Breaking: Gaddafi Compound Hit By NATO Air Strike

A damaged car in Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli. Photograph: Reuters

Just a day after some U.S. politicians called for Moammar Gaddafi to be assassinated a NATO air strike has his Gaddafi's compound - an office building in the compound was hit but the whereabouts of Gaddafi is not currently known.

From the article at the Guardian:

An office building inside Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli compound has been destroyed early as Nato air strikes hit close to the base from where the Libyan leader is believed to be directing government strategy in the civil war.

At least two large missiles or bombs struck a multistorey building in Bab al-Aziziya, the sprawling complex in the centre of Tripoli, shortly after midnight. Another building, a ceremonial reception area where Gaddafi hosted a delegation from the African Union two weeks ago, was badly damaged.

The roof of the office building, which also housed a library in which Gaddafi liked to read according to an official, caved under the impact. The ground over a wide area was covered in shattered masonry, broken glass and metal, with pools of water forming between piles of rubble. Three hours after the blast, thick dust was still in the air when the foreign media was taken to the site.

Reports of light injuries from the blasts varied from none to 45. The Libyan leader's location was not known.

Gaddafi's supporters, who gather at Bab al-Aziziya nightly to act as human shields against Nato air strikes, climbed on the shattered building as chunks of masonry still fell. They waved loyalist green flags and chanted pro-Gaddafi and anti-Nato slogans.

I guess the signal is pretty clear to Gaddafi at this point - your days are numbered. At the same time, Gaddafi has to have been expecting this for weeks so I'd guess he's either way underground at the moment or he has changed locations. It will be interesting to see if the normally defiant leader emerges to shake his fist at NATO or if he stays underground or on the move.

Gaddafi compound hit in Nato attack


An office building inside Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli compound has been destroyed early as Nato air strikes hit close to the base from where the Libyan leader is believed to be directing government strategy in the civil war.

At least two large missiles or bombs struck a multistorey building in Bab al-Aziziya, the sprawling complex in the centre of Tripoli, shortly after midnight. Another building, a ceremonial reception area where Gaddafi hosted a delegation from the African Union two weeks ago, was badly damaged.

The roof of the office building, which also housed a library in which Gaddafi liked to read according to an official, caved under the impact. The ground over a wide area was covered in shattered masonry, broken glass and metal, with pools of water forming between piles of rubble. Three hours after the blast, thick dust was still in the air when the foreign media was taken to the site.

Reports of light injuries from the blasts varied from none to 45. The Libyan leader's location was not known.

Gaddafi's supporters, who gather at Bab al-Aziziya nightly to act as human shields against Nato air strikes, climbed on the shattered building as chunks of masonry still fell. They waved loyalist green flags and chanted pro-Gaddafi and anti-Nato slogans.

Inside the second building, furniture, picture frames and chandeliers lay amid rubble and covered with dust. The South African president, Jacob Zuma, along with two other Africa presidents, held talks here with Gaddafi earlier this month on a peace proposal.

It was the second time Nato had struck inside the compound since its military campaign started. A missile hit another administrative building in the early days of the strikes, causing extensive damage.

In the early hours of Saturday, two missiles hit a site a few hundred metres from Bab al-Aziziya. Nato appeared to have targeted an underground bunker, which was visible from the craters caused by the missiles.

Three members of the US Senate armed service committee called on Sunday for more military intervention in Libya. Republican Lindsey Graham told CNN that Gaddafi "needs to wake up every day wondering: will this be my last?'"

Monday's strike on Gaddafi's compound followed two days of heavy assault on the besieged city of Misrata by government forces. Despite the Libyan government's claims that troops had pulled back from the city, forces on the ground stepped up shelling and rocket fire following gains made on the ground by rebels.

Libyan Forces Defy Cease-Fire, Engage in Battle for Rebel Stronghold

March 18: A Libyan rebel grimaces on the frontline near Sultan, south of Benghazi. (AP)

A military aircraft has crashed in Benghazi, where rebels claim Libyan forces are mounting attacks despite a ceasefire being announced yesterday.

BENGHAZI, Libya –  Libyan forces struck Saturday at the heart of the rebellion against Muammar al-Qaddafi, shelling the outskirts of the rebel capital and launching airstrikes in defiance of international demands for a halt to the fighting.

Muammar al-Qadhafi called the United Nations resolution authorizing international military intervention in Libya as "invalid."

The Libyan leader says he sent a message to President Barack Obama defending his decision to attack rebel cities: "If you found them taking over American cities by the force of arms, tell me what you would do."

The statement came from the government spokesman at a news conference in Tripoli.

