Battle for Tripoli Escalates as Fighting Nears Libyan Capital

THE GUARDIAN: Fighting rages between UN-backed Tripoli government and self-styled Libyan National Army

The battle for Tripoli escalated on Sunday as a military assault on the city by the eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar led to 21 deaths and nearly 90 injuries, and international calls for calm were ignored.

As the fighting neared the capital, the UN issued a plea for a temporary ceasefire to allow the wounded to be evacuated. Hours earlier, the US announced it was withdrawing some of its troops from the country, citing deteriorating “security conditions on the ground”. India also withdrew a group of its peacekeepers, saying the situation in Libya had suddenly worsened.

The international airport 15 miles south of central Tripoli was a scene of fierce battles after Haftar claimed to have seized control of the area from the UN-backed government of national accord. » | Patrick Wintour and Chris Stephen | Sunday, April 7, 2019

New Dark Age Alert! Video Shows Saadi Gaddafi Being Beaten in Libya Jail

THE TELEGRAPH: Son of longtime dictator in undated video showing abuse of detainees in Tripoli prison, which human rights groups say raises questions over interrogation methods

Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has appeared in a video showing prisoner abuse inside a Libyan jail.

Throughout the nine-minute long video, the 42-year-old sits hunched and blindfolded as he listens to the screams of other detainees being beaten in a back room. At the end of the film, Mr Gaddafi’s jailers ask him if he would rather be beaten on his feet or on his buttocks.

“What kind of a question is this? My feet,” the dictator’s son responds. His legs are then strapped to a metal contraption, and he too is hit.

The video, published on Sunday by news site Clear News, appears to have been filmed inside the al-Hadba corrections facility in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Libya’s state prosecutor said on Monday that his office was seeking to identify the guards shown in the video. » | Louisa Loveluck | Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Saïf al-Islam Kadhafi sera jugé pour meurtre

LA PRESSE.CA: Le fils de l'ex-dictateur libyen et l'ancien chef des services de renseignement du pays seront traduits en procès pour meurtre le mois prochain, a annoncé le procureur général de Libye mardi.

Abdel-Qader Radwan a déclaré que le procès commencerait le 19 septembre dans la capitale, Tripoli. » | Esam Mohamed | Associated Press | Tripoli | mardi 27 août 2013

Explosion Hits French Embassy in Tripoli
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TRIPOLI—Security officials were investigating what Libyan officials said was a car bomb that exploded in front of the French Embassy in downtown Tripoli, injuring two French guards and destroying much of the diplomatic compound.

The explosion, which crushed the external walls surrounding the compound and was powerful enough to destroy vehicles and shatter windows for several blocks, occurred before normal office hours, around 7:30 a.m., according to neighbors and witnesses. The timing appears to have minimized the loss of life, according to Libyan security officials and firefighters who rushed to the scene.

It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the blast, which is the first large-scale attack against foreigners in Libya since the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said one of the two French guards was "severely" injured. It wasn't immediately known where the guards were evacuated to or where they were receiving medical treatment. » | Ayman Al-Kekly in Tripoli, Margaret Coker in Abu Dhabi and Inti Landauro in Paris | Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi Has Died in Libya: Brother
REUTERS.COM: The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people has died, his brother said on Sunday. He was 59.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi died at home after a long battle with cancer. His health had deteriorated quickly overnight, his brother Abdulhakim told Reuters.

"He was surrounded by his family and died in his house," Abdulhakim said on Sunday. » | Hadeel Al Shalchi | TRIPOLI | Reuters | Sunday, May 20, 2012

Glorifying Gaddafi Banned in Libya
In Tripoli, bookstores are full of selections on a range of topics from democracy building to Libya's modern history. Many of these books were banned under the rule of the late Muammar Gaddafi who was removed from power last year. Now, international rights groups fear the the country's interim National Transitional Council could be headed down a similar path of restricting freedom of speech, after it passed a new law that criminalises the glorification of the former regime and its leader. Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh reports from Tripoli.

ICC Rejects Libya's Request Over Gaddafi Son Surrender
REUTERS.COM: The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday ordered Libya to immediately hand over for trial Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader, but Libya's new authorities said they still wanted to try him themselves.

The court in The Hague ordered Tripoli to "comply with its obligations to enforce the warrant of arrest" and surrender him into the court's custody without delay, rejecting a Libyan request to delay the handover.

The ICC says it has jurisdiction in the case and that a U.N. Security Council Resolution obliges Libya to cooperate. It has warned that Tripoli's failure to hand Saif al-Islam over could result in it being reported to the Council.

Along with human rights organizations, it harbors concerns about the fairness of Libya's new justice system.

