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.
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