Libya celebrates as Gaddafi's remote strongholds rise against him

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

On the road from Benghazi to Tripoli, evidence of the dictator's demise includes sacked barracks and official buildings burned

Martin Chulov in central Libya | SaturdayFebruary 26 2011 19.06 GMT

On the road west from Benghazi to Tripoli, Colonel Gaddafi's Libya is being rapidly cleansed of his remnants. Just over a week into the revolution that few, even here, thought possible when it started, the eradication of a despot is well on the way to completion.

The town of Ajdabiya, 160km south of Benghazi, the regional capital, has long been one of the east of the country's most forsaken enclaves, a place where people were thought to have been tamed and cowed during Gaddafi's 42-year rule. No one seemed to get on in life from round here. This city has few heroes.

Now, the spoils of a remarkable victory are everywhere, along with the scars of an ignominious defeat. Every official building in town has been torched and ransacked, just like the state institutions to the east. Every image of the loathed leader has been torn down and defaced. The tired facades, the grim streets and hard-bitten locals are the only signs that a dictator once ruled here.

We stopped first at a town square where an effigy hung from a wire alongside the Libyan independence flag, last flown under the monarch Gaddafi ousted in 1969, King Idris. A small group of youths milled around an empty fountain, with a brand new feature – the wing of a fighter jet that plummeted to earth on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/26/libya-celebrates-gaddafi-remote-strongholds

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Much more at the link.

Related article from The Guardian...

Gaddafi's defectors denounce 'government of Mussolini and Hitler'
David Sharrock | Saturday February 26 2011 18.03 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/26/gaddafi-defectors

[tabatha]

1. Great news.

Also, an article:

"Across 'liberated' eastern Libya, volunteerism and a pulling together"

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0226/Across-liberated-eastern-Libya-volunteerism-and-a-pulling-together

I am hopeful for a good outcome.

[rpannier]

2. Great news (except for the Idris part)

Idris was a puppet for western powers and multinational oil companies.
Under his rule, people starved while western corporations thrived.

[maddezmom]

3. Report: Libya's Gaddafi loses more ground in Misurata and Tripoli

Report: Libya's Gaddafi loses more ground in Misurata and Tripoli
Feb 27, 2011, 9:02 GMT


Tripoli/Cairo - Opponents of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi have taken control of the third largest city in the country, Misurata, Al Jazeera broadcaster reported Sunday.

Government troops and security loyal to Gaddafi have left Misurata, around 200 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli, a resident in the city told Al Jazeera.

Reports said that 23 people were killed when Gaddafi's security forces attacked the city's airport.

According to the London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Gaddafi forces now control only half of Tripoli, one day after observers said the leader's supporters have barricaded the capital to prevent protesters from entering from other cities.

mroe:http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1622302.php/Report-Libya-s-Gaddafi-loses-more-ground-in-Misurata-and-Tripoli

[maddezmom]

4. Battle For Benghazi Caught On Camera

Amateur footage obtained by Sky News shows the determination of protesters as they go up against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the city of Benghazi.

We watched as another young man was buried in Benghazi cemetery on Saturday. He had died from injuries inflicted by Colonel Gadaffi's military.

Doctors say 500 were killed in the battle for Libya's second city and another 1,900 injured, many of whom are unlikely to survive.

Sky News has acquired dramatic footage of part of that battle, showing young revolutionaries standing their ground at night as tracer fire whistles past in the street outside Colonel Gadaffi's government compound.

One youth brandishes a knife, but apart from that they appear unarmed. Then you can hear the sound of a heavy machine gun opening up.

more:http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Benghazi-Libya-Video-Emerges-Of-Protesters-Battling-With-Colonel-Gaddafis-Forces/Article/201102415941812?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Page_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15941812_Benghazi%2C_Libya%3A_Video_Emerges_Of_Protesters_Battling_With_Colonel_Gaddafis_Forces