리비아, 가다피 정권 붕괴 : Rebel takes control over Tripoli, Libya

[카다피 정권 붕괴] 인어(리비아 반군 트리폴리 작전명)의 기습… 42년 독재, 24시간에 끝냈다

우려했던 '최후의 발악'은 없었다. 픽업트럭과 왜건을 탄 리비아 반군은 21일 오후(이하 현지시각) 진격 개시 24시간 만에 별다른 저항 없이 수도 트리폴리에 입성했다. 소규모의 친(親)정부 병력이 무아마르 카다피 국가원수의 요새에서 버티고 있지만, 전세를 뒤집기엔 역부족이다. 로이터통신 등은 반군이 이미 트리폴리의 95%를 장악했다고 보도했다. 뉴욕타임스는 반군의 입성 현장이 마치 "일요일 오후의 한가한 드라이브같다"고 전했다.

◆시민들 "리비아는 자유다"

지난주 트리폴리 서쪽으로 48㎞ 떨어진 거점도시 자위야를 장악한 반군은 20일 밤 트리폴리로 전격 진군을 감행했다. 당초 자위야 함락 후 최소 2주 정도는 전열을 가다듬을 것으로 예상됐으나 반군은 그 허를 찔렀다. 미국이나 나토(NATO) 지도부조차 깜짝 놀랄 만큼 빠른 전개였다.

반군은 21일 낮 카다피의 7남 카미스(27)가 이끄는 32여단(일명 카미스 여단)과 맞닥뜨렸다. 트리폴리에서 불과 27㎞ 떨어진 곳에 있는 32여단은 수도 외곽을 수호하는 카다피의 최정예 부대다. 그러나 카미스의 행방은 간데없었고, 부대는 짧은 교전 끝에 무력하게 항복했다. 반군은 기지를 접수하고 기지 내 감옥에 갇혀 있던 정치범들을 석방했다. 기세가 오른 반군은 이날 해질 무렵 트리폴리에 다다랐다. 카다피 친위군의 '결사항전'을 예상했던 반군이 맞닥뜨린 것은 반(反)카다피의 상징인 옛 리비아 왕정 깃발을 흔드는 트리폴리 시민들이었다. 수천명이 거리로 나와 "리비아는 자유다" "신은 위대하다"를 외쳤다. 반군은 시민들의 환호를 받으며 국영 라디오 방송과 상업지구 등 트리폴리의 주요 거점을 모두 장악했다.

▲ 카다피의 카멜레온 패션 무아마르 카다피 리비아 국가원수는 육군 대위였던 청년 시절(맨 왼쪽부터) 쿠데타를 일으키며 42년 독재의 문을 열었다. 그는 독특하고 과감한 패션으로 자신의 철학과 카리스마를 발산했다. 자신의 출신 배경인 베두인 전통의상을 즐겨 입었다. 아프리카국 정상 모임에서는 머리끝부터 발끝까지 황금색 옷을 둘러‘아프리카 왕 중의 왕’임을 과시했다. 귀마개가 달린 털모자로 야성미도 뽐냈고 선글라스와 카우보이 모자로 독특한 패션감각을 과시했다. 범(汎)아프리카주의와 혁명의 선봉을 자처한 그는 가슴팍에 아프리카대륙과 혁명가들의 사진을 새겨넣은 옷과 제복을 입고 공식 석상에 자주 등장했다. /외신 종합

◆카다피 아들들 줄줄이 생포

날이 완전히 어두워질 무렵 반군 병력과 시민들이 트리폴리 중심부의 녹색광장을 가득 메웠다. 카다피가 종종 지지자들을 모아놓고 연설하며 세력을 과시하던 자리다. 반군은 카다피가 1969년 집권 후 지은 '녹색광장'이란 이름을 이날부터 '순교광장'으로 바꾼다고 선언했다. 지난 6개월의 반정부 투쟁 기간에 희생된 시민들을 기린다는 취지였다.