Qaddafi also sent a letter to the French and British leaders, and the U.N. secretary general, saying the resolution violates the U.N. charter and saying they would "regret" any intervention.
"Libya is not for you, Libya is for the Libyans," he said.

Muammar al-Qaddafi called the U.N. resolution "invalid," and sent letters to U.N. and Western leaders.

The announcement came after rebels shot down a warplane Saturday that was seen bombing the outskirts of the key rebel-held city of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire in the distance.

The fighting galvanized the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make Molotov cocktails. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks.

"Where is France, where is NATO?" cried a 50-year-old woman in Benghazi. "It's too late."

Government spokesman Ibrahim Musa denied that a government plane had gone down. He also denied government forces shelled any Libyan towns on Saturday, saying the rebels are the ones breaking the cease fire by attacking military forces.

"Our armed forces continue to retreat and hide, but the rebels keep shelling us and provoking us," Musa told The Associated Press.

Leaders from the Arab world, Africa, the United States and other Western powers were holding urgent talks in Paris on Saturday over possible military action against Qaddafi's forces, which are trying to crush the nearly 5-week-old rebellion against him.

Trying to outmaneuver Western military intervention, Qaddafi's government declared a cease-fire on Friday as the rebel uprising faltered against his artillery, tanks and warplanes. But the opposition has said shells rained down well after the announcement and accused the Libyan leader of lying.

Wary of the cease-fire, Britain and France took the lead in plans to enforce a no-fly zone, sending British warplanes to the Mediterranean and announcing the crisis summit in Paris with the U.N. and Arab allies. In Washington, President Barack Obama ruled out the use of American ground troops but warned that the U.S., which has an array of naval and air forces in the region, would join in military action.

There should be no doubt about the Libyan leader's intentions "because he has made them clear," Obama said. "Just yesterday, speaking of the city of Benghazi, a city of roughly 700,000, he threatened 'we will have no mercy and no pity.' No mercy on his own citizens."

In a joint statement to Qaddafi late Friday, the United States, Britain and France -- backed by unspecified Arab countries -- said a cease-fire must begin "immediately" in Libya, the French presidential palace said.

The statement called on Qaddafi to end his troops' advance toward Benghazi, the rebel headquarters, and pull them out of the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya, and called for the restoration of water, electricity and gas services in all areas. It said Libyans must be able to receive humanitarian aid or the "international community will make him suffer the consequences" with military action.

Parts of eastern Libya, where the once-confident rebels this week found their hold slipping, erupted into celebration at the passage of the U.N. resolution. But the timing and consequences of any international military action remained unclear.

Misrata, Libya's third-largest city and the last held by rebels in the west, came under sustained assault well after the cease-fire announcement, according to rebels and a doctor there. The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals, said Gadhafi's snipers were on rooftops and his forces were searching homes for rebels.

"The shelling is continuing, and they are using flashlights to perform surgery. We don't have anesthetic to put our patients down," said the doctor, who counted 25 deaths since the morning.
Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, denied late Friday that government forces had violated the cease-fire and invited four nations to send observers to monitor compliance: Germany, China, Turkey and Malta.

"The cease-fire for us means no military operations whatsoever, big or small," he told reporters in Tripoli.

He said military forces were positioned outside Benghazi but that the government had no intention of sending them into the city.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/19/plane-shot-rebel-held-city-libya-113932449/#ixzz1H2mZRdOg

Gaddafi Tries To Negotiate the Safe Exit of Him and His Family From Libya

A bit amazing that the likes of Moammar Gaddafi would be want to ask for mercy - I can think of many victims of the Lockerbie bombing that didn't get any mercy from this man, but according to the story at International Business Times, the Libyan leader is trying to negotiate an exile deal with the opposition forces in the country - Gaddafi is demanding his and his family's safe exit from Libya as well as promises that he won't be pursued or brought up on charges. It doesn't appear that many of the opposition are willing to talk.

From the article:

Libya leader Moammar Gaddafi has told the opposition government that he’s willing to give up power and leave the country if the safety of he and his family is guaranteed, reported Asharq Alawsat, citing sources in the city of Benghazi.

Specifically, he wants “assistance in leaving the country” and “guarantees that he would not be pursued, either internally or abroad, or brought to face international courts.”

The Libyan leader reportedly also wanted to keep his wealth.

Gaddafi reportedly made the offer via a negotiator he sent to Benghazi, the headquarter of the interim opposition government.

However, the source said the “general popular trend” of the opposition interim government is to “reject all negotiation and dialogue with Gaddafi, under any circumstances.”

Now, we've heard some talk from President Obama and other world leaders that military action could come from the West to oust Gaddafi but I think that is mostly tough bluster - I'm guessing that our intelligence community knows how close he is to falling without intervention and obviously, the tone of this madman has changed considerably in the past week.

