This Man Thinks He's In Charge of "Donetsk People's Republic"

TIME

Michigan woman, 33, killed in Syria fight, family says

Fox News

A 33-year-old Michigan woman was killed in Syria while fighting for opposition forces, relatives said.

Nicole Lynn Mansfield, of Flint, and two other were fighters for a group opposed to Syria’s government and were killed during a confrontation in Idlib, according to a pro-Syrian government news agency. The circumstances of the deaths could not immediately be confirmed.

Mansfield’s cousin, David Speelman, of Flint, told The Associated Press that FBI agents visited family members Thursday and informed them of Mansfield's death. FBI Detroit spokesman Simon Shaykhet told the AP he can't comment on the matter.

Speelman's mother, Monica Mansfield Speelman, told the Detroit Free Press that her niece was a convert to Islam who married an Arab immigrant several years ago but later divorced him. The family was not happy about Mansfield's conversion to Islam, said Monica Speelman and Mansfield's grandmother, Carole Mansfield.

"She had a heart of gold, but she was weak-minded,” Carole Mansfield told the newspaper. "I think she could have been brain washed."

Nicole Mansfield was raised as a Baptist and her father was a General Motors production worker, relatives said. She quit high school after becoming pregnant but later earned her GED, attended community college and worked in home health care for 10 years, they said.

She told people “that the best way of life was to be a Muslim,” Carole Mansfield told the Detroit Free Press. “And that women should always cover their head.”

Mansfield, according to the Syrian government news agency report, was fighting with two other people from England and reportedly had rifles, clips of ammunition, grenades and the flag of al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda-related group.

“I’m sick over it,” Speelman told the Detroit Free Press of her niece’s death. “I didn’t think she was (a terrorist), but God only knows.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/30/michigan-woman-33-killed-in-syria-fight-report-says/#ixzz2Ut0GnpCT

Kerry confirms US helping train Syrian opposition

foxnews

Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed to Fox News that the U.S. is training anti-Assad forces in the Syria conflict, saying Tuesday the hope is to convince President Bashar Assad to "change his current calculation."
Kerry, speaking to Fox News in Doha, Qatar, became the first U.S. official to acknowledge the off-site training on the record. He would not go into detail about the training, describing it as "one part" of the U.S. effort and something that "a lot of countries" are doing.
"I think what President Obama is hoping is to build on what has already happened. The president put in place sanctions and that helps to strip some of President Assad's ability to fuel his war machine," Kerry said.
The New York Times previously reported on the effort to train Syrian opposition forces, quoting unnamed officials, but this is the first time the State Department has spoken openly about it.
"There are a lot of nations working at this," Kerry said of the effort to pressure Assad. "And so I think President Assad needs to read the tea leaves correctly."
Kerry, who is on his maiden international tour as secretary of state, cited last week's meeting in Rome where European nations joined the U.S. in offering support to the Syrian opposition. This included an additional $60 million in aid from the Obama administration and a commitment to provide non-lethal aid.
Kerry described the international sentiment as a "conviction that no nation is going to stand by while he slaughters his people with SCUD missiles, and his jets dropping bombs. And ... we've ratcheted up yet another level with the hope of convincing him and his allies that the time has come to really negotiate with the transitional government."
Kerry also discussed the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012, terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Though some in Congress are concerned the investigation has not made measurable progress over the last six months, Kerry voiced confidence in the FBI's work.
"Justice sometimes takes a while when you operate by high standards and when you need the levels of evidence that we do. But we are working at it and we will continue to work at it," he said.
Kerry revealed that he has visited with one of the survivors of the attack, whom he described as "a remarkably courageous person, who is doing very, very well." He said he also talked to the survivor's wife. Kerry could not say why the public has heard so little about the survivors of the attack.
Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, died in the Benghazi assault.
Kerry, who in 2004 ran for president against George W. Bush largely on an anti-Iraq war message, on Tuesday praised President Obama for "getting our troops out of Iraq."
But, as the U.S. approaches 10 years since the start of the Iraq war, Kerry also said Bush "deserves credit for what the troops did when they went in."
He said the troops "did an absolutely stunning job, an extraordinary job."
Fox News' James Rosen contributed to this report. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/05/kerry-confirms-us-helping-train-syrian-opposition/#ixzz2MgDjGOr1

