Reply #123: Libyan refugees say Tripoli will fall soon

[pinboy3niner]

Source: Washington Post

By Thomas Erdbrink, Friday, August 19, 8:57 PM


BIR AYAD, Libya — The long columns of cars arrived at the rebel-controlled checkpoint here, 60 miles from the Libyan capital Tripoli, with children flashing victory signs and fathers happily honking the horns of their cars.


The families, hundreds of them, had slipped out of the capital in the early morning of Friday, using back alleys and country roads in order to avoid checkpoints controlled by forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi, the country’s embattled leader.


They are part of a growing exodus from the Libyan capital, which follows significant advances by the ragtag rebel army toward the capital. Their victories have led many to expect Gaddafi’s era to be finished in in the coming days or weeks, but many inhabitants of Tripoli say they can’t wait that long.

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Those leaving are seen as traitors by Gaddafi loyalists. “The soldiers at the checkpoints called us ‘rats’ and accused us from deserting to the rebels,” said Mabrouk Mohammad, 52. The soldiers had ordered him to turn around, he said, and to return to a capital where he had spent months deliberating whether or not to stay or go.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-refugees-say-tripoli-will-fall-soon/2011/08/19/gIQAS5w5QJ_story.html