주인이 바뀐 광장에 카다피의 차남 사이프 알이슬람과 삼남 사디가 반군에 생포됐다는 소식이 전해지자 환호성이 터졌다. 사이프 알이슬람은 '카다피 후계자 1순위'로 꼽히며 민주화 시위에 대한 강경 입장을 천명해 온 인물이다. 곧이어 아랍 위성방송 알자지라가 "장남 무함마드 역시 투항했다"는 소식을 전했다. 광장의 하늘 위로 승리를 자축하는 요란한 총성이 다시 울렸다. 교착 상태에 빠진 전세가 급격히 반군 쪽으로 기운 변수는 리비아 서부 산악지대 무장세력이라고 LA타임스가 21일 보도했다. 카다피가 반군 거점인 동부를 향해 전선을 펼친 사이, 트리폴리 배후의 서부 산악지대를 반군이 장악하면서 전세가 순식간에 반군 쪽에 유리하게 전개됐다는 설명이다. 지난 이틀간 나토군이 트리폴리를 맹폭해 카다피군이 싸울 의지를 상실했다는 분석도 제기됐다.

Libya Gadhafi Compound Captured, Rebels - August 23


REBELS INSIDE GADDAFI'S HOME COMPOUND


Libya Latest: Rebels Take Over Tripoli


Libyan rebels celebrate in central Tripoli


Key moments in the battle for Libya

UPRISING

Rebels swept into Tripoli two days ago in tandem with an uprising within the city. Reuters reporters saw firefights and clashes with heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, as rebels tried to flush out snipers and pockets of resistance.

Hundreds seem to have been killed or wounded since Saturday. But Gaddafi tanks and sharpshooters appeared to hold only small areas, mainly around the heavily fortified Bab al-Aziziyah compound in central Tripoli.

Civilians, who had mobbed the streets Sunday to cheer the end of dictatorship, stayed indoors as machinegun fire and explosions punctuated some of the heaviest fighting of the Arab Spring uprisings that have been reshaping the Middle East.

President Barack Obama, saying the conflict was not over yet, cautioned rebels against exacting revenge for Gaddafi's brutal rule. "True justice will not come from reprisals and violence," he said.

The president also made plain that the United States would oppose any group within the loose coalition of rebels from imposing its power over other parts of Libyan society.

"Above all we will call for an inclusive transition that leads to a democratic Libya," Obama said.

In an audio broadcast Sunday before state TV went off the air, Gaddafi said he would stay in Tripoli "until the end." There has been speculation, however, he might seek refuge in his home region around Sirte, or abroad.

In a sign Gaddafi allies were still determined to fight, NATO said government forces fired three Scud-type missiles from the area of Sirte toward the rebel-held city of Misrata.

Bab al-Aziziyah, a huge complex where some believe Gaddafi might be hiding, was the focal point of fighting in Tripoli.

"I don't imagine the Bab al-Aziziyah compound will fall easily and I imagine there will be a fierce fight," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council, said in an interview aired by Al-Jazeera.

The Arab network, quoting its correspondent, said violent clashes were also reported near the oil town of Brega.

Rebels had initially said they held three of Gaddafi's sons, including Saif al-Islam. Al-Jazeera TV said that one of them, Mohammed, had escaped, adding that the body of another son, military commander Khamis, might have been found along with that of powerful intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

Conflict: A map shows the location of Gaddafi's compound in relation to the most fierce fighting that has taken place across Tripoli

FEARS OF REPRISAL, REVENGE

Western powers are concerned that tribal, ethnic and political divisions among the diverse armed groups opposed to Gaddafi could lead to the kind of blood-letting seen in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

In a move that could ease tensions, a rebel official in the eastern city of Benghazi said, however, that efforts were under way to make contact with authorities hitherto loyal to Gaddafi.

Foreign governments which had hesitated to take sides, among them Gaddafi's Arab neighbors, Russia and China also made clear his four decades of absolute power were over.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Libyans who said they represented Gaddafi were making "more desperate" efforts to negotiate with the United States in the last 24 to 48 hours.

Washington did not take any of them seriously because they did not indicate Gaddafi's willingness to step down, she added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who took an early gamble on the rebels and may now reap diplomatic benefits, called on the Gaddafi loyalists "to turn their back on the criminal and cynical blindness of their leader by immediately ceasing fire."

Late Monday, Sarkozy spoke to Britain's David Cameron by telephone about the Libya situation, according to a press release from the French presidential palace.

"They both agreed to pursue efforts in supporting the legitimate Libyan authorities as long as Colonel Gaddafi refuses to surrender arms," the statement read. Paris has offered to host a summit on Libya soon.

Cameron also spoke to Obama Monday night.

Rebel fighters and a television cameraman take shelter as an intense gun battle erupts outside the Corinthia hotel, where many foreign journalists are staying, in Tripoli, Thursday, Aug. 25.

A Libyan rebel inspects a tunnel at the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Aug. 25.