Obama Administration To Extend Direct Aid To Syrian Rebels

patdollard

Excerpted from THE HILL: The White House is considering plans to extend direct aid to Syrian rebels seeking the ouster of President Bashar Assad, according to a report.
The move, first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday, would be a major policy shift for the administration, which has been reluctant to provide any military assistance to the Syrian opposition.

According to the report, the White House is weighing a number of proposals that could include providing equipment such as body armor and armored vehicles or military training. The administration is also considering sending humanitarian aid directly to the rebel groups. But White House officials still remain opposed to providing the opposition with weapons, according to the Post.
The Obama administration has faced pressure from many lawmakers to do more to help forces battling Assad, but the White House has expressed fears that military hardware could fall into the hands of Islamist insurgents.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) earlier this month called Syria one of the “most shameful chapters” in U.S. diplomatic history and said it was “disgraceful” that Obama was not doing more to aid the insurrection.
The contentious issue has also led to splits within the administration, with former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta telling lawmakers during a hearing that he and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had backed providing arms to rebels last year. That push, though, was overruled by the president.

The report also comes as Secretary of State John Kerry is in Europe this week, where he will attend a summit with members of the Syrian opposition to discuss efforts to bring a peaceful end to the civil war.
Syrian opposition leaders had threatened to boycott this week’s summit, expressing frustration that Western powers were not doing enough to aid their fight. But the leaders agreed to sit down for multilateral talks after Kerry made public and private pleas asking them to join multilateral talks.
The Syrian regime on Monday also said that they would be open to peace talk with the rebels, but the Obama administration has questioned their sincerity and insisted that any agreement must be preconditioned on Assad leaving power.

“That future cannot include Bashar al-Assad, who has long since forsaken any opportunity he might have had to participate in Syria’s future,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Monday. “He has so much blood on his hands. He has been engaging in a prolonged assault on his own people that has cost tens of thousands of lives, of innocent civilian lives.”

Pentagon, State and CIA backed plan to arm Syrian rebels

security

By CNN's Adam Levine

The top two officials at the Department of Defense said Thursday they supported a proposal made at one point by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CIA Director David Petraeus to arm Syrian rebels, something the Obama administration has so far resisted.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey said in testimony to a Senate committee that they backed a proposal last summer to provide weapons to the Syrian opposition fighters. U.S. officials tell CNN’s Elise Labott that the White House knocked down the proposal.
Appearing at a hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the two defense officials were asked by Arizona Senator John McCain, the leading Republican proponent of a more aggressive backing of Syrian rebels, if they supported the idea of arming the opposition.
“We do,” answered Panetta.
“We did,” answered Dempsey.
Panetta and Dempsey did not get a chance to explain the response as Senator McCain moved on to another topic.
The administration has resisted arming the rebels citing concerns about the infiltration of extremists groups who would possibly use those weapons against other targets. For now the administration has provided millions in humanitarian aid. The CIA has also sent agents to vet the opposition group to try to better understand its composition.
But last December, the U.S. designated a key Syrian rebel group, the al-Nusra Front, as a terrorist entity. U.S. officials argued it was a necessary step that will not weaken the ability of other rebels to combat the Syrian military.
President Barack Obama spoke of the hesitation of getting more involved in Syria in an interview last month with CBS News.
“Syria is a classic example of where our involvement, we want to make sure that not only does it enhance U.S. security, but also that it is doing right by the people of Syria and neighbors like Israel that are going to be profoundly affected by it. And – and so it’s true sometimes that we don’t just shoot from the hip.”
Senator McCain used the answer by Panetta and Dempsey to urge the president to consider the plan, saying in a statement released to the press ““the time to act is long overdue, but it is not too late.”
“The crisis in Syria represents a graphic failure of American leadership. I urge the President to heed the advice of his former and current national security leaders and immediately take the necessary steps, along with our friends and allies, that could hasten the end of the conflict in Syria,” McCain said in the statement.

