Defense News - The conflict in Libya |
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Sunday,
April 03, 2011, 1:54 PM |
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Fighting
between the Kadhafi and rebels forces continue in Brega
and Misrata.
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A
mortar attack by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
killed at least one person and wounded several others in
Misurata early on Sunday morning. Misurata is Libya's third-largest
city and the last major hold-out for opposition fighters
in the west who have been resisting bombardment and attacks
from Gaddafi's troops for weeks.
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In
the east, rebels said they had retaken Brega, a strategic
village near an oil facility, but the opposition's advance
appeared to be slow and uncertain, even after two weeks
of intensive air strikes from the international military
coalition enforcing UN Security Council resolution 1973,
which is aimed at protecting Libya's civilians.
The
fighting continues at Brega. Large explosions and machinegun
fire was heard this morning. The revolutionaries said that
better trained army units are now helping to fight against
Gaddafi’s forces and have kept less experienced people
from the battle.
Gaddafi’s forces have been bombarding the town of
Yafran, 100km southwest of Tripoli, since yesterday. One
citizen told Arabiya that residential areas have been attacked
with Grad rockets.
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Libyan
rebels prepare to fire a rocket launcher at the front line
outside Brega, Libya. |
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Libya’s
rebel council named what it called a “crisis team”
on Saturday, including a new armed forces head, which will
administer parts of the country it holds in its struggle
to topple Muammar Gaddafi.
The
team headed by Mahmoud Jebril will take its direction from
the transitional national council, which remains the top
rebel political body, council spokesman Hafiz Ghoga told
a news conference.
Omar
Hariri is in charge of the military department, with General
Abdel Fattah Younes al Abidi, a long serving officer in
Gaddafi’s armed forces, as his chief of staff. Younes
will be in charge of staff matters and field operations,
Ghoga said. |
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Former Libyan Interior Minister Abdel
Fattah Younes al Abidi, who was appointed head of the rebel
forces after defecting, arrives at a checkpoint near the
frontline, outside Brega in eastern Libya
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