Since the elder Gaddafi was killed after being captured alive by rebel fighters, competing militias have yet to lay down their arms and Western human rights organizations have accused them of carrying out numerous extra-judicial executions and other abuses, raising serious questions about the rule of law. » | Ivana Sekularac and Marie-Louise Gumuchian | AMSTERDAM / TRIPOLI | Wednesday, April 04, 2012

A Capital Transforms, for Better and for Worse
THE NEW YORK TIMES: TRIPOLI, Libya — Tripoli is no longer the capital of a police state. But what it has become, in just a matter of weeks, can be both exhilarating and disturbing.

Hashish dealers are openly hawking their wares in the center of the city, Martyrs’ Square, known as Green Square before Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was overthrown. Drivers run red lights without giving it a thought, while political demonstrations snarl traffic. Irregular militia members who have replaced the hated Tripoli police in many neighborhoods are still showing poor discipline with their weapons, firing them accidentally or into the air all too frequently.

Tripoli is a vibrant city of nearly two million people with a bustling port, and it is graced by Roman ruins and old fortification walls built by the Ottomans and other conquerors. But while it has gone through other abrupt changes over the centuries, what is happening these days was unthinkable only weeks ago when Colonel Qaddafi tried to control even the smallest details of daily life.

Tinted windows were prohibited on cars; now, drivers everywhere are pasting dark green tinted plastic on their windows to keep out the searing sun but also as a sign of their new liberty. Fruit and vegetable vendors were restricted from selling their wares on most streets; now, throngs of them are out selling bananas and oranges beneath highway overpasses and on the sides of traffic circles, helping them feed their families but also worsening congestion.

English was largely prohibited from public signs by Colonel Qaddafi. Now, English signs have sprung up almost everywhere around town, even though few Libyans understand what they say. The signs are another expression of liberation, as well as the country’s readiness to open itself to the outer world. » | Clifford Krauss | Monday, November 28, 2011

With Gadhafi Gone, Jewish Residents Reclaim Long-shut Synagogue

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: David Gerbi is a 56-year-old psychoanalyst from Italy, but to Libyan rebels he was the “revolutionary Jew.” He returned to his homeland after 44 years in exile to help oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, and to take on what may be an even more challenging mission.

That job began Sunday, when he took a sledgehammer to a concrete wall. Behind it, the door to Tripoli’s crumbling main synagogue, unused since Col. Gadhafi expelled Libya’s small Jewish community early in his decades-long rule.

Mr. Gerbi knocked down the wall, said a prayer and cried.

“What Gadhafi tried to do is to eliminate the memory of us,” said Mr. Gerbi, whose family fled to Italy when he was 12. “I want to give a chance to the Jewish of Libya to come back.”

The Star of David is still visible inside and outside the peach-coloured Dar al-Bishi synagogue in Tripoli’s walled Old City. An empty ark remains where Torah scrolls were once kept. But graffiti is painted on the walls, and the floor and upper chambers are covered in plastic water bottles, clothes, mattresses, drug paraphernalia and pigeon carcasses.

He and a team of helpers carted in brooms, rakes and buckets to prepare to clean it out. » | Kim Gamel | Sunday, October 02, 2011

Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron 'Colonising Libya'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Libyan visit of David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy marked the start of the "colonisation" of the oil-rich country, Col Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim has warned.

The British prime minister and French president, whose forces spearheaded the Nato air war that helped to topple Gaddafi, were hailed as heroes during their visit on Thursday to Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.

But Ibrahim, in a telephone call to the Syria-based Arrai late on Thursday, charged that their joint mission had ulterior motives.

"The visit marks the start of a project of colonisation of Libya," he said.

"They are hurrying to collect the fruits of the fall of Tripoli ... because they obviously fear the arrival of America and other countries wanting a slice of the cake," he said, without disclosing where he was phoning from.

Gaddafi and members of his inner circle have been in hiding since Tripoli was overrun by National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters late last month, with the fugitive strongman still believed to be in Libya even though members of his family have fled to Algeria and Niger. » | Friday, September 16, 2011

Inside Story – The Fall of Tripoli
Libyan rebels claim victory in the capital after months of battling for political control but what is the real story inside Tripoli?

Gaddafi Urges Libyans to Rise Up against NATO

Gaddafi Threatens to Attack Europe over Airstrikes
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to carry out attacks against "homes, offices, families, in Europe" unless NATO stops its campaign of airstrikes against his regime in Libya.


The Libyan leader, sought by the International Criminal Court for a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, delivered the warning in a telephone message played to thousands of supporters gathered in the main square of the capital Tripoli.

It was one of the largest pro-government rallies in recent months, signaling that Gaddafi can still muster significant support. A green cloth in Libya's national colour, several hundred meters long and held aloft by supporters, snaked above the crowd filling Tripoli's Green Square.

A series of powerful explosions later rattled the heart of the capital, apparently new NATO airstrikes, as Gaddafi supporters cheered, honked horns and fired into the air in the street. Black smoke could be seen rising from the area near the Colonel's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Gaddafi spoke from an unknown location in a sign of concern over his safety. Addressing the West, he warned that Libyans might take revenge for NATO bombings.