Assad gives defiant speech as Syrian rebels edge closer to Damascus

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Syrian ‘Rebel’ Films Himself Shooting 10 Prisoners – WARNING: Graphic Video

Patrick Dollard

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http://is.gd/1DYZyK 

10 Al Qaeda Syrian ‘Rebel’ Groups Unite In Ominous, Powerful Coalition

Follow Bill Roggio On Twitter Excerpted from Bill Roggio's The Long War Journal: On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq's Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian province of Deir al Zour and formed a Mujahideen Shura Council. The ...

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Assad flees to home district as rebels enter Damascus

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La guerra sucia birmana

Foreign Policy/  Carlos Sardiña
Las irreconciliables posiciones entre el  Gobierno birmano y el grupo étnico kachín.

Carlos Sardiña

EN IMÁGENES: Estado Kachín, territorio en armas

La noche del 9 de junio de 2011 una serie de fuertes estruendos despertaron a Labang Hkwan Tawng, una robusta mujer de 60 años, mientras dormía con su nieto en Sang Grang, una aldea de unas sesenta casas en las montañas del norte del Estado Kachín, en Birmania. El sonido era inconfundible: fusiles de repetición y morteros cuyos proyectiles llegaron a caer en pleno centro del pueblo. Aterrados y sin tiempo para recoger sus pertenencias, Labang Hkwan Tawng y su nieto corrieron a refugiarse en el bosque junto a otros habitantes del pueblo. Desde allí caminaron durante  días y finalmente llegaron al campo de desplazados internos de Nhkawng Pa, situado en una aislada zona montañosa a pocos kilómetros de la frontera con China.

Más de un año después, el pueblo está vacío y Labang Hkwan Tawng y su nieto continúan viviendo en el campo junto a otros 1.636 refugiados. Las organizaciones no gubernamentales locales calculan que al  menos 75.000 personas han tenido que abandonar sus casas desde que aquel día de junio volviera a estallar el conflicto entre el KIO y el Tatmadaw, el Ejército birmano, tras el frágil alto el fuego que ambos bandos habían mantenido desde hacía 17 años.

Según el coronel Zaw Tong, del Ejército para la Independencia Kachín (KIA), el conflicto se venía preparando durante meses, cuando el Tatmadaw decidió rodear una de presa que se estaba construyendo en el río Ta Ping, muy cerca del pueblo de Labang Hkwan Tawng. La zona se halla en el límite de la región que, según los términos del alto el fuego firmado en 1994 por ambos bandos, debía estar bajo el control del KIA/KIO y los kachín consideraron el movimiento de tropas un acto de agresión.

Durante los últimos meses, al mismo tiempo que el presidente Thein Sein iniciaba un incierto proceso de apertura política que ha recibido el apoyo, y hasta el aplauso, de una gran parte de la comunidad internacional, la guerra en el Estado Kachín no ha hecho más que recrudecerse. Y el futuro de Birmania probablemente se juegue tanto en la capital Nayipyidaw como en las remotas montañas del norte.

Las raíces del conflicto son tanto políticas como económicas. El KIO lleva luchando contra el Gobierno central desde su fundación en 1961, primero por la independencia y, a partir de mediados de los 70, por la autodeterminación dentro de un Estado federal, tal y como habían acordado los líderes kachín y otras minorías con el general Aung San, padre de Aung San Suu Kyi y artífice de la independencia birmana, en el Acuerdo de Panglong de 1947. El acuerdo contemplaba un Estado federal con autodeterminación y el derecho de secesión en diez años para las minorías étnicas que lo firmaron, pero, tras la muerte de Aung San pocos meses después, ningún Gobierno birmano lo ha respetado nunca.