It is pretty funny to see this "tough guy" finally starting to show some concern for his own safety as it is pretty obvious that if the Libyan revolutionaries get their hands on him, well, let's just say there probably won't be a long drawn out trial.

Gaddafi negotiating his exile, wants his safety guaranteed: Asharq Alawsat


Libya leader Moammar Gaddafi has told the opposition government that he’s willing to give up power and leave the country if the safety of he and his family is guaranteed, reported Asharq Alawsat, citing sources in the city of Benghazi.

Specifically, he wants “assistance in leaving the country” and “guarantees that he would not be pursued, either internally or abroad, or brought to face international courts.”

The Libyan leader reportedly also wanted to keep his wealth.

Gaddafi reportedly made the offer via a negotiator he sent to Benghazi, the headquarter of the interim opposition government.

However, the source said the “general popular trend” of the opposition interim government is to “reject all negotiation and dialogue with Gaddafi, under any circumstances.”

Libya: fate of key cities unclear as Gaddafi claims 'victories'

(Reuters) - Libyan troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched counter-strikes on Sunday to try to take back strategic towns from rebel forces, while intense automatic gunfire reverberated around the capital.

The resilience of Gaddafi's forces in the face of the widespread insurrection and their ability to counter-attack will increase fears that Libya is heading for a protracted civil war.

While Gaddafi's troops attacked and heavy fighting ensued, a government spokesman claimed a series of swift victories.

Shooting erupted in Tripoli just before daybreak, with machinegun volleys, some of them heavy caliber, echoing across the city of 2 million people, followed by the sound of ambulance sirens, pro-Gaddafi chants, and a cacophony of car horns.

"These are celebrations because government forces have taken control of all areas to Benghazi and are in the process of taking control of Benghazi," Ibrahim said, referring to Libya's rebel-controlled second largest city situated in the far east.

"Everything is safe. Tripoli is 100 percent under control," he said, but he advised against going to see the celebrations. "I would like to advise you not to go there for your safety."

While Benghazi remained firmly in rebel hands, government troops backed by air power pushed rebels out of the town of Bin Jawad which they had captured on Saturday, to the oil port city of Ras Lanuf, 660 km (410 miles) east of Tripoli.

One fighter returning wounded from the frontline to Ras Lanuf was asked what he had seen. He replied: "Death."

FIGHT BACK

At Ras Lanuf hospital, Dr. Heitham Gheriani said at least 15 wounded had arrived at the hospital, hurt in fighting near Bin Jawad. One French journalist was shot in the leg, he said. Four rebels were seriously wounded and unlikely to survive, he said.

But the rebels said they had shot down a helicopter in the fighting. Three rebel fighters speaking at Ras Lanuf said they had seen the helicopter fall into the sea.

State television said government forces also had retaken the important coastal cities of Zawiyah and Misrata, to the immediate west and east of Tripoli.

A resident in Misrata insisted the city was still under rebel control, and a spokesman for the insurgents in Zawiyah said they had repulsed a fresh government attack on Sunday after fighting off two armored assaults the day before.

"This morning, there was a new attack, bigger than yesterday. There were one and a half hours of fighting .... Two people were killed from our side and many more injured," spokesman Youssef Shagan said by telephone.

"We are still in full control of the square. Now it is quiet," he added.

In Tripoli, Gaddafi loyalists were nevertheless jubilant over the reports of cities taken back by the government and fired weapons in the air and brandished posters of Gaddafi.

"Libya is united. We will fight these forces that are trying to ruin the country. These forces are backed by outside powers," said Salem Ghazy, a Tripoli businessman.

Rebel commander Abdelwahabin said most people in Tripoli opposed Gaddafi.

"All Libyans are unanimous about overthrowing Gaddafi, even in Tripoli, but they are unable to move there as all the security forces are dressed in civilian clothing, mixing with anyone trying to protest," he said.

BRITISH TROOPS SEIZED

Britain's Sunday Times reported that rebels had seized a British SAS special forces unit of up to eight soldiers escorting a junior diplomat in eastern Libya on a secret diplomatic mission to make contact with opposition leaders.

The SAS intervention angered opposition figures who fear Gaddafi could use evidence of Western military intervention to sway patriotic support away from the uprising, according to the London paper.

"I can confirm that a small British diplomatic team is in Benghazi. We are in touch with them, but it would be inappropriate for me to comment further," British Defense Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC.

Despite repeated questions, Fox refused to say whether the group was in danger or was being held captive.