A rebel fighter enters a bunker of the main Moammar Gadhafi compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli, LIbya, Thursday, Aug. 25.

Young rebels show many of the albums of former State Secretary Condoleeza Rice, who was apparently on colonel Gaddafi's mind, found in his Bab Al Aziziya residence on Aug. 24.

Rebel fighters seen inside the house of Aisha Gadhafi the daughter of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 24. A defiant Moammar Gadhafi vowed Wednesday to fight on "until victory or martyrdom," as rebel fighters tried to end scattered attacks by regime loyalists in the nervous capital.

Rebel fighters search in the house of Aisha Gadhafi the daughter of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, LIbya, Aug. 24.

A Libyan rebel fighter fires his machine gun as they make a final push to flush out pro-Gaddafi forces from the Bab al Aziziya compound in Tripoli August 24.

Rebel fighters seen inside Moammar Gadhafi's main compound in Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, LIbya, Wednesday, Aug. 24. A defiant Moammar Gadhafi vowed Wednesday to fight on "until victory or martyrdom," as rebel fighters tried to end scattered attacks by regime loyalists in the nervous capital.

Libyans holding a huge flag celebrate overrunning the main Maammar Gadhafi's compound Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya, early Wednesday, Aug. 24. Hundreds of Libyan rebels stormed Gadhafi's compound Tuesday, charging wildly through the symbolic heart of the crumbling regime as they killed loyalist troops, looted armories and knocked the head off a statue of the besieged dictator.

Libyan rebel fighters pray at the entrance of Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Tuesday.

A Libyan rebel fighter gestures as he stands on a monument inside Moammar Gadhafi's main military compound, Bab Al-Aziziya, Tuesday in Tripoli. Rebels stormed the compound after fierce fighting with forces loyal to the Gadhafi regime rocked the capital. The longtime leader refused to surrender despite the stunning advances by opposition forces.

Rebel fighters trample on a likeness of Moammar Gadhafi's head inside the main compound in Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, LIbya, on Tuesday.

Smoke rises above downtown Tripoli following fighting at Bab Al-Aziziya compound Tuesday after Libyan rebel forces breached the first gate of Moammar Gadhafi's fortified compound.

Vehicles wait at the Libyan-Tunisian border in Dahibah, Tunisia on Tuesday. Reports state that the Tunisian border has been crossed by hundreds of Libyans seeking refuge from the spiraling violence over the past month.

A Libyan rebel fighter fires from the back of his vehicle toward Col. Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Aug. 23.

Libyan rebel fighters celebrate near a golf cart belonging to Moammar Gadhafi at the entrance of the Bab al Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, August 23.

Under siege: Smoke rises over buildings in Gaddafi's main compound in the Bab al-Aziziya district of Tripoli today after an attack by rebels

Rebel fighters climb onto a fence to watch the fighting near the main Gaddafi compound as it is pounded with mortars

OIL PRODUCTION

Western leaders reiterated their refusal to commit military forces to peacekeeping in Libya, which could mean tackling rearguard loyalists using urban guerrilla tactics.

NATO has backed the revolt with air power but eschewed the ground combat that cost U.S. and allied lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Britain's International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell told the BBC there was no possibility of British military involvement being expanded in Libya.

"We do not see any circumstances in which British troops would be deployed on the ground in Libya," he said.

But some governments have had civilian advisers in Benghazi for months, and the swift military advance of recent days revived questions about the shadowy role of foreign special forces on the ground.

First signs emerged of moves to begin restoring oil production that has been the foundation of the economy and a source of hope for Libya's 6 million, mostly poor, people. Staff from Italy's Eni arrived to look into restarting facilities, said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. [nWEA1411]

Italy, Libya's nearest European neighbor and the colonial power until World War Two, is a big customer for Libyan energy. But it will face stiff competition from others seeking a share of Libya's wealth -- a competition some fear could test the ability of untried rebel leaders to hold the country together.

(Reporting by Peter Graff in western Libya, Robert Birsel in Benghazi, William Maclean in London, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers, Souhail Karam in Rabat, Richard Valdmanis in Tunis, Laura MacInnis and Alister Bull in Oak Bluffs, Mass.; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Alison Williams)

Maps of Libya and Tripoli detailing latest events in the Libyan capital

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A son of Muammar Gaddafi who rebels said they had captured appeared with cheering supporters in Tripoli, giving a boost to forces loyal to the veteran leader trying to fight off insurgents who say they control most of the capital.