Los kachín, en su mayoría cristianos baptistas y católicos, han vivido en esa región montañosa durante siglos, y  tienen una lengua, una cultura y unas costumbres distintas a los bamar, en su mayoría budistas, que habitan las regiones centrales del país. Hasta la llegada de los colonizadores británicos en el siglo XIX, cuando Birmania, no existía como unidad política y territorial, los kachín, como muchas de las otras minorías que componen el complejo puzle étnico birmano, vivían de forma independiente y no estaban sometidos a los reyes birmanos de las llanuras centrales.

Por otro lado, el Estado Kachín es rico en recursos naturales. Cuenta con piedras preciosas, sobre todo jade, minas de oro, abundantes reservas de madera de teca y grandes recursos hidrológicos cuyo potencial no se ha escapado a la vista del Gobierno y los empresarios chinos. A lo largo de los últimos años, el Gobierno birmano ha estado entregando esos recursos a precio de saldo a empresarios chinos, lo que está dañando el ecosistema y ha supuesto la expulsión de numerosos agricultores kachín de sus tierras.

El Gobierno birmano recibe armas y el apoyo político de China, pero las relaciones del KIO con el gigante del norte son más ambiguas.  Pese a no estar reconocido por ningún país ni organismo internacional, el KIO controla un mini-Estado a lo largo de la frontera con la provincia china de Yunnan y cobra impuestos a todos los camiones de mercancías que atraviesan su territorio de camino al país vecino. Al otro lado de la frontera, muchos habitantes pertenecen a la misma etnia kachín y, con frecuencia, los heridos más graves del KIA son enviados a hospitales chinos. Además, durante muchos años, el KIA luchó contra el Gobierno birmano al lado del desaparecido Partido Comunista de Birmania, que recibía el apoyo de Pekín.

En esta guerra sucia, ambos bandos han sido acusados de cometer violaciones de los derechos humanos. Según un informe reciente de Human Rights Watch el Tatmadaw ha llevado a cabo violaciones masivas y usado a civiles como porteadores y detectores humanos de minas y ambos utilizan minas antipersona y niños soldado. La Nan, el portavoz y subsecretario general del KIO, no niega las acusaciones pero las matiza: según él, el KIA cuenta con algunos niños soldado entre sus filas, pero no los recluta activamente ni los emplea para combatir, y las minas que utiliza se desactivan en dos meses. Dado el estricto control que el KIO ejerce sobre los periodistas que visitan su zona, resulta imposible corroborar la veracidad de esas afirmaciones.

También resulta imposible saber a ciencia cierta la cifra de víctimas mortales o incluso la de combatientes que toman parte en el conflicto. Zaw Tong, coronel del KIA, afirma que los kachín cuentan con 10.000 soldados, a los que hay que sumar 20.000 milicianos de las Fuerzas de Defensa de los Pueblos, un cuerpo de voluntarios que luchan a las órdenes del KIA. Según él, el último año han muerto en combate unos 200 soldados kachín y otros 200 han resultado heridos y  podrían haber caído una cantidad hasta cinco veces mayor de soldados del Tatmadaw. Pero los dos bandos tienden a minimizar las bajas propias y a exagerar las ajenas y, sin observadores independientes sobre el terreno, los verdaderos hechos, como en tantos otros aspectos de una guerra casi totalmente oculta a los ojos del mundo, son un misterio.

En cualquier caso, el coronel Zaw Tong reconoce que “ninguno de los dos bandos podrá conseguir nunca una victoria militar clara”, porque las fuerzas están bastante equilibradas. El Ejército birmano cuenta con más efectivos y un armamento más sofisticado, pero “nuestras tropas conocen mucho mejor un terreno sumamente escarpado y están bien entrenadas en la guerra de guerrillas”. Como consecuencia de ello, el conflicto podría mantenerse casi indefinidamente.

