Bani Walid Captured By Libyan Government Troops

Gaddafi Stronghold Bani Walid Captured By Libya Government Troops -- The Guardian

At least 20 die in battle for desert town which remained loyal to late Libyan dictator

Libyan government forces captured the town of Bani Walid on Wednesday, ending an eight-day battle that has cost at least 20 lives and left more than 200 wounded.

The desert town, described by the government as Libya's last stronghold loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, has defied official control since January.

Government spokesman Nasser al-Mana'a said the offensive followed a string of kidnappings by gangs in the town and the murder of a former militiaman credited with capturing Gaddafi last year.

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More News On Bani Walid Captured By Libyan Government Troops

Libyan forces 'capture ex-Gaddafi bastion Bani Walid' -- BBC
Libyan militia takes former Gadhafi stronghold -- AP
Pro-government forces seize old Gaddafi bastion Bani Walid -- Reuters
Libyan Forces Now Control Restive Town, Officials Say -- New York Times
Libya fighters seize ex-Qaddafi bastion -- The National/AFP
Libya fighters seize former Qadhafi bastion -- Business Recorder

Libya Marks 'Liberation Anniversary' With Renewed Fighting

Libya Marks "Liberation" Anniversary Amid Continued Fighting -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Libya marked the first anniversary of its "liberation" of Muammar Gaddafi's rule on Tuesday, but ongoing fighting in one of the dictator's former stronghold overshadowed celebrations.

The oil-producing country was declared "liberated" a few days after Gaddafi's death on October 20, 2011, and while its new rulers have led the nation to elections, they have struggled to impose their authority on a country awash with weapons.

"Our happiness is not complete because there are still some cities that are not fully liberated," said 27-year-old Benghazi shop assistant Baset al-Sharif.

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More News On Renewed Fighting In Libya

Fighting flares anew in western Libyan stronghold of Gadhafi regime backers -- FOX News/AP
Conflict reminder of Libyan challenges -- UPI
Deadly fighting rages in Libya's Bani Walid -- Al Jazeera
Libya: Clashes in Bani Walid claim 22 lives as families flee -- Global Post
Libyan Refugees Flee Siege of Bani Walid -- Daily Beast
Libyan Town Under Siege Is a Center of Resistance to the New Government -- Post-Gazette/New York Times
Gadhafi partisans in Libya express anger as Bani Walid siege continues -- Kansas City/McClatchy News
Libya Gaddafi Death Anniversary - Unfinished Business -- AllAfrica.com
Libya: UN Chief Alarmed By Fighting in Bani Walid, Calls for Peaceful Resolution to Conflict -- AllAfrica.com
For better or for worse? Libya plagued with violence, instability one year after Gaddafi -- RT

Another Sign Of More Chaos In Libya

Libya Militias Lay Siege To Pro-Gadhafi City In Another Sign Of Chaos -- McClatchy News

CAIRO — Thousands of Libyan security force members and hundreds of militiamen have massed around the Libyan town of Bani Walid in a show of force that underscores how tense and fragile the country’s security situation remains, nearly one month after an attack by Islamist militants on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

The faceoff at Bani Walid pits militia forces once loyal to deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi against Libyan security forces and militiamen from Misrata who were critical to the anti-Gadhafi uprising last year. The immediate cause is the death Sept. 25 of a militiaman who helped capture Gadhafi.

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Update #1: Libya's Bani Walid is shelled in standoff over rebel's death -- Reuters
Update #2: 'Gaddafi’s regime looks like a beacon of light compared to the current govt' -- RT

My Comment: The deliberate kidnapping and murder of the militiaman who helped capture Gaddafi last year is what is sparking this confrontation. This has now become a tribal fight ....  and I suspect that the pro-Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walidwill be paying dearly for what has happened.

President Obama: U.S. Consulate Attack In Libya Was A Terrorist Act

U.S. Officials Knew Libya Attacks Were Work of Al Qaeda Affiliates -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

Sources say intelligence agencies knew within a day that al Qaeda affiliates were behind the attacks in Benghazi, Libya—they even knew where one of the attackers lived.

Within 24 hours of the 9-11 anniversary attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, U.S. intelligence agencies had strong indications al Qaeda–affiliated operatives were behind the attack, and had even pinpointed the location of one of those attackers. Three separate U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to The Daily Beast said the early information was enough to show that the attack was planned and the work of al Qaeda affiliates operating in Eastern Libya.

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More News On The U.S. Government Admitting That Al Qaeda Was Behind The U.S. Consulate Attack In Libya

Clinton Sees Link to Qaeda Offshoot in Deadly Libya Attack -- New York Times
Obama Considers Libya Assault A ‘Terrorist Attack,’ White House Says -- ABC News
White House: Libya attack was an act of terror -- NBC
Carney: Obama Does View Libya Attack as ‘Terrorist Attack’ -- Wall Street Journal
White House: Obama views Libya assault as terrorist attack -- Washington Post/AP
White House: Obama believes Libya was terrorist attack -- Washington Times
White House: Obama believes Libya attacks were terrorism -- Politico

Man Who Caught Gaddafi Killed By Gaddafi Loyalists

Libya's Misrata Tense After Death Of Man Who Caught Kadhafi -- France 24/AFP

AFP - Tension gripped Misrata Tuesday after the death of a rebel from the western city who was credited with capturing late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, but who was later abducted and tortured in a rival town.

Omran Ben Shaaban, 22, was kidnapped by armed men in July in the oasis town of Bani Walid, which was a final bastion of Kadhafi loyalists in the 2011 conflict, his brother Walid told AFP.

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Update: Omran Ben Shaaban, man who captured Gaddafi, dies in hospital -- Global Post

My Comment: He was obviously a marked man. This will only increase the tensions and animosities between Gaddafi loyalists and everyone else.

The Attack On The U.S. Consulate In Libya Has Dealt A Major Setback To The CIA

Deadly Attack In Libya Was Major Blow To C.I.A. Efforts -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans has dealt the Central Intelligence Agency a major setback in its intelligence-gathering efforts at a time of increasing instability in the North African nation.

Among the more than two dozen American personnel evacuated from the city after the assault on the American mission and a nearby annex were about a dozen C.I.A. operatives and contractors, who played a crucial role in conducting surveillance and collecting information on an array of armed militant groups in and around the city.

“It’s a catastrophic intelligence loss,” said one American official who has served in Libya and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the F.B.I. is still investigating the attack. “We got our eyes poked out.”

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My Comment: On the bright side .... the Libyan government is finally doing something to stop these militant groups.