Bani Walid Destroyed - 11/11/2012 - Militias Make Presidential House Call - He Won't Resign (Yet)

Background - Media reports that Libya is fighting "regime loyalists" in Bani Walid are BULL SHIT (that's the excuse) Misrata is trying to destroy Bani Walid. Here's why-

Three geographic regions took part in the Libyan Uprising/Western-Backed Coup: The east (Benghazi), Misrata, and the Nafusa Mountains. Each of those regions has spent the last year carving out their own city-state. (For most of its 1200 year history, Libya was a group of city-states under the sway of whichever empire controlled North Africa at the time).

Benghazi will control the oil assets in the East. Zintan/Zawiya will control the oil assets in the West. Misrata will control an area in the center which includes the offshore oil assets in the Gulf of Sidra and possibly oil assets around Sirte. Almost half of Libya's population, including the residents of Tripoli, will be outside the three new states and in terms of wealth they will be SOL..

To control it's new city-state, Misrata needs to control the former Misrata administrative district, which includes a small city called Bani Walid. Bani Walid is the "home base" (heartland) of the largest tribe in Libya, the Warfalla. The Warfalla are spread throughout Libya from Tobruk to Tripoli - so they aren't in favor of the whole "city state" idea... If Misrata destroys Bani Walid they destroy the symbolic unifying symbol of the large and disparate Warfalla tribe. They destroy a unified Libya.

So, that's why Misrata has a hard-on for Bani Walid. That's why they are using mustard gas shells and indiscriminate shelling. The Misratans, the important ones anyway, are all going to be very rich if they can just get rid of Bani Walid...

That's why Misrata is claiming that all of these regime loyalists are in Bani Walid. The fight against Gaddafi remnants is the acceptable justification for their attack - not the real reason...

Never heard about the whole city-state plan?

Read this quote from an interview with a prominent Misratan businessman last week -

“These Bani Walid people; most of them are Bedouins. They don't like to wash themselves or to brush their teeth. They are like gypsies” a deep-rooted Misrati businessman said with contempt. He went on to hark for a different age, when the “Misrati governorate spread from Karabouli to Ras Lanuf”.

Misrata ready to cleanse “the cancer of Libya” [link to www.libyaherald.com]

And just a couple of days after that interview, everyone who ever worked with Col. Gaddafi started showing up in Bani Walid (not really)

RT provides more evidence that mustard gas is being used in Bani Walid including signed doctors' statement & gas Masks found outside city...

[link to rt.com]

Libya's Grand Mufti describes Libya's Political System as a "Failed Experiment"

The main problem, according to the grand mufti, is what he sees as an imposed multi-party system.

Whilst some members of the old NTC were enthusiastic about the idea, they failed to convince the other side. “(Even) the media, who initially supported it, now acknowledge the experiment is a failure”, he claims.

He also criticises the way this system was put into practice, in particular the rules that were set up to select candidates and establish party lists. . .

Nevertheless, Ghariani thinks that a closed-list party system can work in a country with a stable and transparent political regime in which voters are well informed about party programmes and have the experience required to make the right choices. (In other words - NOT Libya)

Libyans, however, made the mistake of “climbing the ladder from above so that they could not be accused of opposing democracy or the participation of women in politics” and will have to “pay for this leap” before even acquiring the basics. “I could say [we will pay] the price of our hypocrisy’”, he concludes.

[link to www.libyaherald.com]

....And he would probably prefer an Caliphate...

UNITED STATES Blocks UN Security Council Statement on Bani Walid...

...Amid the fighting in Bani Walid, Libya, the UN
Security Council met Tuesday morning on a proposed press statement drafted by Russia. . . Midway through the closed door meeting, a Security Council member told Inner City Press, "we should pass something on Bani Walid but US not making it easy." . . .

When the meeting broke up, the draft statement had not been agreed to. Another Security Council source told Inner City Press that US would not accept the Council press statement. "Nothing until after the election," the source said. Another said this first year anniversary was not the time for a "discordant note." And so it goes at the UN.

Here is the Security Council Draft Press Statement on Bani Walid which was blocked by the United States:

The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern about the escalation of violence in and around the city of Bani Walid, in particular reports of growing civilian casualties, including children.