El objetivo de ambos bandos consiste, por tanto, en poner contra las cuerdas militarmente al enemigo para tener una posición de fuerza en la mesa de negociaciones. Pero, hasta ahora, no se ha producido ningún avance. El principal obstáculo radica que ambos bandos parten de posiciones irreconciliables. Según Sumlut Gam, jefe del equipo de negociadores del KIO, el Gobierno birmano quiere acordar el alto el fuego antes de iniciar un diálogo político y el KIO exige un comienzo del diálogo como condición previa a un alto el fuego. Sumlut Gam sostiene que el Ejecutivo ya les engañó en 1994, cuando los kachín aceptaron el alto el fuego en primer lugar con la esperanza de que diera paso a un diálogo político que nunca se ha producido. “En aquel momento nos dijeron que el Ejército, que entonces gobernaba el país, no tenía legitimidad para llegar a un acuerdo político, que debíamos esperar a que hubiera un Gobierno civil para mantener ese tipo de diálogo”, explica. Y ahora que en Naypyidaw hay un Gobierno oficialmente civil, aunque fuertemente controlado por los militares, llegar a un acuerdo entre ambas partes no parece más fácil que antes. Para el Ejecutivo birmano, la base de cualquier diálogo político ha de ser la Constitución aprobada en 2008, sumamente centralista. Para el KIO, el punto de partida ha de ser el Acuerdo de Panglong de 1947.

Mientras tanto, decenas de miles de refugiados permanecen en unos campos a los que la ayuda internacional llega con cuentagotas. Según Mary Tawn, cofundadora de la ONG local Wungpawng Ningthoi (“Luz para el pueblo”), la ayuda de organismos internacionales a los desplazados internos en territorio controlado por el KIO ha sido totalmente insuficiente, debido a que el Gobierno birmano se ha negado a dar los permisos necesarios. Como consecuencia, en los campos no siempre se dispone de los alimentos o medicinas suficientes.

En un contexto de aislamiento internacional casi total, los kachín se ven obligados a luchar y sobrevivir solos. Hasta el momento, y dadas las circunstancias, organizaciones locales como Wungppawng Ninthoi han realizado un trabajo ejemplar administrando los campos de desplazados internos, pero existe un peligro muy real de que el conflicto degenere en una auténtica catástrofe humanitaria de grandes proporciones.

Rebeldes libios dicen saber el paradero de Khadafi

RRD Mundo

La cadena televisiva Al Jazeera indicó que el al jefe del consejo militar en Trípoli, Abdul Hakim Belhadj, aseguró que sabían dónde se encontraba el dictador. Sin embargo, no hizo pública su ubicación

Fuente: Reuters-AFP

La supuesta aseveración de Hakim Belhadj se da horas después de que un miembro del Consejo Nacional de Transición, máximo órgano de representación rebelde y virtual gobierno interino, confirmara la muerte de Jamid Khadafi, hijo del dictador.

Aunque el militar opositor aseguró saber el paradero de Khadafi no dio mayores precisiones. Khadafi no ve la luz pública desde los días previos al ingreso de las fuerzas rebeldes en Trípoli, hasta entonces foco de resistencia de un régimen que se niega a dejar el poder luego de décadas.

Los rebeldes, que en las últimas semanas tomaron el control de las principales ciudades del país, buscan intensamente al ex gobernante y su círculo íntimo. Su esposa y tres de sus hijos cruzaron la frontera hacia Argelia días atrás, pero distintas fuentes señalaron que Khadafi permanecía en Libia aún. Dos mensajes sonoros con su voz dados a conocer esta semana y una declaración de su hijo Saif Al Islam también indicaron que ambos se encontraban en las cercanías de Trípoli.

Una de las ciudades identificadas como posible refugio del líder era Bani Walid, donde los rebeldes pusieron su atención en los últimos días. Este domingo se iniciaron negociaciones con defensores del régimen para lograr una rendición pacífica. Sin embargo, las conversaciones fracasaron desde un comienzo y el encargado del diálogo por el lado rebelde se retiró anunciando que dejaba el problema en mano de los líderes de las tribus. Precisó, no obstante, que al parecer Saadi y Muatasim, hijos de Muammar Khadafi, se encontraban en esa ciudad, pero no así su padre.