"We want to clearly understand what the dynamic is there because we want to be able to work with them to ensure the demise of the Gaddafi regime, to see a transition to greater stability in Libya and ultimately to more representative government," Fox said.

In a French newspaper interview, Gaddafi said he was embroiled in a fight against Islamist terrorism and expressed dismay at the absence of support from abroad.

"I am surprised that nobody understands that this is a fight against terrorism," Gaddafi told le Journal du Dimanche.

"Our security services cooperate. We have helped you a lot these past few years. So why is it that when we are in a fight against terrorism here in Libya no one helps us in return?"

Western leaders have denounced what they call Gaddafi's brutal response to the uprising, and the International Criminal Court said he and his inner circle face investigation for alleged targeting of civilians by his security forces.

But the opposition, while assembling an inspired fighting force, has failed to produce a convincingly clear leadership, a weakness Gaddafi hopes to exploit as the struggle continues.

The International Energy Agency said the revolt had blocked about 60 percent of Libya's 1.6 million bpd (barrels per day) oil output. The drop, due largely to the flight of thousands of foreign oil workers, will batter the economy and have already jacked up crude prices abroad.

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Alexander Dziadosz in Ajdabiya, Mohammed Abbas in Bin Jawad, Stefano Ambrogi in London, Nick Vinocur in Paris and Tom Pfeiffer in Benghazi; Writing by Mark Heinrich and Jon Hemming; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Gadaffi Threatens To Blow Up Libya's Oil Pipelines

As the article here at Israel National News states, Muammar Gadaffi was called the "mad god" by Ronald Reagan and apparently he is deadset on earning that title with his latest declaration that he will direct the destruction of Libya's oil pipelines and facilities. Bottom line for you and me is that gasoline you're gonna be pumping into your SUV is going to soar in price.

From the article:

Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, once termed a “mad god” by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, is threatening to blow up oil facilities, a source told TIME magazine journalist Robert Baer.

Gaddafi’s reported plan to sabotage oil facilities in the oil-producing country “is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos,” Baer wrote.

His source told him that Gaddafi’s main support is from a small but elite part of his 45,000-man army. "I have the money and arms to fight for a long time," Gaddafi reportedly said.

Oil prices have skyrocketed this week, passing the $95 per barrel mark on world markets. Financial analysts are predicting prices of $140-$200 a barrel if world events do not stabilize. Soaring oil prices could be a knockout punch to the struggling economic recovery in the United States and elsewhere and could spawn a new recession.

So, let me make sure I have this right. Democrats in America refuse to allow the United States to drill our oil reserves under our mainland and off of our coasts but will allow the price of our imported oil to be influenced by a madman in a shithole country like Libya. Do I have that right?

I'm convinced that what we will eventually see across northern Africa is simply a takeover by the forces of al Qaeda ...similar to what has happened in Somalia. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which operates out of Algeria already stands to make serious headway in that country as things deteriorate and their spread to Libya shouldn't be far behind a departure by Gadaffi. Add to those two countries about 2 more that could become targets of al Qaeda and you're looking at nearly the entire northern tier of Africa under direct influence of the islamic terror group.

You have to admit it's reassuring that America, during these revolutionary and cataclysmic times, has such a seasoned and talented foreign policy leader like Barack Hussein Obama. (Sarcasm mode off).

TIME Source: Gaddafi to Blow Up Oil Pipelines; Gas Prices Soar


Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, once termed a “mad god” by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, is threatening to blow up oil facilities, a source told TIME magazine journalist Robert Baer.

However, the same source two weeks ago told Baer, a former Middle East CIA officer, that the Middle East revolutionary movement would never spread to Libya, where Gaddafi is hanging on to power and ordering massacres of protesters while being condemned by the United Nations.

Gaddafi’s reported plan to sabotage oil facilities in the oil-producing country “is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos,” Baer wrote.

His source told him that Gaddafi’s main support is from a small but elite part of his 45,000-man army. "I have the money and arms to fight for a long time," Gaddafi reportedly said.

Oil prices have skyrocketed this week, passing the $95 per barrel mark on world markets. Financial analysts are predicting prices of $140-$200 a barrel if world events do not stabilize. Soaring oil prices could be a knockout punch to the struggling economic recovery in the United States and elsewhere and could spawn a new recession.

The monthly adjustment in the price of fuel next Tuesday will cost drivers at least five cents (17 agorot) a liter, and possibly more if the price of oil continues to rise. The expected increase more than cancels out the recent cut in the price of gasoline after public protests forced the government to cancel a hike in excise taxes.

One offsetting factor to the hike in world oil prices is the apparent readiness of Saudi Arabia to increase production to make up for reduced oil supplies in Libya, Africa’s largest oil producer with a daily production of 1.6 barrels.