The members of the Security Council called on the Libyan authorities to take urgent steps to resolve the conflict by peaceful means and to preserve the rights of all Libyan citizens.

The members of the Security Council stressed the need to promote national reconciliation and inclusive political dialogue in Libya.

[link to www.innercitypress.com]

US blocks Russia's draft statement in UN on peaceful resolution of Bani Walid violence...

The United States has blocked a draft statement, proposed by Russia, on the resolution of violence in the Libyan town of Bani Walid. . .

Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin said the move “can't be serious,” reminding the American delegation of the deadly attack in Benghazi that claimed the lives of four US diplomats in September.

“Blocking a draft statement that called to solve the country’s political problems without violence is very strange,” Churkin said. “This is a case when it is difficult to explain the US delegation’s actions in rational terms.”

[link to hamsayeh.net]

Libyan Forces reclaim Bani Walid

. . . Maj Gen Yousef Mangoush, speaking at a press conference, announced the end of operations after pro-government militias claimed control of the city of Bani Walid . . .

[link to www.ft.com]

MSM Lies About Bani Walid - I am too frustrated to supply links but it should be easy to find these examples of "disinformation"

Lie - 22 people died during siege of Bani Walid...

Truth - 22 deaths were confirmed from Misrata hospitals on Saturday. In other words, these are the deaths reported by one side of the conflict on one day....Even worse, this is only a portion of that one side's KIA...This is only the bodies that made it back to Misrata. Estimates of deaths from both sides on Saturday are closer to 40....As of Saturday, total deaths reported in Media sources (Including Saturday Number of 42) was approx. 70. We have no casualty figures for Sunday - Wednesday...

Lie - There is no credible evidence that chemical weapons were used in Bani Walid.

Truth - RT has sworn statements from local doctors reporting that they treated patients who appeared to have been gassed. Gas masks have been found on dead militia men. Libya Herald (British published newspaper) visited Bani Walid after one chemical attack and published a picture of a hospital patient foaming at the mouth.... The Libyan Herald reporter (George) personally witnessed 21 patients who were receiving treatment for "inhalation type" injuries...

Lie - Bani Walid has been liberated from Gaddafi forces

Truth - Bani Walid was liberated from Gaddafi forces on October 16, 2011 (one year ago)

Lie - The Libyan government is "liberating" Bani Walid

Truth - Misrata militias attacked Bani Walid and often ignored orders they received from Libyan government officials...

Ex-Gaddafi Stronghold Surrenders to Pro-Government Forces

Bani Walid’s leaders argue that Misrata was engaged in an exercise in collective punishment with their assault as punishment for the town having sided with Col. Gaddafi during the uprising. . .

Within hours of his broadcast (Saturday morning) remarks militiamen intensified their assault and started indiscriminately shelling the town, killing at least 130 civilians, including women and children, according to one of Bani Walid’s elders, 62-year-old Ali Mohamed Ali. The state news agency, LAN, put the death toll on both sides at only 22 with hundreds injured.

Speaking with The Daily Beast in the neighboring town of Tarhuna, Ali said he had escaped Bani Walid overnight “under fierce bombardment after my house had been destroyed.” At a checkpoint, militiamen seized his brother, a doctor. “About 60 civilians were killed on Tuesday alone and there are still people under the rubble,” he said. He claims that a majority of the town’s population of 70,000 had fled over the past few days. Families in Tarhuna and neighboring villages have taken in many of the refugees, who seem to want to avoid a camp set up by the government half an hour from Bani Walid. . .

For how long remains the question. As dusk fell, the town’s conquerors made a hasty exit amid the din of gunshots and cheering soldiers. “You should get out of here,” shouted a fighter perched on the back of a truck. “The snipers will be back.”

[link to www.thedailybeast.com]

That's at least 190 dead in 2 of the days of fighting....

Just watched that! Morris made it to RT!

No chemicals needed.

Bani Walid in lockdown as military attempts to prevent return of civilians...

Thousands of refugees were prevented from returning to Bani Walid today by members of the Libya Shield brigade who insisted the town had not yet been fully secured.

This morning, the Libya Herald was able to enter Bani Walid before being stopped at a closed checkpoint some one-and-a-half kilometres inside. Brigadesmen manning the post said that house-to-house searches were still being conducted and that the town was not safe to enter.

The occasional thump of RPGs could be heard in the distance, interspersed by sporadic machinegun fire.

“Don’t trust them! Don’t let them through!” shouted one of the guards, as a small trickle of civilian vehicles arrived at the checkpoint and attempted to pass.
. . .


Several hundred people are reckoned to have been killed or wounded in the fighting, but with Bani Walid hospital still closed to the media and the phone network down, a precise figure remains impossible to obtain at present.

[link to www.libyaherald.com]

Humanity sucks lately!

We still have no official death count from Bani Walid....

The 22 dead reported by LANA is the number of bodies transported to Misratan hospitals on Saturday...(one day partial count from one side)...

Reading media reports & Tweets from Libyan gov't officials (excluding RT)...I get these counts...
42 before Saturday (including at least 7 women/children)
92 Saturday
6 Sunday morning

No counts since then....That gives us 140 dead w/ no reports from last 3 1/2 days....

How this compares to other recent outbreaks of violence in Libya...
(Partial list of recent clashes)
Brak al Shati - September 2012 - 22 dead [link to www.libyaherald.com]
Kufra - July 2012 - 47 dead [link to english.alarabiya.net]
Shegaygah - June, 2012 - 105 killed [link to bbc.in]
Jabal Nafusa - June 2012 - 14 killed [link to www.panapress.com]
Murzuq - May 2012 - 10 killed. [link to humanrightsinvestigations.org]
Ghadames - May 2012 - 13 killed [link to www.liveleak.com]
Zuwara - April 2012 - 26 died. [link to articles.chicagotribune.com]
Sabha - March 2012 - 160 killed [link to en.wikipedia.org]

New Morris interview w/ resident of Bani Walid...

It is all done...everything is gone...but we want to go back b/c it's our earth...where are we supposed to go?

Look the situation on a map. Misrata is larger and hemmed in to the west by Bani Walid. What this boils down to is tribal fighting for territory (land) due to overcrowding.

enter resting, contrast between western and russian media.....

Was the trigger the assassination, approx 3 weeks ago?

I feel its just the start of things to come.....you don't retake a city twice........

The trigger was the death of Omran Shaaban, a Misrata militia fighter who is credited with finding Col. Gaddafi in a drain pipe.

He was outside Bani Walid (reason unexplained - but probably illicit)...He was in a gun battle with a local Bani Walid militia. He was captured and held for 70 days. He was released and he died while receiving medical treatment in France.

This Misrata militia claims he was tortured - but I don't see the point. The gunshot paralyzed him...

So, the pretext for this was the death of a man who -
1) Didn't find Gaddafi (US & France directed Misratans to his location)
2) Was someplace he shouldn't have been probably doing something he shouldn't have been doing when he got in a gun battle...
3) Died as a result of a gunshot received during said gun battle...

Oh - and the other justification for the attack is that Bani Walid is not under government control. Bani Walid took part in the recent election. It's local departments (e.g. Schools) report to Tripoli officials. Locals did kick out a government militia in January and elect their own local council but Misrata did the exact same thing...Misrata held its own elections & the local militias block all entrances into the city - you can't get in w/o local militia permission....

AND you are absolutely CORRECT (I think) this is very likely the start of a 2nd Libyan war...I can't say it's the start of conflict b/c fighting never really ended in Libya...

Thanks for the clarification :)

It must be close to over...The MSM is now questioning the Siege of Bani Walid....

It's a r**ters story, I'll provide a link when it is re-printed...

Here's a snippet from the long (but for once truthful) report -

Hours after taking control of Bani Walid, . . . Libyan militias from the rival city of Misrata fired ferociously at its empty public buildings.

Fighters yelling "Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and "Today Bani Walid is finished" sought to make their mark with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades on the town....

The chaotic, vengeful scenes demonstrated the weakness of the new government's authority over former rebel militias which owe it allegiance but essentially do what they like. . .