El sábado, desde Bengasi, el presidente del Consejo Nacional de Transición (CNT), Mustafá Abdeljalil, repitió que los defensores del régimen tenían hasta el 10 de septiembre para deponer las armas, citando las ciudades de "Sirte, Bani Walid, Al Jufra y Sebha". Sin embargo, tras estas declaraciones, el número dos del consejo militar de Tarhuna, Abdelrazek Naduri había otorgado a la ciudad de Bani Walid un plazo mucho más corto, hasta las 10H00 (08H00 GMT) del domingo, para rendirse. 

La encrucijada libia/ Barah Mikail

FP en español 

El régimen de Gadafi se acerca a su fin. Aunque caótica y a veces sangrienta, la estrategia militar desplegada en Libia durante estos últimos seis meses por fin ha resultado fructífera. La adhesión de Gadafi a la postura antioccidental y sus llamamientos a la solidaridad panafricana, panárabe y panislámica durante el proceso de revueltas árabes no bastaron para mantenerle en el poder.

No obstante, deberíamos observar los acontecimientos con un optimismo cauteloso. El país podría estar entrando en una nueva era, pero eso no significa que sus ciudadanos vayan a llegar con facilidad a un consenso sobre el tipo de futuro que desean. En Túnez y Egipto podemos observar claramente un día tras otro lo complicado que puede resultar un proceso de transición, incluso cuando se produce como resultado de los esfuerzos de una única nación, sin el más mínimo apoyo directo del extranjero. Por eso, la ecuación libia podría originar más dificultades, y una sucesión de paradojas de las que deberíamos ser conscientes a partir de ahora.  

La primera paradoja es que, mientras el éxito de la Revolución Libia ha quedado garantizado por la acción de potencias extranjeras –empezando por la OTAN–, ninguna de ellas parece proclive a subrayar este detalle. De hecho, la OTAN tardó muchísimo en lograr su objetivo inicial implícito, es decir, la caída del régimen de Gadafi. Mientras sus miembros parecían creer en un principio que podrían derrocar al dictador con una Blitzkrieg (guerra relámpago), al final han acabado con seis meses de conflicto, miles de víctimas y de daños –muchos de ellos de los llamados colaterales– y el recientemente constituido Consejo Nacional de Transición (CNT) como único aliado. Por eso, es posible que la OTAN haya logrado en Libia lo que aún está lejos de conseguir en Afganistán, pero el período que se avecina podría demostrar también que la organización aún se encuentra muy lejos de poder conquistar los corazones y el pensamiento de la población.  

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Libya After Gadhafi: Transitioning from Rebellion to Rule

STRATFOR

By Scott Stewart | August 25, 2011

With the end of the Gadhafi regime seemingly in sight, it is an opportune time to step back and revisit one of the themes we discussed at the beginning of the crisis: What comes after the Gadhafi regime?

As the experiences of recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan have vividly illustrated, it is far easier to depose a regime than it is to govern a country. It has also proved to be very difficult to build a stable government from the remnants of a long-established dictatorial regime. History is replete with examples of coalition fronts that united to overthrow an oppressive regime but then splintered and fell into internal fighting once the regime they fought against was toppled. In some cases, the power struggle resulted in a civil war more brutal than the one that brought down the regime. In other cases, this factional strife resulted in anarchy that lasted for years as the iron fist that kept ethnic and sectarian tensions in check was suddenly removed, allowing those issues to re-emerge. Read more »

Rebels close in on Tripoli

Battle for Libya: NTC leader calls for unity

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Aug 9, 2011

The chairman of Libya's opposition has called for unity among members of the National Transitional Council.
There are fears splits could be emerging following the killing of former rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes.
The National Transitional Council dissolved its executive committee. But as Tony Birtley explains from Benghazi, there are doubts that even that will be enough.

