4. THE EVENTS
The Uprising
The movement started the 12th and 13th February 2011. The Libyan uprising-#‐ inspite of its popular appearance at the outset-#‐ does not represent the majority of the population and is made up of diverse individuals with different, often contradictory, interests: on the one hand, an element of popular and democratic desire, tired of the dictatorship of Gaddafi; on the other hand the Eastern clans, annoyed at the unequal sharing of the country’s riches; finally the Islamists.
Even more surprising, this movement is lead by ex ministers of the regime (Mustapha Abdu Jalil and Abdul Fatah Younis), who in the past violated human rights and who seem to be motivated mainly by their desire to gain power.
If the Tunisian and Egyptian ‘revolutions’ were ‘unarmed revolts’, in the case of Libya, the revolt quickly challenged the military forces and rapidly developed into an insurgency and then into a civil war.
In all the towns visited, all the symbols of the Government regime were wrecked, police stations, law courts, town halls, barracks, prisons, etc. In contrast little damage or looting to urban buildings was found. For reasons of revenge, summary public executions were carried out by the rebels.
Faced with this situation the Libyan government could legitimately respond with force. It tried therefore to slowly retake control, without decisive action. The ‘local militias’ of the regime had never before experienced being under fire and were slow to react to a revolt which spread quickly.
The Libyan government finally managed to organise a counter offensive against the insurgents. The rebels, mostly young men with no military experience and badly armed, were chased out of the town centres. Contrary to what the media announced, our visits to the towns did not show signs of intense fighting, due perhaps to a holding back of the army or the weakness of the opposing, armed rebels.
The unfolding of the revolution was very different in the East -#‐ where it was all over in a few days and where the forces of law and order fled quickly -#‐ in the West, the rebel attacks lasted longer before being brought under control.
Events in the East
In Benghazi, on February 12th, the people’s uprising was led and directed by a lawyer. After his arrest by Libyan police, the populace, egged on by three to four hundred activists, emerged again on the 15th February -#‐two days before the demonstrations named by social media -#‐ and started to attack the police stations, the barracks and the public buildings.
Two professors of the University of Benghazi,-#‐ met fortuitously in Djerba -#‐ told us that they saw surge out of the University ‘students’ whom they had never before seen and who led the demonstration. These ‘students’ threatened and assaulted the professors who would not take part in their actions and did not approve of their slogans.
These professors, deeply concerned for their safety, did not want to give us to publish their names.
From the start of the demonstrations, Islamists and criminals took advantage of the situation by attacking the high security prisons on the outskirts of Benghazi where their friends were locked up. After the freeing of these men, the mob attacked the police stations and the official buildings, and the inhabitants of the town woke to see the bodies of police officers hanging by the neck from bridges.
Many abuses and assaults also took place on black Africans who were all accused of being ‘mercenaries’, evictions, murders, imprisonment, and torture. These terrible actions and the fact that Gaddafi had helped their countries in the past were the reasons why many African countries strongly supported him.
During the first few days the efforts to regain control were carried out without using excess force, subsequently the forces of law and order fired over the heads of the mob and on the next day shot at them. There were some deaths and a number of wounded, as the French doctors working in the hospital there were able to confirm.
Tobruk -#‐ 4th largest town of the country, with around 170,000 inhabitants -#‐ an Islamic fiefdom, was taken over quickly, a few days after the start of the action in Benghazi. Traces of fire fights are minimal.
On the 17th February a spontaneous, at first, demonstration took place, started by some youths who were following the movement in Benghazi. This grew stronger on the second day. The police fired on the demonstrators (3 to 4 victims) then a general revolt took place with the demonstrators firing shotguns. In view of the attitude of the locals and the local tribes, the heads of the police and security forces decided to flee, leaving their men and arms behind (the local garrison was mainly staffed by locals who did not fire on the crowd). Before leaving those loyal to Gaddafi blew up the munitions depots.
If the younger people (20-#‐40 years old) were in at the start of the events, then the control was quickly taken back by the older men. The chiefs of the tribes of Toubruk met soon and took over the town and played a central role; creating local committees for security, emergencies, for women, the young, etc.
Very few volunteers left Tobruk to fight against the forces loyal to Gaddafi, even though it is said that the inhabitants of this town, all of Bedouin origin, are more courageous than the citizen of Benghazi.
At Derna - approximately 90,000 inhabitants, the main Islamic fiefdom of Cyrenaica - on the 15th February, as in Tobruk, about 25 students from the university decided to demonstrate. The professors tried to dissuade them but to no avail. The local members of the TNC we met during the course of our visit-#‐ amongst them three French professors at the university-#‐ claimed that Facebook played a central role in the outbreak of the events.
From the second day of demonstrations, the police opened fire, killing five and wounding ten. The revolt then immediately increased. Faced with the size of the opposition the police fled. The demonstrators then seized the police station and other public buildings and set fire to them.