"These people [the Libyans] are able to one day take this battle ... to Europe, to target your homes, offices, families, which would become legitimate military targets, like you have targeted our homes," he said.

"We can decide to treat you in a similar way," he said of the Europeans. "If we decide to, we are able to move to Europe like locusts, like bees. We advise you to retreat before you are dealt a disaster." » | Patrick Sawer | Saturday, July 02, 2011

Libya: Anti-Gaddafi Activists Speak Out in Tripoli

BBC: Opposition activists in government-controlled Libya have told the BBC that Col Muammar Gaddafi is more unpopular than ever but is clinging on to power through intimidation and murder.

Tripoli is penetrated by fear and suspicion.

There are police stationed on every street corner and, more to the point, there are thought to be thousands of state agents in workplaces, schools and cafes.

They report back anything or anyone who could be regarded as remotely suspicious.

Wanting to know what Libyans are really thinking, we gave our government minders the slip and headed across the capital to meet four young opposition activists in a safe house.

They all said they had suffered at the regime's hands in one way or another.

Friends have been killed. They're tired of the corruption and nepotism and say pressure is mounting on Col Gaddafi to go.

Salem (not his real name) told me it was, for now, simply too dangerous to head out, unarmed, on to the streets to protest because the risk of being fired on by the security services was simply too great. » | Wyre Davies, BBC News, Tripoli | Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Libya: Col Gaddafi Pledges to 'Fight to the Death'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Gaddafi pledged to never surrender and said he would fight to the death, just hours after Nato strikes targeted his Tripoli compound.

In an audio speech broadcast on state television, the Libyan leader said: "We only have one choice: we will stay in our land dead or alive."

Col Gaddafi called on his supporters to flock to his Bab al-Aziziya compound which was hit several times by NATO air strikes on Tuesday.

He said: "We will not surrender, we welcome death. Martyrdom is a million times better."

On Tuesday low-flying NATO military craft unleashed a ferocious series of nearly 30 daytime airstrikes on Tripoli, rattling the Libyan capital, sending plumes of smoke billowing above Gaddafi's compound. » | Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Gaddafi Vows to Fight On
Libyan leader denies reports he is injured, as NATO airstrikes on Tripoli continue. Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports

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Libyan TV Shows First Footage of Gaddafi in Two Weeks
THE GUARDIAN: The Libyan leader, not seen in public since 30 April air strike that killed his son, has appeared on state television

Libyan state television has shown footage of Muammar Gaddafi meeting officials in a Tripoli hotel, ending nearly two weeks of doubt over his fate since a Nato air strike killed his son.

The Libyan leader, who had not been seen in public since the 30 April bombing of his Tripoli compound killed his youngest son and three of his grandchildren, appeared on Wednesday in his trademark brown robe, dark sunglasses and black hat accompanied by officials.

"We tell the world these are the representatives of the Libyan tribes," said Gaddafi, pointing to officials and naming a few of them.

"You will be victorious," an old man told Gaddafi, referring to the three-month-old revolt in the North African country against the Libyan leader's 41 years of rule.

A screen behind Gaddafi showed a morning chatshow on al-Jamahirya state television. A zoom-in on the screen showed Wednesday's date displayed in the corner.

Reuters journalists based at the same hotel said rooms had been sealed off during the day for an event, but they had not seen Gaddafi. In the past the Libyan leader has made high-profile entrances accompanied by a large staff of minders and aides. » | Reuters | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Libye : les rebelles gagnent une bataille clé à Misrata
LE FIGARO: Les adversaires du régime de Kadhafi ont pris mercredi l'aéroport de la troisième ville du pays. La contestation du pouvoir en place gagnerait par ailleurs Tripoli, selon les insurgés.

Nouveau tournant dans la bataille de Misrata, ville clé assiégée depuis plus de deux mois par les forces pro-Kadhafi. Après une lutte acharnée, les rebelles ont pris mercredi le contrôle de l'aéroport de la ville, située à 200 km à l'est de Tripoli.

Depuis quelques jours, les troupes de Kadhafi avaient déjà perdu du terrain sur d'autres fronts autour de la ville côtière. Mercredi matin, ils ont tiré une quarantaine de roquettes Grad et des dizaines d'obus de mortier. Mais après de violents combats, les insurgés ont pris vers midi le contrôle total de l'aéroport au sud de la ville, et les tirs ont cessé. Ils avaient auparavant fait 13 blessés dans les rangs rebelles. » | Par Thomas Vampouille | Mercredi 11 Mai 2011

Libyan Capital Rocked by Explosions
Government officials say strikes target Gaddafi's compound, as rebels claim advances in western city of Misurata

Tripoli Rocked by Nato Air Strikes
Nato warplanes struck at least four sites in Tripoli early on Tuesday, the heaviest bombing of the city in weeks

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