Note:
 The National Transitional Council (NTC) was established on the 5th of March 2011 in Benghazi. The NTC is a coalition of diverse groups and interests:

* The Libyan League for Human Rights (London)
* The National Front for the Safety of Libya ( Riyadh)
* Senoussi The NTC is a coalition of diverse groups and interests:
* The Monarchists (Riyadh)
* "Liberals", close to Saif al-Islam (including two of his relatives, one close to Human Rights Watch, another AI)
* Personalities from the Gaddafi regime, but opposing his son's succession and wishing to take power,
* Adherents of radical Islam, particularly activists.
These monarchists-fundamentalists are completely opposed to Democracy and remain opposed to any form of modern government, despite their declared intentions. One motivation is their fierce desire for historical revenge, following the coup of 1969, and they have no other purpose than to restore the monarchy and to eliminate Qaddafi.

Libyan Rebels say Military Commander Killed

Associated Press|by Rami Al-Shaheibi

BENGHAZI, Libya -- The head of the Libyan rebel armed forces was shot and killed Thursday just before arriving for questioning by rebel authorities, their political leader said in a carefully worded statement to reporters that gave few details on who was behind the killing.
Adding to the confusion, the rebels had said hours earlier they had already detained the commander, Abdel-Fattah Younis, on suspicion his family might still have ties to the regime of Moammar Gadhafi, raising questions about whether he might have been assassinated by his own side.
Such a scenario would signal a troubling split within the rebel movement at a time when their forces have failed to make battlefield gains despite nearly four months of NATO airstrikes against Gahdafi's forces. It could also shake the confidence of the United States, Britain and several dozen other nations that have recognized the rebel council as Libya's legitimate leaders.


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Libya and the Problem with The Hague

By George Friedman |

The war in Libya has been under way for months, without any indication of when it might end. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s faction has been stronger and more cohesive than imagined and his enemies weaker and more divided. This is not unusual. There is frequently a perception that dictators are widely hated and that their power will collapse when challenged. That is certainly true at times, but often the power of a dictator is rooted in the broad support of an ideological faction, an ethnic group or simply those who benefit from the regime. As a result, naive assumptions of rapid regime change are quite often replaced by the reality of protracted conflict.

This has been a characteristic of what we have called “humanitarian wars,” those undertaken to remove a repressive regime and replace it with one that is more representative. Defeating a tyrant is not always easy. Gadhafi did not manage to rule Libya for 42 years without some substantial support. Read more »

Libyan rebels gaining ground in Nafusa mountain

Further west in the Nafusa mountains, an area that has remained largely inaccessible to journalists, pro-democracy fighters have been under siege from Muammar Gaddafi's forces for two months. The Nafusa mountain area is home to Libya's Berber minority. The fighting in the mountain region has sent thousands fleeing into nearby Tunisia.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught has travelled there and met a community that says it is gaining ground against Libya's longtime leader. The Libyan pro-democracy forces have been trying since mid-February to end Gaddafi's 41-year-old rule but have struggled against his more experienced and better equipped forces.

#Libia - Battle for Misurata

Located in western Libya, Misurata has become the most dramatic battleground in the country's uprising which began in February.

But there has been confusion - while Colonel Muammer Gadaffi's forces announced a withdrawl from the city on Friday, they have continued to bombard the city.

Inside Story discusses with guests: Faraj Najem, a Libyan author and historian; Mohammed Ali Abdallah, the deputy secretary general of the National Front for Salvation of Libya; and Hesham Jaber, a military analyst.

#Libya - The battles that raged on when no one was looking

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tatouine, Tunisia (at the Libyan border) said that the Libyan towns at the Tunisian border have been raging their own battles, but with fewer journalists there, the images of the fighting and destruction have not yet been seen.
She said that the rebel success in opening the border crossing is a "slap" in the face of pro-Gaddafi forces.