Saif al-Islam, who has been seen as his father's heir apparent, visited the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists are staying to declare that the government was winning the battle against the rebels.

He took journalists to his father's Bab al-Aziziyah stronghold. Television footage showed Saif pumping his fists in the air, smiling, waving and shaking hands with supporters, as well as holding his arms aloft with each hand making the V for victory sign.

"We broke the back of the rebels. It was a trap. We gave them a hard time, so we are winning," Saif said.

Saif's arrest had been reported both by rebels and the International Criminal Court in The Hague and his appearance before the foreign media raised questions as to the rebels' credibility.

He said that Tripoli was under government control and that he did not care about the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court seeking him and his father for crimes against humanity.

Gaddafi himself has not been seen in public since some time before the rebels arrived in the capital at the weekend. But when asked if his father was safe and well in Tripoli, Saif told journalists: "Of course."

World leaders urged Gaddafi, 69, to surrender to prevent more bloodshed and appealed for an orderly transition of power, as the six-month-old battle for control of the oil-producing North African nation appeared to enter its final stages.

Freedom lights the sky: Flag-waving crowds in Benghazi salute the rebel triumph in Tripoli

Dreaming of peace: A young woman offers the victory salute after rebels entered Tripoli this week, and right, a young girl has her face painted win the colours of Libya's tricolor flag 



Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, is surrounded by supporters and journalists at his father's residential complex in the capital Tripoli in the early hours of Aug. 23. Seif al-Islam, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and who ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo earlier said had been arrested by the rebels, claimed the insurgents had suffered "heavy casualties" when they stormed Gadhafi's Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli.

Saif Al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi, greets supporters in Tripoli August 23, 2011.

Libyan people celebrate near a court house in Benghazi on Monday, August 22, as rebels fought their way into Tripoli. Rebels say they are now in control of most of Tripoli, a sprawling coastal city of two million people on the Mediterranean Sea, but it was not clear whether Gaddafi was still in the Libyan capital.
Libya rebels cheer in Tripoli, Gadhafi's sons held





Libyan rebel fighters embrace at the former female military base in Tripoli, Libya, Monday.

A rebel vehicle speeds on the outskirts of Tripoli as smoke rises over the downtown, late Monday, Aug. 22. Libyan rebels claimed to be in control of most of the Libyan capital on Monday after their lightning advance on Tripoli heralded the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's nearly 42-year regime. Scattered battles erupted, and Gadhafi's whereabouts remained unknown.

An explosion near Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's main compound in the Bab al-Aziziya district in Tripoli, Libya, on Tuesday, as new fighting erupted

Smoke rose over buildings in Colonel Qaddafi's main compound in the Bab al-Aziziya district. NATO officials said its warplanes were flying missions

A captured government building where rebels were holding Hala Misrati, Libya's most infamous state TV anchor.

Rebels celebrated the news that Ms. Misrati, who had taunted rebels on Sunday, waving a gun on camera, was captured.

A rebel fighter stood guard outside the women's military academy in Tripoli.

The victorious rebel leaders had little time to celebrate, and many reasons for concern, beginning with the whereabouts of Colonel Qaddafi.

Huge crowds gathered in Benghazi, the capital of the rebel-controlled eastern part of the country, as expectations grew that Colonel Qaddafi’s hold on power was crumbling.

Rebels in Mayah examined the body of a Qaddafi soldier killed in what the rebels said was a NATO airstrike. Through Saturday, NATO and its allies had flown 7,459 missions to attack targets.

Rebels attempted to start an antiaircraft gun that was captured at the base in Mayah.

Libyans hugged a relative after he was released from a jail at the 32nd Brigade headquarters.

A Libyan rebel fighter takes up a fighting position during an attack by pro-Gaddafi forces after rebels seized a Gadhafi army women's officer training center in Tripoli on August 22. Ongoing fighting with snipers and other pro-Gadhafi forces has prevented the rebels from gaining control of the Green Square in the center of the city.

Libyan children sit on a tank while waving Kingdom of Libya flags near the court house in Benghazi, Libya on August 22.

An empty playground is seen at the rebel-held town of Benghazi, Libya, Monday, Aug. 22. World leaders said Monday the end is near for Moammar Gadhafi's regime and began looking at Libya's future without the man who has held power there for 42 years.

Libyan rebel fighters fight in downtown Tripoli on Monday, Aug. 22.

Rebel fighters celebrate as they drive through Tripoli's Qarqarsh district on Aug. 22.