You can find it on r**ters website...

Here it is!
[link to news.yahoo.com]

Last Edited by insertfunnyusername on 10/26/2012 09:31 AM

You welcome DD!

Yep, Qatar is getting more aggressive by the week. The truth is that the west is bankrupt, they just put up the army and get the oil/resources contracts in exchange, Qatar is putting up the money and calls the shots for what happens next in a country. Was surprised to learn last week that although they cooperate in many cases, there is a conflict between Qatar and Saudi's for who will have the bigger influence on countries hit by Arab Spring and this translates into one supporting more radical groups than the other and making a mess out of the situation. This is supposedly one of the reasons that NATO doesn't want to be directly involved in Syria as they too fear of the consequences of the next day after Assad' fall. Also very surprising was that Qatar struck a deal with Iran, they will support Hamas and Hezbollah now that Iran faces financial difficulties in exchange for no uprisings in Shia populated countries like Yemen and Bahrain that are controlled by Qatar, Saudi's not happy with this.

So everyone hates and supports everyone at the same time! What a freakin mess!


Last Edited by insertfunnyusername on 10/26/2012 07:48 PM

this needs to be pin!

US is using Islam in order to stage Wars, make Oil stealing, and to achieve Geo Political Goals.
Anything Else is CNN propaganda for US people.
US has financed Bosnian Muslims.
US has financed Islamic Forces in Iraq.
US has allied with Islamic Elements in Afghanistan.
US has financed and supply AL Qaeda in Libya.
US has financed and supply Al Qaeda in Syria.
Tomorrow will help some Islamic Fraction in Iran.

Before US came in to the Balkans, there was NO WAHHABI INFLUENCE. Today when US has some NATO bases only in KOSOVO (SERBIA) AND BOSNIA - BOTH ISLAMIC PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES WE HAVE ISLAMIST, WAHHABI ETC.

Why people in US can not understand that ISLAM is the BEST ALLY OF US FOREIGN POLICY. Why people can not understand that September 11 was INSIDE JOB, so the INVASIONS AND ACQUISITIONS CAN START.

US will pay very hard in the future, using Islam for this purpose. It will be Benghazi killing like a dog American Ambassador, but on the mass scale of the whole Kalifat - Islamic Countries vs whole US as a country.

Personally I am very dissatisfied from US as a country and as a Foreign Policy.

Boromir Europe

My pleasure to share info! Lot's of deals under the table till the catch all the small fishes, i fully expect them to stop their cooperation and collide with each other when they are over with the smaller nations.

You don't have a lack of historical context, you are doing excellent, most people in US don't even have the 10% of the knowledge you have. We have a good level of knowledge here in Greece since most of these nations are considered our neighbors and some of them enemies. Congrats on your CPA, everything new you learn in your life is a plus and the most basic, it's good for your career.

Oh yeah DarbyDoom, I remember you as one of the few "grown-ups" who didn't constantly whine & complain about me in the Big War Thread and tried to get me banned. LoL.

You, Gaia, Gerry52, Swinburnian and Texas4Trth or whatever that lady's name was, were the only ones even remotely cool about this place.

You're trying to at least learn about the subject matter and that by itself is commendable. I know you stated your disdain about politics. Look I know you may not want to hear it from a kid like me, but here it goes: Try to Learn About Politics, as mysterious & frustrating an arena as it's come to be fashioanbly regarded. Understanding politics even superficially, will help your search for "context".

Of course none of us here know the real, classified details. But genenral, macro trends can definately be identified.

Anyway, it's all about the US elections. Obama simply must be defeated. Because it's not just Obama; it's George Soros, it's Catharine Ashton, it's Valerie Jarred, it's Michelle Obama, it's Susa Rice, it's Leon Panetta, it's Bill Clinton's trojan horses. It's complete politization of Joint-Chiefs and subjugation of American interests to the UN, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and growing Hugo Chavez Axis in Latin America.

Everything else, including Lybia, is of secondary concern.

New Morris Interview with Doctor from Bani Walid



Wow my first reaction -

They just killed the only medically trained witness to the Bani Walid gas attacks (that may have been real reason for death)...