Update on Libyan Civil War, May 16th
Unfortunately, a map is not available right now, as FunGuerillaz is having major trouble with Twitpics. However, there are updates for the day.
First off, there have been continued gains on the Misrata front, with fighting now occurring in both Tawergha to the south of Misrata, and Zliten to the west. Additionally, in Zliten, there are citizen uprisings.
Second off, Qaddafi forces in the Fezzan region are menacing oil fields in the east, preventing the export of oil. These are small groups using hit-and-run, meaning that NATO is and will continue to have a hard time dealing with them. In addition, forces of the Rebels must continue to be stationed at Ajdabiya, because of a massed Qaddafi force in Brega, 80 km to the southeast.
Additionally, there has been a video, purportedly from Tripoli, shows an explosion of an apparent munitions dump in a neighborhood. This may be the first large collateral damage incident of the war.
Politically, the big news today is that ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has filed a request for arrest warrants or Muammar al-Qaddafi, his son Saif-al-Islam al-Qaddafi, and the Libyan Intelligence Chief, Abdullah al-Sanussi. The Libyan Government has said they will not comply.
And for the WTF, we have a story from Misrata, where 2 destroyers (one British, one Canadian) came across a skiff filled with 1 ton of explosives, and 2 manniquins. Aside from the fact that the destroyers disposed of the vessel with small caliber fire, no other information come out, and this would seem to be the weirdest episode in the war so far. The current theory is that is was an attempt to intimidate aid ships attempting to dock in Misrata.