Clashes near Gadhafi compound in Libyan capital




Rebel fighters from the Tripoli brigade deface a portrait of Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli on Aug. 22

A rebel fighter raises his weapon as rebels enter Tripoli's Qarqarsh district on Aug. 22. Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli on Monday after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Moammar Gadhafi's 42 years in power.

Local residents greet advancing rebel fighters on the outskirts of Tripoli on Aug. 22.

People walk along a street in Tripoli as a rebel fighter watches on Aug. 22. Heavy fighting raged near the compound of embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, while jubilant rebel forces surged into the symbolic heart of the capital.

Rebel fighters celebrate at a former military base in Tripoli on Aug. 22. The rebels claimed to be in control of most of the Libyan capital on Monday after their lightning advance on Tripoli heralded the possible fall of Moammar Gadhafi's regime, but scattered battles erupted and the mercurial leader's whereabouts remained unknown.

The bodies of two dead fighters are covered with blankets in Tripoli on Aug. 22.
Celebrations begin as fighting continues in Tripoli [NBC 8-21-2011]



Men hug, as they celebrate the arrival of rebel fighters in Tripoli, while they stand amid cars in Misrata, Aug. 22. Jubilant rebel fighters swept into the heart of Tripoli as Gadhafi's forces collapsed and crowds took to the streets to celebrate what they saw as the rapidly approaching end of his four decades of absolute power.

A man holds a flare on top of a building in Freedom Square, Benghazi, as thousands of Libyans celebrate the arrest of Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam and the partial fall of Tripoli into the hands of the Libyan rebels on Aug. 21.

Gunmen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi run through the grounds of the Rixos hotel in Tripoli on Aug. 21. Heavy gunfire rang out near the Tripoli hotel where members of the foreign media are staying, a Reuters correspondent at the hotel said on Sunday

Rebels run for cover during fighting against regime forces near the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli, on Aug. 21.

Libyan rebel fighters raise their arms in celebration as they pass through a checkpoint near the town of Aziziyah, Aug. 21.

A Libyan rebel tank drives over a sand barricade as rebels advance through the town of Maia, 15 miles west of Tripoli, Aug. 21.

Medics treat a pro-Gadhafi fighter in the Abu-Rafat hospital on the outskirts of Zawiya, Aug. 21.

Libyan rebels take position during fighting against regime forces in the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli, on Aug. 21. A beleaguered Moammar Gadhafi urged supporters to "march by the millions" and quash a months-long uprising, as rebel forces advanced on Tripoli and claimed his 42-year rule was on its last legs.

People watch a speech by Abdul Salam Jaloud near the courthouse in Benghazi, Aug. 21. Jaloud, Gadhafi's former number two, defected from the regime and is now in Italy.

A pro-Qaddafi banner is removed from a lamp post in the city's main square.

Motorists waited in line outside a gas station in Zawiyah. Rebels tried to ease petrol shortages in the coastal strip west of Tripoli by distributing free fuel.

People walked at the entrance to the international airport in Tripoli.

In Benghazi, tens of thousands of Libyans celebrated what rebels claimed to be the first uprising in Tripoli against Colonel Qaddafi's regime.

Rebels prepared to go on the attack with a tank.

Residents of Gharyan paraded through the streets in celebration after rebel fighters drove pro-Qaddafi forces from the city.

Rebel fighters shoot toward the sky during a funeral in the rebel-held town of Benghazi on Aug. 19. Four bodies of rebel fighters, who were killed on the front line of Brega, were buried.

A rebel fires an RPG towards a hotel which is occupied by snipers in the main square of the western city of Zawiya, some 25 miles west of Tripoli, on Aug. 18, the fourth day of fighting against leftover pockets of forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Rebel fighters celebrate after taking control of the coastal town of Sabratha, 40 miles west of Tripoli, on Aug. 18.

A tank abandoned by Qaddafi forces sat on the main road in the coastal town of Zawiyah.

Ambassador Ali Aujali, representative of the Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC) to the U.S., announces the opening the new Embassy of Libya under the TNC's control in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 17.

A man attends the funeral of 14 rebel fighters in Benghazi on Aug. 16. The fighters were killed the previous day in the northern oil region of Albriggh during clashes with forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

For now, though, loyalist snipers remain in the city, shooting from the rooftops of hotels and hospitals.

Tribal elders talk after a news conference Aug. 15 in which they expressed their continued support for the government of Moammar Gadhafi.

