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| Africa North |
| Libyan Rebels Free over 10,000 Prisoners But 50,000 Still Missing |
| 2011-08-30 |
| [Tripoli Post] As Libya leans towards a democratic leadership after more than six months of battle to oust Libyan dictator Muammar Al Qadaffy ...Megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... from power after a 42-year rule, the atrocities committed by the runaway leader keep on surfacing. The Libyan rebels said Sunday they have freed over 10,000 prisoners locked away by the regime nearly 50,000 others are still missing. Rebels' front man Col. Ahmed Omar Bani said at a presser on Sunday that beside the thousands who have been freed since the rebel forces took control of the capital Tripoli, they estimated that over the past months, between 57,000 and 60,000, had been locked away by the Al Qadaffy regime. Bani said that between 10,000 and 11,000 prisoners have been freed up until now, but, he asked, "Where are the others?" He went on to say that it would be " catastrophic" if these prisoners had already been killed after being locked away. Expressing deep concern about their fate, he said "many people in Tripoli are now discovering mass graves around former detention centres and the prison in Abu Slim." An apparent massacre site in Tripoli, and separately about 50 charred corpses were discovered in a warehouse south of the capital in the past few days, at Abu Slim a generally pro-Al Qadaffy neighbourhood, that has seen fierce fighting between rebels and Al Qadaffy loyalists. Bani said: "We have names of individuals who know what happened with the prisoners in Tripoli and these individuals are currently being sought by our liberation forces. We invite anyone who has information on prisoners to come forward." "It is high time those who claimed to have been too frightened to speak to come forward and testify about the crimes which were being committed, or they will be considered complicit in these crimes," he warned. Meanwhile rebels closed in on Al Qadaffy's hometown of Sirte, which is still held by elements loyal to the former regime, after they rejected an apparent offer from the runaway to negotiate a transitional government. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) on Saturday vowed fair trials for those having worked with Al Qadaffy, and said the reward for killing or capturing the fallen leader could be increased. With the battle for Tripoli almost over, the rebels are scrambling to get the capital back on its feet, even though sporadic gunfire could still be heard overnight in the city. On the battle front, the rebel forces were closing in on Al Qadaffy's hometown of Sirte, one of the last few areas still held by troops loyal to the toppled Libyan leader, from the west and east. Rebel leaders have vowed to take Sirte by force if their negotiations with the region's tribal leaders fail. A rebel commander predicted it would take fighters about 10 days to take control of Sirte, which is the last major stronghold along the Mediterranean coast. The rebel troops have advanced to within 100 kilometres of Sirte from the east and are also approaching from Misrata in the west. In another development, Bani said that Libya's gas pipeline to Europe had been repaired. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Compare wid WAFF > IN THE NAME OF OIL - LIBYA COMMANDER [Rebels] SAY 50,000 DEAD IN UPRISING. Rebel Colonel HISHAM BUHAGIAR, whom also claims that 28,000 Prisoners held under the Gaddafi regime have been liberated, wid many 000's more missing but presumed by the Rebels to be dead??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-08-30 21:34 |