Reply #37: Q&A: Rebel spokesman Abdelbaset Abumzirig

[joshcryer]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/20114240556575343.html">Q&A: Rebel spokesman Abdelbaset Abumzirig
When 41-year-old Misurata resident Abdelbaset Abumzirig called in to Al Jazeera Arabic during the first days of the uprising against longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, he became the voice of the city's rebels to much of the outside world. In the months since, Abumzirig has tirelessly kept journalists informed about the fighting in Libya's third-largest city, which some have begun to call "Libya's Stalingrad." There are perhaps only 10 two-way satellite Internet connections left in the city, he said.

Al Jazeera caught up with Abumzirig on Monday night while he made a brief visit to Benghazi. He was due to return to his besieged hometown on Sunday.

Abumzirig told Al Jazeera that rebels had made significant advances in Misurata in recent days, but he described a violent and bloody conflict on the ground there. Around 10 families have reported cases of rape at the hands of Gaddafi's troops, and many more have seen their relatives abducted. Around 400 people have died, at least 2,000 have suffered injuries – some devastatingly severe – and 1,000 have disappeared, Abumzirig said. The lightly armed rebel force defending the city numbers only 800 to 1,000 men at any one time, though many more stand ready to take weapons from their fallen comrades, he said.

A lawyer by training, Abumzirig also wrote and directed anti-regime plays. He adapted an Armenian writer's novel into "The General of the Dead Army," which criticized Gaddafi's armed forces, and also wrote "The Night When Ben Ali Escaped,"a reference to the downfall of Tunisia's leader that called for a similar uprising in Libya.

This is a must read. Just got posted to Al Jazeera.