Civilians fleeing heavy fighting between rebels and pro-Qaddafi forces on the coast received fuel in Bir al-Ghanam, in western Libya.

Young women pause to take pictures at a pro-Gadhafi rally in Green Square, Tripoli, on Aug. 15.

A rebel fighter raises his arms as a convoy of residents flee fighting between the rebels and government forces loyal to Gadhafi near the coastal town of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli, Aug. 14. Libyan rebels hoisted their flag in the center of the town on Sunday after the most dramatic advance in months.

A rebel fighter holds money and documents seized from a man they said is a Libyan army soldier. right, at a checkpoint in the coastal town of Zawiyah, Aug, 14.

Smoke rose in the sky after an explosion was heard in eastern Tripoli.

Nada Hamada, 10, wearing a pre-Gadhafi flag, prepares to eat at a public meal during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at the rebel-held town of Benghazi, Aug. 14. Muslims around the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk.

A rebel fighter prepares a missile launcher at a rebel military base in Benghazi on Aug. 13.

A rebel fighter points towards a mosque in Brega on Aug. 13. In fighting on two fronts well to the east of Tripoli, at Brega and near Misrata, at least 21 rebels and six soldiers were killed int two days, with some 50 rebels wounded.

During a government organized meeting between villagers from Majar and the local media at a Tripoli hotel, Ayah Attieh, 5, pauses as she speaks to the media, Aug. 12. Attieh is one of the survivors of the Aug. 9 NATO airstrike that killed 85 civilians, according to the Libyan government.

A Libyan man prays Aug. 11 inside a memorial museum for people who lost their lives during the battle for control of Misrata, the third-largest city in Libya. The port city of 500,000 has been the scene of the fiercest fighting in the near 6-month-old conflict and it continues to see a near daily rain of fire from Moammar Gadhafi's rockets.

Misurata residents looked at a display of military objects collected during and after the battle for control of the city.

Dozens of residents from Majar, Libya, display photos of dead relatives and leader Moammar Gadhafi on Aug. 11 as they protest in front of the Hungarian Embassy in Tripoli. They were demonstrating two days after a NATO bombing that the Libyan government claims killed 85 civilians in Majar. The Hungarian Embassy represents US and European Union interests in Libya to demand a stop to the NATO bombings.

Light shines through bullet and shell holes in the walls of an apartment on Tripoli Street in Misrata, Libya, Aug. 11.

A puppet representing Col. Moammar Gadhafi hangs from an electric wire near a Libyan rebels checkpoint Aug. 10 in the center of the port city of Misrata.

People chanted slogans in front of caskets.

Amir Brean, 4, plays in a public playground at the rebel-held town of Benghazi, Libya, on August 8.

A rocket is fired during fighting with forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on August 6, as rebels advance on the town of Bir Ghanam which the commanders said they eventually captured, 50 miles south of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Libyans inspect the damage at a factory targeted by NATO air strikes in Bir Ghanam on August 6, as rebel forces said they captured the town, 50 miles southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, from fighters loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. But Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi told reporters in Tripoli on August 7 that government troops have recaptured the strategic town.

A man took pictures of a toddler sitting on a destroyed army tank in Benghazi.

Libyans listened to the Friday sermon in a square next to the courthouse in Benghazi, the provincial capital of the rebels fighting to depose Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

In Benghazi, the first Friday Prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A rebel soldier stands guard on concrete blocks as men leave Freedom Square following the first Friday noon prayers of the holy month of Ramadan in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya on August 5.

A group of rebel fighters look down onto the plains from an observation point in the Western mountains near the town of Kabaw on August 2. The rebels, who surrrounded forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in the nearby town of Tiji several days ago, had to retreat to this mountain ridge after running out of ammunition.

A local volunteer dug a grave for a Libyan rebel fighter who was killed early Wednesday in a missile attack on a front-line rebel position in Nalut in Libya's Western Mountains

A rebel climbed to an observation point overlooking the plains in the Western Mountains near the town of Kabaw, Libya.

Men sit down to eat after breaking the fast on the evening of the first day of Ramadan in Benghazi on August 1. From Syria to Libya and Egypt, the uprisings and unrest gripping the Arab world have cast a pall on the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when the traditional focus on piety will likely be eclipsed by more unrest.

A man played with his daughter in the main square before evening prayer and the Iftar meal in Benghazi. Residents of Benghazi celebrated the first day of Ramadan.

People waited in line to buy sweets in the evening before breaking their fast for the Iftar meal.

