Libyan Civil War, July 28th Update
I’m so sorry for not doing an update soon. Situations at home, and the terrorist attack in Norway distracted me.
Major Towns and Cities in Libya
The Eastern Fronts
For the first time in a long while, there is activity in the Eastern Half of Libya. An attack on Brega started on July 14, however, this attack was halted by minefields. This resulted in a large number of casulties, and halted the advance. However, 20km were gained by the rebels.
In addition, a new front has allegedly started in the far-south of the nation. A group of about 300 soldiers wernt west from Al-Jawf into towards the interior, capturing towns such as Umm al Aranib, just south of Sabha, along with the Tumu Border Crossing with Mali, and the town of Al Wigh north of that. They did hold Al Qatrun, but were forced out of the town on the 23rd. The big news here is that, not only did another (albeit small) front open up to divert resources from the main ones, but that this was done by a combination of NTC troops and Toubou Tribe in the area.
However, the big news is the assassination of General Abdel Fatah Younis in Benghazi. The circumstances are incredibly unclear, he seems to have been shot, along with two officials below him, on the way to a meeting the the executives of the National Transitional Council. There is some talk about the NTC possibly being unhappy with results, and perhaps even questioning his loyalty.
Reports indicate he was arrested for unknown reasons, by other NTC military members. There have been between between Younis and Khalifa Haftar, who was the 3rd most powerful man in the Eastern Military.
The question is now, what happens on the Eastern Front.
Surprisingly, the effect may not be that great. A similar situation occurred in Misrata some months ago, during the breaking of the siege. In this case, there was little change in operation, and things continued forward. However, there have been reports that the front line at Brega has moved back 10 km after some amount of panic.
The Misrata Front
Again, this front has been bogged down by an astounding number of landmines. However, the rebels seem to be now just about 1.5 km outside Zliten itself, and now hold the immediate suburb of Suq al-Thulatha. This is to the Southwest of Zliten Proper.
In addition, airstrikes have increased massively in Zliten, with attacks every night in the past week.
The Nafusa Front
On the Eastern Side of the Front, there has been little movement. This is because of a minefield between Qwaleesh and Asabaa’a. However, a Qaddafi attack about 2-3 days ago on Qwaleesh failed, even with the fact that civilians were forced to run ahead of Qaddafi’s troops to disrupt the rebels.
More the the West however, there have been some changes. An attack on Ghazaia and Al Jawsh have occured today. Reports indicate that Ghazaia is now in Rebel hands, meaning the rocket attacks on both Nalut and the border town of Wazzin will probably stop. What happened in Al-Jawsh is unclear, as news of the assassination shoved that under the radar. If Al-Jawsh is taken, the garrisons Qaddafi has in Badr, Tiji, and Tikut will be completely cut off from resupply.
Diplomatic and Other Fronts
A bizarre incident occurred the Libyan Embassy in Bulgaria, where Libyan Diplomats and other workers went on a rampage, claiming the Embassy for the Rebels. Wikipedia’s summary below is much better than anything I could write:
Reuters reports: A group of Libyan diplomats and staff stormed the Libyan embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria today, smashing statues and portraits of Muammar Gaddafi and declaring the embassy under the control of the opposition forces. Footage from private Bulgarian television station, bTV, showed several opposition supporters taking down the Libyan flag and smashing a bust of Gaddafi to pieces in the embassy’s yard. The group detained the charge d’affairs of the embassy and his secretary, who declined to denounce the Libyan leader. The two were later allowed to leave, Reuters said, citing bTV.
In addition, bombing has continued in Tripoli, and Rebels Cells in the city have been doing frequent hit-and-run attacks, sometime against meetings of high officials in Qaddafi’s government.
Also the British have decided to officially recognize the NTC as the legitimate government, and forcing the Pro-Qaddafi staff in that embassy to immediately vacate the premises. This was shortly after footage of a rally in a Qaddafi-held area where the prepetrator of the Pan Am 103 terrorist attack mocked the British Government.