...
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* Telegraph.co.uk had this take on Sunday’s news... Listless rebels are waiting on the road to Brega for more coalition air strikes, and have even apologized for drawing down friendly fire... After ten minutes of struggle and the formation of a human pyramid, a barefoot young rebel managed to scale the telegraph pole and hoist his revolutionary flag. For his bored comrades egging him on along the stark desert road to the strategic oil town of Brega, it was the day's greatest excitement so far and they cheered wildly... After lightning advance and wild retreat, the rebellion against Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces has settled into stalemate in eastern Libya. The rebel forces on Sunday were stretched out along the road between gentle rolling ridge lines in the same positions they have occupied for four days, awaiting NATO help to drive back government troops... Such is the desire for more Coalition air strikes that the rebels even apologized for drawing down friendly fire on themselves in a mistaken Friday evening attack which killed 13 fighters...
Read the rest at link below...
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-- Monday - April 04, 2011 --
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* VOANews.com has the following report posed on their website this Monday afternoon and it starts off like this...
Libyan troops loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi used tanks and snipers to keep the western city of Misrata under siege Monday as diplomatic efforts to end the Libyan conflict continued... Fighting was also reported Monday in eastern Libya where rebels and pro-government forces have been at a stalemate. Libyan rebels made a new push into the strategic oil town of Brega...
Read this report in full at link below...
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* BBC News brings us this Monday up-to-date report and it starts off like this... Libyan rebels are advancing towards the eastern oil town of Brega, [again] reports say, in renewed fighting with forces loyal to leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, who currently hold the territory... Brega has changed hands several times in the past month... Senior Libyan envoy Abdul Ati al-Obeidi is now in Turkey for talks. He has said Col Gaddafi wants the fighting to end... Meanwhile, Italy has become the third country to recognize the rebel council as Libya's legitimate government...
Read the rest at link below...
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-- Wednesday - April 06, 2011 --
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* The Washington Post had this report posted up on their website Wednesday evening and it starts off like this...
Libyan military commanders loyal to Moammar Gaddafi are blunting the impact of NATO’s air campaign by hiding tanks and artillery in densely populated areas where the alliance’s fighter planes cannot easily reach them, U.S. and European diplomats said Wednesday... The shift in tactics has meant fewer targets for NATO warplanes, fueling complaints by rebels who say the quality of air support has plummeted since the United States turned over command of Libyan operations to NATO. Opposition leaders say Gaddafi’s forces are inflicting particularly heavy casualties on civilians in the rebel-held city of Misurata, where dug-in loyalists have been operating with little interference from NATO missiles and bombs...
Read this report in full at link below...
* Fox News had this good read Wednesday by KT McFarland...
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-- Thursday - April 07, 2011 –
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* AP had this short report Thursday... The U.S. general who led the initial phases of the Libyan mission says the operation is largely a stalemate and is more likely to remain that way now that America has transferred control to NATO...
Read the rest at link below...
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-- Friday - April 08, 2011 –
* Seattlepi.com brings us this report late this Friday morning and their report starts off like this... Anti-government fighters battled forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in fierce clashes Friday in the only major rebel-held city in western Libya as international relief efforts were stepped up for civilians caught in the crossfire... Heavy shelling was heard at nightfall outside the city, where some neighborhoods have been nearly abandoned after residents fled to safer areas during weeks of fighting. Nearly all buildings were pockmarked from gunfire... It was unclear which side had the upper hand. But a witness said rebel forces were trying to keep Gadhafi's troops from taking full control of a route linking central Misrata to its port, a critical lifeline for ships carrying humanitarian supplies into the battle zone just 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tripoli...
Read the full report at link below...
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* VOA News.com has this report today... NATO has confirmed it was responsible for airstrikes that hit Libyan rebel tanks outside the eastern oil city of Brega... NATO deputy commander Russell Harding told reporters in Brussels on Friday that allied forces had never seen rebels operating tanks before and mistook them for pro-government forces. Rebel leaders say four people died in the strikes...
Read this report in full at link below...
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* Libya Up-to-Date News Coverage *
LOTS of up-to-date info/videos/photos and more can be found in this section
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* Ministry of Defense Special Section:
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* DoD Special Section:
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* Aljazeera.net...
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* Photos/Slides *
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- SKYNEWS HD -
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- CSMonitor.com -
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- WashingtonPost.com -
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* Videos *
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- Rebel leader condemns NATO inaction -
About Video: The leader of the Libyan rebels says that NATO is not doing enough to protect the citizens of Misurata. (Posted April 6th)
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- Oil Settles Up As Libyan Rebels Export Crude -
About Video: Benchmark crude oil reached a new 30-month high Wednesday and settled in U.S. floor trading over $108 a barrel. Libyan rebels exported a shipment but later reported damage to oil fields under their control. (Posted April 6th)
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- Video of Libya rebels shelling rockets on desert frontline -
About Video: Rebels in Libya say they've been hit by a NATO airstrike, with some reports suggesting as many as 13 people have been killed. This comes as UK officials are investigating Libyan claims that British planes destroyed the Arab state's largest oil field, killing three guards.
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- NATO Acknowledges Its Planes Hit Libyan Rebels -
About Video: NATO has acknowledged that its planes struck Libyan rebels manning tanks outside the contested port of Brega. The crowd was angry in Benghazi's central square Friday as the coffins of the victims were carried through. (Posted April 8th)
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Safe Flying to all our Coalition Pilot Friends
AubreyJ.........
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