Volunteers in Benghazi's central square prepared to serve a communal Iftar meal as residents broke their fast.

People ate their first Iftar meal of this year's holy month of Ramadan.

Irish-Libyan rebel fighter Husam Najjair speaks to reporters at a frontline checkpoint near Tiji in western Libya on August 1. Najjair left behind a life as a building contractor in Dublin to become a member of the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigade, one of the many armed rebel groups fighting to end Moammar Gadhafi's autocratic rule.

Rebels fire an anti-aircraft gun at government forces during a heavy sandstorm near the village of Tiji on July 31. Heavy fighting continued for a third day as rebel forces attempted to oust pro-Gadhafi troops from the strategic western plains.

Rebels at a military base in Zuwetina, near Ajdabiya, surveyed a large sand-table map of the oil town of Brega, constructed in what was once a racket ball court.

Members of the Warfalla tribe, some of them armed, gathered in Tripoli's Green Square during a rally in support of their tribe and Colonel Qaddafi. Reports had surfaced that several Warfalla tribesmen had been killed during clashes in Benghazi.

A rebel fighter walked through a store that rebels said was looted by government army soldiers in the village of Hawamid.

Thousands of mourners thronged the flag-draped casket of the top rebel military commander in Benghazi on Friday as questions continued about the identity and motive of his assassins. Rebels fired in the air in mourning as they carried the coffin of the commander, Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, center, head of the Libyan rebels' National Transition Council, announces the death of rebel commander Abdel-Fattah Younis in Benghazi on July 28.

Libyans showed their support for Colonel Qaddafi in Tripoli.

Libyan rebel fighters in Umm al-Far searched for soldiers loyal to Colonel Qaddafi.

The first group of women who trained to take up arms assembled their rifles during a graduation ceremony in Benghazi.

A Libyan rebel fighter plays a traditional oud instrument after rebels took control of the southwestern village of Gazaia on July 28.

Volunteers inspect large crates of plastic landmines in a storage room at a landmine clearance unit in the rebel-held city of Misrata on July 28. The mines were said to have been laid by pro-Gadhafi forces when they retreated from Libya's third largest city.

A man stands on a street light during a pro-government rally in Tripoli on July 28.

A Libyan man posed for a photograph in front of a portrait of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi during a meeting of senior Libyan clerics in Tripoli on July 27.

Black smoke from a burning fuel depot rose into the sky over Misurata, which is facing chronic fuel shortages as a fire continues to rage through the fuel storage facility, 24 hours after a rocket from government forces struck the site on July 25.

Rebel fighters launch a rocket at the front line near Qawalish on July 24.

Residents of Tripoli enjoyed a day at a beach on July 24.

A giant image of Moammar Gadhafi is unveiled at Green Square in central Tripoli on July 22.

Libyans attended Friday prayers near the courthouse in Benghazi.

Rebels took a nap in the shade beneath pickup trucks on the outskirts of Zlitan.

Journalists and government employees inspect a building that Libyan officials say was damaged in an airstrike, in the town of Zlitan, roughly 100 miles east of Tripoli, on July 21.

Civilians who have volunteered to join the rebel army take part in training exercises in Geminis on July 21.

Women sit in the surf at a beach in Tripoli on July 20
MSNBC: Rich history of Greek colony, overshadowed by war



Rebel forces fire artillery guns at Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops, 37 miles west of Ajdabiya on Monday, July 18.

Libyan children play during a ceremony at a school in the rebel-held city of Misrata on July 18.

Yogorten Glize, left, and Salem Boras read the news from the broadcasting studio of Radio Nafusa al-Hurra (Free Nafusa Radio) in Jadu in western Libya on July 17. The radio station, which can be heard from the Nafusa Mountains to Tripoli, broadcasts from the Berber community of Jadu both in Arabic and in Amazigh, the ancient language of the Amazigh people.

A Libyan boy from the Amazigh community attends a class in his ancient language at the Ezefran center in Jadu in eastern Libya on July 17. The Amazigh people, the indigenous people of North Africa, are enjoying a new renaissance of their own culture after a four-decades ban imposed by the regime of Moamer Gadhafi.

Retired engineer Ahmed Ali loads a 68 mm rocket into a launcher he built from water pipes to compensate for the rebels' lack of heavy armament on July 16 in Qawalish, Libya. Qawalish has been in both rebel control and Gadhafi forces' control over the past week.

