Heavy Gunfire and Bombing In Libyan Capital As Rebels and NATO Look To Seize Control
- Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:15pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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Heavy gunfire and explosions rattled the Libyan capital Saturday after rebels seized control of a major coastal city just west of Tripoli. Rebel commanders said the firing in the capital signaled the start of an attack on Moammar Gadhafi’s main stronghold.
Gun battles and rounds of mortar shelling were heard clearly at the hotel where foreign correspondents stay in the capital. Explosions were heard in the area as NATO aircraft carried out heavy bombing runs after nightfall.
Col. Fadlallah Haroun, a rebel military commander in their stronghold of Benghazi said this marks the beginning of Operation Mermaid – a nickname for the capital city – an assault on Tripoli coordinated with NATO.
Haroun told The Associated Press that weapons were assembled and sent by tugboats to Tripoli on Friday night.
“The fighters in Tripoli are rising up in two places at the moment – some are in the Tajoura neighborhood and the other is near the Matiga (international) airport,” he told the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera.
Earlier Saturday, the government organized a trip for reporters to the airport to show them it was still in government hands.
The head of the National Transitional Council said the date of August 20 was chosen to coordinate with the ancient Muslim Battle of Badr, when Muslims conquered the holy city of Mecca in A.D. 624.
“We planned this operation with NATO, our Arab associates and our rebel fighters in Tripoli and commanders in Benghazi,” he said.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim appeared on Libyan television to deny that there was an uprising in Tripoli.
“Sure, there were some armed militants who escaped into some neighborhoods and there were some scuffles, but we dealt with it within a half hour and it is now calm,” he said.
Rebels fighting to oust Gadhafi have scored a number of victories in the six-month civil war, only to see towns fall out of their hands. Now the momentum appears to have firmly swung in the opposition’s favor after months of near-deadlock. Video from the The Telegraph of rebels earlier this week entering Zawiyah, a costal city 30 miles west of Tripoli:
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Comments (51)
bullcrapbuster
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 11:24pmWell at least the freedom fighters take time every few hours to show Allah their butts.
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on August 21, 2011 at 2:29amLast reports looks as if rebels will have control of Tripoli before long – they are headed that way now.
Report Post »http://wp.me/pYLB7-1vV
Ella
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 10:30pmThis is just business as usual for the Muslims. They live to kill and die. To us western cultures this seems beyond barbaric. It is insane. When the world is rid of Muslims the mayhem and killing will greatly subside. The truth hurts, but it’s still the truth.
Report Post »mygunsweetness
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 10:29pmI wonder how long after we help them over throw the gov. before they attack Israel?
Report Post »lar5673
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 10:08pmSo let me get this correct. We have been fighting against the taliban in Afghanistan and now we are fighting with the taliban in Lybia? Am I the only one who is crazy here????
Report Post »Disnylv
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 10:20pmThe way Ms. Clinton describes it, there are apparently several “TRIBES” of the Talabin
Report Post »408 CheyTac
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 11:17pmYes, but only after we armed the taliban in the first place.
If it was a movie script it is so stupid even maxwell smart would not have been able to read it with a straight face
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 9:39pmI have a really bad feeling about this,
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 9:36pmAnd our Dear Leader is about to topple Assad in Syria. The “Allahu Akbar” crowd is going to gets its caliphate across the Maghreb into the Levant. Let’s face it, Lebanon is already controlled by Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy on that side of the Mideast.
Not good, no, not good at all. Dictators are disgusting, but at least they are secular.
Report Post »408 CheyTac
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 11:21pmI seem to remember something about “you break it you buy it” about Iraq.
How much you wannt bet we are gonna be buying this dump too?
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:33pmMy concern is that the West has now shown the world just how Ineffective NATO is. Thank God we never had to go to war against USSR during the cold war, because from what I see the West with NATO protecting them would have lost West Germany in short order.
Report Post »Really, the greatest consortium of military power on earth can not dispose of a 3rd world leader after so long????
We should have sent the Texas Rangers instead.
notforreal
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:16pmAnd in this Country, conservatives are called ‘radicals’?
Report Post »Jerley
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:35pmHow many Libyan lifes did NATO(we) save by bombing Libya for 6 months and killing over 40,000 libyans by NATO?
I don’t like Gahdaffi but this is murdering men, women and children for political misdirection.
Report Post »Templar7
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:54pmWe have passed the point of being able to do anything about the destruction of this country from within. This country will fall like the rest of the world and we will either move toward a world order or America will rise and be the nation it was intended to be. But be sure that it will be a fight and it won’t be glamorous either but we will prevail in the steps of our founders. We will then add a “Bill of Responsibility” to our new (old) constitution before the Bill of Rights.
Report Post »becker88
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:12pmThis needs to be handled right away.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »ddg7
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:51pmLooks a lot like Detroit!
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 9:29pmI thought is was the UK
Report Post »SkiTuna
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:43pmMeanwhile these bonehead idiots keep firing rounds into the air in an effort to show how tough they are, doesn’t anyone realize what goes up must come down? How many have been wounded or killed? I suspect hundered of not thousands over all. Such morons….
Report Post »barber2
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:32pmAnd what will NATO do when these “rebels” declare Libya a Islamic theocracy? Oh, that is going to awkward …
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:51pmthat’s right. Notice how no one ask why anymore? Why, can anyone tell me, did we the US go to “not war” with Libya? You will recall that before Obama took office they were practically allies with the West in general, and apparently Britton loved em enough to let one of the most notorious prisoners in the world free.
Report Post »If the US were to recall all of its troops home today, and declare solidarity with Israel there would be no war in the world.
