Misurata Rebels Accused of Ethnic Cleansing

A rebel drives through Tawerga as buildings burn in the background

The fact that 35,000 black Libyans who lived in a town called Tawerga are completely missing should be a tad bit alarming. Add to that the fact that most of the town has been looted and torched to the ground with racist grafitti everywhere makes clear the evil nature of what has happened.

Even this is not enough, as this NY Times article makes clear.

As the Tawergans have sought safety in other cities, including Surt and Tripoli, they say Misurata’s fighters are stalking them and rounding up their men.

Tawergans say Misurata has ignored betrayals by its other neighbors, singling out Tawerga because most of the residents are black. Graffiti on their emptied homes deepens their conviction: “Misurata’s slaves” appears on many walls. Fighters from Misurata say race had nothing to do with it. The Tawergans’ crimes were unforgivable, they said, and as far as they were concerned, the town had ceased to exist.

“They can’t live next to us,” said Salem Hussein Kanemo, an official from Misurata (seen loading up trucks with stolen food and furniture.)

On the wall of an apartment occupied by young fighters from Misurata, someone else had scrawled, “Don’t buy slaves without a stick."

Anywhere in the world human rights organizations would be calling this a crime against humanity - evidence of ethnic cleansing. Instead it goes largely ignored, particularly by Western political leaders ultimately responsible for supporting the perpetrators - the NTC rebels.


Tawerga residents make do in a deserted naval completx in Tripli where they are subject to arbitrary arrest - as well as rape and beatings

The question of who exactly is responsible for these crimes is becoming even more significant. The piece makes clear that it is rebels from Misurata. This is significant because the leader of these fighters might just soon be the most important man in Libya. Stay tuned, but the Islamists and Misuratans have put forward the name of Misurata commander Abdul Rahman al Swehli to lead the NTC once they oust the Western educated elites now in charge. "Free Libya" may soon be led by Al Qaeda and warlords responsible for ethnic cleansing.

Libya's New Leaders Face Opposition

This piece by Darfur expert Rob Crilly makes clear that the Libyan NTC rebel facade is crumbling. The people are getting to know the rebels and slowly come out of their shell.

While still absolutely afraid to express themselves in the presence of armed rebels, the Libyan people are beginning to talk to Western reporters.

A stranger fell into step alongside me... "We don't all support the NTC here," he said, referring to the rebel National Transitional Council which now controls Tripoli.

My new friend didn't say much more, other than to praise Saif Gaddafi and the office he ran as a sort of government ombudsman, helping petitioners sort out their local disputes.

He wasn't the only one. A few days earlier, several hundred marchers had demonstrated against the country's new leadership. At about the same time, I had been in Ras Lanuf, where a girl -- not much older than five I would guess -- was sitting on the curbside. The town had only recently been taken by rebels. "Gaddafi for ever," she shouted at me in Arabic, which my fixer translated for me before explaining that the town's residents had done well from the oil boom years.

In fact, the whole of the country had done well. That was Gaddafi's deal. He would rule as he wished... but at the same time he provided good roads, schools and hospitals and a standard of living that was the envy of much of the rest of Africa. On the edge of Benghazi, Saif was building an entire new city of apartment blocks to replace old, dilapidated buildings in the centre. This unstable-seeming equilibrium lasted almost 42 years.

Libya: Who is Attacking Civillians Now?

Consistent reporting from two raging battlefronts in Sirte and Bani Walid, Libya shows the attacking rebel army getting their butt kicked. Despite having thousands of men, all the heavy ammunition, artillery and even tanks they need, the rebels have have faced a "disorderly retreat" now on multiple occasions.

As the rebels themselves make clear the main problem is that the people in these cities are not with them. There are thousands of residents defending their own homes and neighborhoods. Rebels suspect pro-Gaddafi traitors in the form of locals the NTC insisted be part of any attack to make it seem less like an invasion (a plan since scratched in favor of bringing in the battle tested). The Times also cites battle fatigue, inexperience and lack of discipline.