Supporters of the embattled Libyan leader shout slogans during a pro-regime rally in Al-Ejelat, east of Tripoli, on July 14. A message by Gadhafi was reportedly relayed by loudspeakers, urging his supporters to march on the rebel capital Benghazi and liberate the city.

Rebels wave as an Air Libya aircraft takes off from Rhebat air strip July 12. Ali Tarhouni, oil and finance minister in the council opposing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, opened the airfield linking the rebel capital Benghazi with a remote Western Mountain stronghold south of Tripoli, and promised a military breakthrough within days.

Boys help rebel fighters clean weapons in Misrata, after the rebel fighters returned from the frontline on the outskirts of Zlitan on July 12.

A rebel army officer shows a Libyan woman how to use an anti-aircraft weapon, in Benghazi on July 11. Rebel fighters stalled in their advance toward Tripoli and calls for a diplomatic resolution have mounted.

A Libyan rebel mechanic tries to fix a weapon, captured from forces loyal to Gadhafi, in Misrata on July 10.

Tanks are driven through the streets of Zintan during a military parade organised by the rebels July 8. Rebels staged the parade on Friday evening in Zintan, one of the main towns in the Western Mountains. Scores of children thronged the streets to watch the rebels drive through on tanks.

Supporters of Gadhafi hold his portrait and wave the Libyan National flag during a demonstration following Friday prayers in Tripoli, July 8.

Children sit in front of a picture of Gadhafi before a group wedding party held for 25 couples in support of Gadhafi, in Tripoli on July 7.

Street vendors wait for customers in front of graffiti depicting Gadhafi in Benghazi, Libya. After more than 40 years under Gadhafi, Libyans in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have taken to mocking the Libyan dictator with colorful caricatures. Before residents in the rebel-held east ripped themselves free from Gadhafi's rule, drawing such satirical pictures of the leader in public was unthinkable, and the regime would have severely punished anyone caught doing so.

Rebels surround a soldier loyal to Moammar Gadhafi after his capture in Qawalish, 60 miles south-west of Tripoli, on Wednesday, July 6.

A rebel tank moves onto a ridge overlooking Qawalish during heavy fighting on July 6, the first day of a new rebel push on Tripoli.

Protesters carrying a Kingdom of Libya flag attend a rally against Moammar Gadhafi in Misrata on July 6.

National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, center, leaves the podium after addressing tens of thousands of Libyans during a mass rally in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on July 6.

Supporters are seen climbing a lamp post during a rally for Moammar Gadhafi at Green Square in Tripoli on July 1.

A rebel fighter fires an anti-aircraft gun as he fixes weapons captured from forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a workshop in Benghazi on June 30.

New recruits by Libyan rebel forces are trained on conducting street arrests and rounding up suspected loyalists of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as part of their three-week course for new fighters in Benghazi on June 29.

New recruits by Libyan rebel forces are trained on how to secure buildings and conduct security raids as part of a three-week course at a training facility for new rebel fighters in Benghazi on June 29.

Stockpiles of ordnance inside a Gadhafi ammunition bunker which is now controlled by rebel fighters, approximately 25 miles southeast of Zintan on June 29.

Libyans celebrate after receiving the news of an arrest warrant issued against Moammar Gadhafi, in the rebel-held capital Benghazi, on Monday, June 27. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Gadhafi, his son and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity in the early days of their struggle to cling to power.

Libyan women and supporters of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wear army fatigues and hold up weapons as they attend a women's forum in Tripoli on June 25.

A former Libyan prisoner, center, kisses his daughter after disembarking a ferry following his evacuation from Tripoli by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Benghazi on Friday, June 24. Three hundred Libyans, including 51 rebels held by Gadhafi troops, were returned to the rebel-held capital Benghazi on Friday.

Libyans walk past the graves of Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers killed since the beginning of the uprising at a cemetery for fallen loyalists in the Libyan port city of Misrata on June 24. Troops loyal to embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are using rockets packed with ball bearings to bombard civilians in rebel-held Misrata in the west, Amnesty International said.

Smoke billows from a neighborhood in the western town of Nalut after a Grad rocket was fired by Moammar Gadhafi's troops on June 22. In an audio recording, Gadhafi said he did not fear death and defiantly vowed to fight "to the beyond".

Boys write verses on wooden slates as they memorize the holy Koran at a school in Benghazi on June 21, 2011. The use of wooden slates for religious studies was popular during the era of the Libyan resistance leader Omar Mokhtar, and has recently made a comeback.