After the takeover of the town, the inhabitants organised themselves into committees as in Tobruk. Then a group of students and teachers left to fight with the insurgents.
Our hosts took us to visit the community room, within the walls of the mosque at Derna, dedicated to the ‘victims of Gaddafi’. However this exhibition also includes victims of the fighting in Chad, (80’s) the American bombing of 1986 and the previous revolts against the regime, in 1996, and the events of February 2011.
Finally, we noted in the town many mural graffiti - well drawn with very clichéd comments-#‐ definitely not spontaneous, aimed at foreign visitors, or journalists, written in French, English and Turkish.
Events unfolded -#‐ again -#‐ according to the same scenario, in Al Baida, a town of 90,000 inhabitants, with a Prefecture of 200,000. On Wednesday 16th February, about fifteen youths from school and some students started a demonstration against the government, during the continuing events in Benghazi. On the 17th there was a march joined by various participants from the poorer quarters, chanting for the departure of Gaddafi. The police opened fire and two youths were killed. In response a sit in was organised.
Prior to Friday prayers, reinforcements from the army arrive in the town. The forces of law and order start to fire rubber bullets first and later real ones. It is thought 17 died, men from age 17-#‐40. The inhabitants of Al Baida claim they saw African mercenaries within the army forces.
The youth were later joined by police offers and soldiers who defected. These armed the demonstrators against the ‘mercenaries’. On Friday they arrived at Sharat, an air base and garrison town, to besiege it. The loyalist troops resisted, thanks to reinforcements from Al Baida. The fighting went on for two days until the insurgents won and took the barracks. The region was taken over on the 20th February.
There are no figures on the loss of life for the army or police, but we know that 272 soldiers were there. According to the TNC they were well treated, thanks to tribal intervention. The dead and the military prisoners were sent to their families. The arms seized were sent to Benghazi.
The revolt in Al Baida lasted six day from 15th to 20th February, three days of fighting. There were 64 dead amongst the insurgents during those days. Afterwards the TNC claimed they did not see any spying or attempts at destabilisation from the government in Tripoli.
Events in the West
Until the end of February, in Tripolitana, the insurgency enjoyed favourable conditions: not only did they take Misrata, which is 220 kilometres from Tripoli, but it grew in the cities of Zouara and Ziaouia (also known as Zawiya).
However in the Tripolitana the rebellion was only supported by a minority of the population.
The insurgency in Ziaouia -#‐ located less than 50 kilometers from the capital -#‐ was planned and co-#‐ordinated, and was neither peaceful not spontaneous from the outset.
The ‘active’ demonstrators were only about 300-#‐500, the majority Libyans -#‐ amongst them a number returned from abroad -#‐ but also according to the Police, Tunisians and Egyptians. From the start of the events, they entered the town and immediately occupied the centre, taking hostage some of the citizens with them. They installed their HQ in the Mosque.
During three weeks, the police received written orders not to do anything against the insurgents, not to shoot, not to confront them. The police also had to evacuate their own buildings due to the attacks of the rioters.
The government, surprised at the escalation of the insurgency, did not want to start a blood bath, so as not cut themselves off from the tribes, nor to create the problem of vendetta (revenge). It is not inconceivable that the interior minister (Abdul Fatah Younis) deliberately gave orders to do nothing, so the insurgency could take hold, from the perspective of his imminent departure for Benghazi.
During those three weeks, all the public buildings were looted, ransacked and burnt; police stations, offices of the security department, court houses, town hall, prisons, etc . Everywhere there was destruction and looting, (guns, money, documents) without any trace of fighting, which confirms the statements of police officers. Some shops and pharmacies were looted and the drugs stolen.
There was also vicious attacks on the population, (women raped, some lone police officers killed) and other civilian deaths during these three weeks when the town was in the hands of the insurgents; the victims were killed in the method of the GIA Algerian terrorists, (throats cut, eyes gouged out, arms and legs chopped off, bodies burnt).
The local authorities and the police complained openly about the absence of orders from Tripoli during those three weeks, and did not understand why. But the obedience of the police to the orders of the regime was complete. There were no ill considered actions, the orders were respected.
At the end of three weeks the army received order to regain control of Ziaouia. The fighting lasted three days and was not so intense, as can be seen by inspecting the visible damage. About 100 to 150 armed men tried to resist by acting as urban guerrillas. Most of them fled towards the mountains, the other were killed. A few were taken prisoner.
Other civilian victims were of the fighting were mourned, and during this time the refinery at Ziaouia was allegedly set on fire and damaged (the delegation did not see this).
First Lessons
The Libyan ‘revolution’ is therefore not a peaceful uprising. The movement did not start in the capital and does not have any socio economic basis. Its epicentre is situated in the East of the country, in Cyrenaica, a region traditionally opposed to the central power. The movement quickly became an armed insurgency.
Re: Civil War in Libya
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Originally Posted by Vladimir
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