"NATO continued its relentless nightly bombing raids"
Just another night in Libya.
"Libyan rebels blame Khadafy for blast at hotel; UN investigation accuses regime of war crimes" by Ryan Lucas, Associated Press / June 2, 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya — A car exploded yesterday in front of a hotel where foreign diplomats and journalists stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital....
In Geneva, a report by the UN Human Rights Council charged that Moammar Khadafy’s forces have committed war crimes. The 92-page report also found that rebel forces committed “some acts which would constitute war crimes.’’
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It concluded that government forces committed murder, torture, and sexual abuses “as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population’’ before and during the conflict that started in February....
That seems to be what governments do.
The regime, which has suffered a series of diplomatic setbacks in recent weeks, suffered another blow yesterday when Khadafy’s oil minister appeared in Rome and confirmed he had defected.
Opponents of the Khadafy regime rose up against the Libyan dictator in mid-February, and have wrested control of the eastern half of the north African country....
Despite months of fierce fighting between rebel forces and Khadafy’s military, Benghazi has been for the most part calm....
President Obama has said that the NATO campaign prevented a massacre of thousands of civilians in Benghazi.
By massacring thousands of others in Tripoli.
Before the airstrikes drove Khadafy’s forces back from Benghazi’s outskirts, the Libyan leader was threatening to go door to door to root out rebels and their sympathizers in the city of about 1 million....
You know, the KIND of THING AmeriKan troops do in Afghanistan!
The attack came as Khadafy’s regime absorbed diplomatic blows.
In Rome, the Libyan oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, said he has defected....
Yeah, I saw that (yawn).
Ghanem said Libya’s oil infrastructure had been badly hurt by the war.
And CUI BONO?
What, HALLIBURTON, KBR, or BECHTEL gotta get in there, 'eh?
“Some wells have been shut down too quickly and without proper procedures, and therefore this situation led to the complete stopping of production,’’ he told reporters. Equipment was stolen or destroyed, meaning it will take “a lot of work’’ to restart production.
Up to now, oil and gas has accounted for 95 percent of Libya’s export income, 25 percent of its gross domestic product and 80 percent of government revenue, according to US government statistics.
The defection followed the departure of eight senior Libyan army officers, including five generals, who were presented to reporters in Rome earlier this week by the Italian Foreign Ministry days after they fled Libya.
Another 13 servicemen loyal to Khadafy, including a colonel and four commanders, have fled to neighboring Tunisia, the official Tunisian news agency reported. It was the second group of military men to defect to Tunisia this week.
Are we winning yet?
In Brussels, NATO and its partners decided to extend their mission for another 90 days, the military alliance’s top official said yesterday....
Answer: Nope.
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Related: The Solution to the Libyan Question
And if you try and leave Libya:
"As many as 270 migrants fleeing Libya for Europe may have drowned after their vessel capsized off the coast of Tunisia, authorities said yesterday....
I don't know what is worse, the whiz-bang-boom death of a missile strike or the horror of drowning.
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"Libyan rebels forced government troops from three western towns and broke the siege on another, a rebel commander said yesterday, and NATO pounded 10 targets across the country.
We're winning!!!
The heavy bombing and rebel victories, plus the first publicized diplomatic contact between China and the rebel leadership, reflect the continued erosion of Moammar Khadafy’s power since the eruption in mid-February of uprisings to end his 42-year rule....
Then this all ought to be over real soon, right?
--more--"
Today's Sunday Globe Libyan report:
You understand what the blank patch means, right?
Related: Goldman Sachs Lost 98% of Libya’s $1.3B Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment
Didn't see that in the Globe, either.
I guess Goldman Sachs won't have to repay Khadafy now.
