Libya and Qatar's role in the Libyan Revolution Essay - 1

Libya and Qatar's role in the Libyan Revolution - Essay Example In the eastern city of Benghazi, there are headquarters of the opposition forces whose fighters have stronghold in the Jebel Nafusa.These rebels took over the village of Gualish that stood at a distance of about 90 km from Tripoli.This takeover was followed by a deadly battle between hundreds of fighters. The forces of Col. Muammar Gaddafi have conventionally displayed strong determination to overpower the rebels. The government troops are equipped with a broad range of weapons which keep the rebels from advancing permanently. In Gualish, battles could be seen smouldering in the houses located on the battlefield that were abandoned by the local people. Looters entered the buildings and the rebel fighters siphoned petrol from the petrol filling stations. The rebels replaced the green flag of Gaddafi’s Libya with their own red, black, and green flag in several places which imitated their attempt to free Libya. Prior to the entrance of rebels in the area, Nato had bombed some of the heaviest weapons possessed by Col Gaddafi. A rebel fighter said, â€Å"The Gaddafi forces booby-trapped some of the houses with trip wires and explosives †¦ We had to be very careful as we went through the town† (Doyle). Gualish is only at a distance of about 45 km from Gharian, that is the strategic garrison town controlled by Gaddafi’s soldiers. Rebels could not immediately reach Tripoli, but Gharian has remained a target for the uprising. The main north-south road that connects Tripoli to the Sahara desert is dominated by Gharian. According to the rebels, Col Gaddafi kept arms depots in the desert and also recruited fighters from other countries in the same desert. A young Libyan woman who was the member of the youth protest movement said, Now people are dying we’ve got nothing else to live for. What needs to happen is for the killing to stop. But that won’t happen until he [Gaddafi] is out. We just want to be able to live like human beings. N othing will happen until protests really kick off in Tripoli, the capital. It’s like a pressure cooker. People are boiling up inside. I’m not even afraid any more. Once I wouldn’t have spoken at all by phone. Now I don’t care. Now enough is enough. †¦ I’ve seen violent movies and video games that are nothing compared to this. I can hear gunshots, helicopters circling overhead, then I hear the voices screaming. I can hear the screeching of four-by-fours in the street. No one has that type of car except his [Gaddafi's] people. My brother went to get bread, he’s not back; we don’t know if he’ll get back. The family is up all night every night, keeping watch, no one can sleep. (Worthington). But such views of the public seemed to both Col Muammar Gaddafi seemed little. â€Å"I am a glory that will not be abandoned by Libya, the Arabs, the United States, and Latin America... revolution, revolution, let the attack begin,† Gaddafi cited in Ashour). Such a behavior is typical of the Dean of Arab leaders who has ruled Libya as a self-declared King for over 42 years. Gaddafi has made a large number of show-stopping appearances at various gatherings within the Arabian Peninsula and abroad (Asser). It is not only his outlandish clothing that makes him stand out, but is also his unconventional attitude and blunt speeches. Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia resulted into immense bloodshed and became the cause of demise of Hosni Mubarak and Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, but Colonel Gaddafi would not relinquish authority without an intensely deadly encounter. One of his sons, Khamis led the uprising’s brutal suppression in Benghazi. Khamis is â€Å"the Russian-trained commander of an elite special forces unit† (Worthington). Gaddafi has also had full support of his other sons. However, the tactics used by Gaddafi have boxed him in. It will be difficult for him to face internal exile like Hosni Mubarak or else, seek refuge abroad like Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali,