Al Jazzy is probably Qatar's most effective form of aid to the rebels. But still, valuable facts about the fighting can be gleaned from even biased media reports.
The Civil War in Libya
- Thread starter solarz
- Start date
It seems the US is getting a little frustrated over how little the european NATO part is able to achieve in Libya. So now the US is back on the front line just a little with armed Predators to support the opertaion.
I've seen reports lately that european air forces are close to running out of guided weapons already. That would really be an embarresent if such a small campaign already strains us. And the US used weapons are not compatible with european aircraft interfaces.
While we also lack the dedicated CAS assets, the US is still reluctant to bring A-10s or so back. But now there's the Predators. In places like Misrata these could probably be of great help in taking out small army positions & vehicles with Hellfires in the city and close proximity to rebel forces. That seems to be what the rebels need as well.
I also really wonder why rebels in Misrata were able to hold out so long while fighters elsewhere have been driven back 100s of miles at times when some army units start shooting roughly in their direction. Are the Misrata guys really just that more competant for some reason, or is it for the simple fact that they just have nowhere to retreat?
I've seen reports lately that european air forces are close to running out of guided weapons already. That would really be an embarresent if such a small campaign already strains us. And the US used weapons are not compatible with european aircraft interfaces.
While we also lack the dedicated CAS assets, the US is still reluctant to bring A-10s or so back. But now there's the Predators. In places like Misrata these could probably be of great help in taking out small army positions & vehicles with Hellfires in the city and close proximity to rebel forces. That seems to be what the rebels need as well.
I also really wonder why rebels in Misrata were able to hold out so long while fighters elsewhere have been driven back 100s of miles at times when some army units start shooting roughly in their direction. Are the Misrata guys really just that more competant for some reason, or is it for the simple fact that they just have nowhere to retreat?
The government seems to be admitting defeat in Misrata.
In the last several days parts of the city have been recaptured from the government forces there. The remaining troops must have very low morale. Also, yesterday, there were a lot of reports that the rebels took one of the border crossings with Tunisia, and apparently some Qaddafi troops in the area sought asylum across the border in Tunisia. It seems that this story is true.
That's a development that shouldn't be ignored for a few reasons. The area where it happened, the western mountains of Libya, have been the least publicized front in this war. Lots of reporters have witnessed the fighting in Misrata and in the east on the Ajdabiya front. But the fighting around Zintan and Yafran has been ignored because no one could reach it. Now that front has a route to the outside world. Weapons and reporters can flow in, refugees can flow out, etc.
Here's a few videos of the rebels in Misrata, just after they took the Hall of the People (seat of the city government) and the Insurance building. These two buildings are the most strategic in the center of the city and they have changed hands a few times.
In the last several days parts of the city have been recaptured from the government forces there. The remaining troops must have very low morale. Also, yesterday, there were a lot of reports that the rebels took one of the border crossings with Tunisia, and apparently some Qaddafi troops in the area sought asylum across the border in Tunisia. It seems that this story is true.
That's a development that shouldn't be ignored for a few reasons. The area where it happened, the western mountains of Libya, have been the least publicized front in this war. Lots of reporters have witnessed the fighting in Misrata and in the east on the Ajdabiya front. But the fighting around Zintan and Yafran has been ignored because no one could reach it. Now that front has a route to the outside world. Weapons and reporters can flow in, refugees can flow out, etc.
Here's a few videos of the rebels in Misrata, just after they took the Hall of the People (seat of the city government) and the Insurance building. These two buildings are the most strategic in the center of the city and they have changed hands a few times.
The rebels in Misrata captured FN2000s. Guess that means Qaddafi's got his best troops in town.
VERY intense, clear, combat footage from Misrata. I believe that In the video, the rebels had surrounded a Qaddafi unit in the house they are firing on. There seems to have been a lot of that fighting in the last few days; after morale started breaking and many of Qaddafi's men fled or were ordered to fall back, holdouts were surrounded and eliminated. Dug out like ticks with grenades, Molotovs and lots of bullets.
MwRYum
Major
The rebels in Misrata captured FN2000s. Guess that means Qaddafi's got his best troops in town.
No doubt, FN2000 ain't cheap, this means the government forces bring serious gears into play...so there goes one of the 367 pieces Libya purchased in 2008. And if the rebels captured one of those, the government forces ain't doing so well.
Here's a video showing rebels in the Berber areas, the Western Mountains, capturing what appears to be a mobile radar or communication unit (look at that big antenna on top of one of the vehicles) .
If they're capturing those, like the FN2000s, it seems that government forces are indeed being defeated here and there.
Edit:
Another video. This one shows rebels in the Western mountains apparently skirmishing/in the aftermath of a skirmish with government forces. The interesting part is when they show off two dead government bodies. One of the rebels points to them and says "This one's from Chad and this one's from Algeria". It also appears that they may have been executed after being captured, but I can't tell. I can't speak really Arabic though so I can't tell what else they say, but it would be great if someone who does speak could summarize it. I'm interested because they might be foreigners, especially the Algerian. There's been lots of rumors of Algerian involvement and it would be quite an embarrassment for Algeria if it were true.
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MwRYum
Major
If those were mercenaries that's easy to explain, but if they're government regulars that's of course another story, though rather unlikely this.
In the case of Chad at least, there's probably not much difference between "government regulars" and "mercenaries".