It sounds crazy, but the US is the only nation at war with anyone. I know that is a bit of a stretch, but it does illustrate how war like we must appear to the rest of the world. Up until Libya we were protecting our selves, or retaliating against an aggressor. Our new president has changed the world as we know it.
Bernard
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:26pmWe should not be supporting these protesters for their intention is not to usher in a democracy but create a Muslim theocracy with the ultimate aim of a regional Caliphate. We have already seen what has happened to Egypt since the removal of Mubarak. This is another drastic mistake by the Obama administration or is it a willful act?
Report Post »JUSTDOUGIE
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:24pmLybia is perhaps the single most important reason why we need to obtain more information on what has happened, or does happen in obama’s wEGYPTya (that’s pronounced WeJippedYa for liberals)!
There are only five items that can win this confrontation for the USA. First one is maintaining our freedoms, which is the only real engine driving creativity & which leads us to superior economic productivity. Second is getting our financial house in order as soon as possible, which means liberal arts & the departments of (de)education need to be closed immediately. Third thing will be cheap energy for hungry businesses & consumers alike. The fourth item will be world dominance in food production. The last item will be punishment for those that lead us down the wrong path, pelosi & obama need an extended vacation to Somalia. Get those five we survive, miss out on any of those five and we are in a state of absolute calamity. That is one man’s opinion, based on my observations.
Report Post »temple62
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:18pmSend in the UK punks, they loot their stores and force them into submission!
Report Post »Bernard
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:58pmWhen will we learn from our past mistakes? When Mubarak was ousted from his position in Egypt, it was not replaced by a Western style democracy, instead those who have now taken power are die hard radical Muslims who intend to turn Egypt into an anti US theocracy. They have already attacked Israel. This “Arab spring” that is surging through the Middle East has nothing to do with personal freedoms or a Democratic system. On the contrary it is a regional move to make Sharia law the law of that region and set in motion the creation of a Middle Eastern Caliphate. \
Report Post »In a way this is the difference between the US and China. where as the US is more than willing to cling onto the notion that this regional upheaval is a move towards Democracy, China on the other hand does not care what government will replace those that are now being ousted. China only cares about trade and to date has not sent any of her troops to fight foreign wars, while we do exactly the opposite and lose each and every time.
tarbush
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:05pmThe ‘we’ that is in charge of the country (i’d say in in the white house, but he’s hardly ever there) doesn’t consider it a mistake. He thinks all that is a great start toward world-wide revolution leading toward a communist world government. Change you can believe in (if your name is marx, lennin, stalin, obama, ayers, etc.)
Report Post »tarbush
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:58pmAnd the islamofascist government that takes over will be our bossom-buddies, right? Hey, where are the human shields that we saw in a previous conflict? Oh wait, this is a good war because the prez is a marxist. What about the uprising in Iran a year or so ago? Oh wait, that country is already ran by islamofacists, so we are in favor of putting that revolution down.
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:57pmYou know, the blaze, and the internet in general, is going to be used by the muslim radicals in the future, after they have taken over our nation and imposed sharia law. It wwill be used to slay our children and grandchildren, much like Pol Pot did.
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:56pmEveryone here needs to watch “The Third Jihad”. They are coming for all of our heads!
Report Post »BO_Bill
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:36pmThese Libyan rebels are really, really smart. Consider that after only a few short weeks, they learned to unfold the stocks of their AK-47s before firing. Also consider that when standing in a group, these rebels choose to celebrate by shooting their weapons straight up into the air, instead of shooting their weapons in a horizontal fashion.
But, even more importantly, and impressively, these desert rebels have already established A BRAND NEW CENTRAL BANKING SYSTEM! Because, heaven forbid, Muamarar would make the decision to not accept fiat currencies in exchange for oil. The consequence of a stupid decision like that would likely be death or exile. Just ask Barry’s handlers.
Go Ron Paul.
Report Post »DarkFire
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:28pmcongrats we are throughing out a dictator, and the muslim brotherhood will be installed instead, or al quida will finally take over. IMPEACH O-BUMMER!
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:21pm…And, enemy-obama’s unexplained, unprovoked and unconstitutional taxapayer-funded war against the Libyan people rages on, as he and his woman enjoy yet another taxpayer-funded vacation…
Report Post »tarbush
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:00pmafter a tax payer funded campaign trip to iowa!
Report Post »barber2
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 7:37pmHey, and don’t forget the 3 day used Mega Bus, Ground Force One. Boy, bet it gets great gas mileage! Maybe the environmentalists at the White House can bum a ride home. That sucker’s got Plenty of room and probably not being used – too large for Hyannis Port!
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:20pmGod give our armed forces wisdom and strength.
Report Post »TheCenturion
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:19pmYay, let’s have another country controlled by religious zealots who want to destroy Israel. Yrah, go muslim brotherhood.
Obama is a communist revolutionary.
Report Post »Ella
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 10:49pmObama is in on this plan. The plan was announced, between the lines during his thank you speech(for the money the muslims sent him) in Egypt shortly after he was elected president. It’s no coincidnece that Egypt, Libya and Syria are all having uprisings against their governments. Obama hates the Jews/Israel. The dictators int hese Muslim countries have kept the relationship with Israel stable. Now the Muslim Brotherhood will take over and they will not be wanting to keep stability.
Report Post »stumblemouth
Posted on August 20, 2011 at 6:19pmIt would be great if Libyans were fighting for freedom, but it looks like they are going to want to exchange one form of totalitarianism (Qaddafi) for another (islamism). I find it hard to cheer on people just wanting to fight for a different form of enslavement.
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