Libyan Uprising - Page 19

Gaddafi tanks now shelling all buildings around Martyrs Square in Azawiya with civilian residents still inside. #Libya

New report from Azawiya: Six #Gaddafi tanks destroyed and all of its crew killed except for one captured. #Libya

Many #Gaddafi snipers in Azawiya now. #Libya

All mosques in Azawiya are calling citizens to arms. #Libya

On March 05 2011 10:59 acker wrote:


If this current rebellion is quelled, there will be a massacre, and Gaddafi will be long dead before there's another one. The people fighting against Gaddafi now had better win.

Live call on Aljazeera from Azawiya: We are expecting another wave of attacks but we are on alert. #Libya

Live call on Aljazeera from Azawiya: Two tanks have been destroyed this morning and we managed to destroyed another one. #Libya

Live call on Aljazeera from Azawiya: #Gaddafi troops have pulled back to their original positions just outside the city. #Libya

Gaddafi's forces encircled Az Zawiyah on Saturday, manning checkpoints about 3km from the centre after fighters pushed them back in fierce fighting earlier in the day.

Troops later mounted a second attack on the town, which lies just 50km west of the capital Tripoli, but were again pushed back.

More than 30 people were killed and as many as 200 people were said to have been wounded in the fighting that drove government forces out of the town.

Youssef Shagan, a spokesman for the fighters in the town, said that Gaddafi's forces had entered Az Zawiyah at 6am (04:00 GMT) with hundreds of soldier, along with tanks and armoured vehicles.

Gaddafi's forces had broken through defences into Martyrs' Square, in the heart of the town, but hours later were pushed back.

"Our people fought back ... We have won for now and civilians are gathering in the square," Shagan said.

Elsewhere, following heavy fighting on Friday, anti-government forces were said to be in control of Ras Lanuf, a pipeline hub on the Mediterranean coast that houses a major refinery and petrochemical complex, according to reports form the AFP news agency.

The nearby town of Bin Jawad was also under anti-government control on Saturday, sources told Al Jazeera.

In Benghazi, Libya's second city which is in the hands of anti-government forces, the self-declared opposition national council, held their first meeting on Saturday.

"The national council's first formal meeting is starting this morning," Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for group, said.

The 30-member body is headed by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, a former justice minister who defected from Gaddafi's camp after protests against the Libyan leader's rule erupted two weeks ago. The meeting was held in secret.

"It's a safety issue," Gheriani said. "This guy [Gadaffi] still assassinates people."

On March 06 2011 08:05 CrimsonLotus wrote:
This is so interesting from a military stand point, a superior traditional army with artillery and air support being repelled by a militia with hardly any training or equipment, but with superior numbers.

I understand the reasons why the west doesn't want to get involved, but still you can't help to wish some cavalry would come to help this brave people.