As this merciless attack unfolds with NATO bombs raining down on these cities every night, the main question the press should be asking itself is the question NATO is supposed be asking itself before any action - exactly who is attacking civilians? In Bani Walid and Sirte, along with the "pro-Gaddafi region" north of Sebha now under attack, the answer is not at all hard to figure out. Peaceful cities are being attacked by a ragtag group of insurgents who are not afraid to fire aircraft artillery and mortars totally indiscriminately.

How many have died from rebel ammunition will never be told by the NTC - and the West/Western press don't care to find out either. And this is not at all a new situation. The rebels have been the main attacking force throughout the 6 month conflict - a situation no one in the UN has apparently cared to make note of because it would undermine the entire legal rationale of NATO's attacks.

We've Just Put the Taliban in Power in Libya

Despite being ignored by almost everyone, an extraordinary development occurred this week in Libya. This excellent piece of NY Times journalism lays bare what is really going on in there. It ain't pretty - but wholly expected.

To put it short, Libya is well on its way to turning into Saudi Arabia or Iran - an Islamic Republic. The once hidden split between the radical Islamists and the more secular liberals has become became very public and already it seems clear who will be calling shots very soon (hint: if you were US educated and a secularist, it ain't good).

In the emerging post-Qaddafi Libya, the most influential politician may well be Ali Sallabi (Muslim Brotherhood cleric linked to the LIFG)...The most powerful military leader is now Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the former leader of a hard-line group once believed to be aligned with Al Qaeda...a Muslim Brotherhood figure, Abel al-Rajazk Abu Hajar, leads the Tripoli Municipal Governing Council, where Islamists are reportedly in the majority...

Mr. Belhaj has become so much an insider lately that he is seeking to unseat Mahmoud Jibril, the American-trained economist who is the nominal prime minister of the interim government, after Mr. Jibril obliquely criticized the Islamists...“Jibril will be gone soon,” one aide to Mr. Belhaj said.

Fathi Ben Issa, a former Etilaf (powerful Islamist grouping issuing directives now) member who became an early representative on the Tripoli council, said he quit his position after learning that the Muslim Brotherhood members who dominate that body wanted to ban theater, cinema and arts like sculpture of the human form. “They were like the Taliban,” he said...The final straw, he said, came when Etilaf began circulating a proposed fatwa, or decree, to bar women from driving.

So the people in charge of the most important "council" in this new Libya are nuts like the Taliban and the most important military man is the leader of an Al-Qaeda affiliate/terrorist group? Since Islamists are predicted to win a majority in elections, "liberals" are already calling for a delay before any vote.

Job well done NATO. Die to kill Taliban-like Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, etc - and also die to put them in power in Libya. It's about to get confusing. How long before you have to begin "operations" against these "partners in arms" - NATO and Libyan Islamists.

Scramble for Libya's Oil Underway

One of the amazing things about this "humanitarian war" on Libya has been how the parties involved did not even bother to hide the fact that the spoils of war (mostly, but not entirely, oil) were going to go to those countries who helped the rebels cause. The situation is to the point where even big oil moutpieces are saying the scene is "unseemly."

The leader of the rebel's National Transition Council, Moustapha Abdel Jalil reiterated recently that countries would be rewarded "according to support" given to their war. France, which was the first Western country to call for Gaddafi's ouster and support the rebels with arms and other support, apparently is first in line.

On 3 April a letter was allegedly sent by Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) to a coalition partner, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, which mentioned that France would take "35 percent of crude oil…in exchange for its total and permanent support" of the NTC. France’s Liberation daily reported on Thursday that it had a copy of the letter, which stated that the NTC’s Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam, would negotiate the deal with France. In 2010 France was the second purchaser of Libyan oil after Italy, with over 15 percent of its "black gold" imported from Tripoli.

France and the rebel's "information minister" are solemly denying such a deal, but the French paper Liberation says it has a copy and that it is legit. Only time will tell who is telling the truth, but this is one to keep an eye on.

NATO Attacking Civillian Sites in Sirte

Check out this amazing first hand account of the havok NATO's bombs are causing in the city of Sirte, Libya.

Friends and family members of this British man report that the electricity lines and food stockpiles are being deliberately destroyed by NATO bombs. They say that you can go near the largest food depot and see cans of tomatoes and such just littered all over the area where the bombs landed. Check it out below: