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Friday, July 15, 2011

On Malta, Pilots Defect

May 6, 2011
last edits June 22

The Colonels Spill the Beans
It was Monday, February 21, less than a week after protests in Libya began. It had just become clear an armed rebellion had "liberated" most of the country's sizable cities, and all of the cities in the northeast. Desperate measures might be in order for any government wanting to re-establish order, when, on that day, the world was told, by two amazing whistle-blowers about one of these measures. The Tripoli Post reported two days later: Libyan Military Pilots Defect to Malta

Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots on Monday defected and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters. [...] Maltese government authorities said that the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli, and that one of them has even requested political asylum.

The two pilots, currently being questioned by the Maltese police, said they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya's second largest city of Benghazi.

They are reported to have said that they had been asked to bomb their own people and would not. The bombs were on the aircraft and the guns were fully loaded with ammunition.

The story told by these pilots, being double-confirmed between them, and well in-line with the worst the West always presumed from Gaddafi, was taken as simple and solid fact. But the real fact is, only, that we have these pilots claiming their order was to destroy innocents with such overwhelming firepower. It wasn't to attack militant positions, where they had stolen cities by force and planned to overthrow the whole government. No, it was simple protesters they were sent to kill, because Gaddafi hates peaceful protest.

So early in the uprising and civil war, there was this widely seeded claim that Gaddafi was "bombing his own people" - or at least, had tried to have these two do it. There's been only the whispiest evidence of such attacks otherwise - numerous alarmist "reports," with no photos or video of the attacks, or even any consistent aftermath, like craters in the streets.

And against the word of the Malta pilots, there are  stern government denials, satellite-based evidence (of some sort) claimed by the Russians, and common sense indicating it would be a stupid and suicidal thing to command. There are much better and cheaper ways to kill slow-moving crowds than with a Mirage (a helicopter, for example, can just hover instead of having to swoop over repeatedly). 

Just the belief in this order paved the way for Gaddafi's destruction - talk of a no-fly zone to protect civilians from these supposed air attacks began the next day, February 22. And it was this trojan horse that unleashed the current air war for regime change that's already decimated Gaddafi's ground forces (up to one third of armor and soldiers incinerated), and killed one son and three grandchildren at least.

A Link to the Plotters?
Now, we know there was an air force colonel, Abdullah Gehani, arrested in late January for plotting against the government. Charged with civil aviation in Benghazi, he reportedly made contact with a European secret service in November 2010, and also with the protest planners.

Gehani might well have had some underlings on board as well, so that even after his arrest and the uprising's start, someone else could locate two trustworthy, disloyal fighter pilots for an important propaganda mission. Al Jazeera reported that both pilots were themselves "senior colonels," but otherwise there's been little or no detail about them. The whole story went pretty quiet once its purpose was served.

Most likely, this alleged order would only be disobeyed shortly before or even after takeoff. It would be an emotional, spur-of-the-moment decision. Neither of the colonels, in this supposed police state of informants and twisted loyalty, was too afraid the other would shoot him as a traitor. They both decided together it was time to flee, and while that's fully possible, it would work better with some agreement well before taking off - with or without orders to kill.

This is a cynical theory, but it can't be logically ruled out. Nor can their alleged mission, really, but it is inherently short on logic. The F-1 is not so good at crowd control, but it does excel at escaping quickly once it's been stolen, making it a perfect weapon for running off armed with live bombs and the lies that turned them to propaganda.

Mysterious Frenchmen: An Escort Mission?
Finally, what at first seems a peripheral oddity. The same day these guys landed in Malta, a few hours later it seems, two helicopters from Libya also landed. The Tripoli Post again:
On the same day police also questioned seven passengers who landed in Malta from Libya on board two French-registered helicopters, with Malta government sources saying the helicopters had left Libya without authorisation by the Libyan aviation authorities and that only one of the seven passengers - who say they are French citizens - had a passport.
These people claimed to be simple oil workers, fleeing just after Benghazi had fallen. But they had not their proper ID, suggesting clandestine (or just forgetful?) work. They were from France, where the European end of arranging the protests was apparently based (Gehani's alleged contact was with the French DGSE). Who were they, and what were they doing in Libya in the days before the no-fly discussion started? They and their rides are covered a bit more in-depth at this follow-up post.

They might help explain the fighters, commissioned by the French-Rebel conduit, as escort duty on the first leg of the choppers' illegal (and slower) flight. I would suspect they all set out together from rebel-held Benghazi, despite the defector story of scrambling from Tripoli.

Any such protection might help explain the armaments, in case anyone tried to enforce the law. And it would be a nicely efficient double-mission - cover the whole unauthorized escape, then land with with the mental seeds of the rebels' NATO air support. It also works towards giving the game up. What are the odds the colonels would happen to fly off with this order and snap to the north on winds of conscience, just as these unauthorized clandestine Frenchmen were leaving?

Again, that would work better with some agreement well before taking off.

Update, June 22: Reader Felix left some comments beneath a related post, about the arrival of these pilots on Malta, which he witnessed. I mistook him for Maltese, but he was there only on holiday, he says.
[June 6]
This was a very important propaganda coup to launch the war to the gullible scribes of the west. I was fortunate to observe the arrival of the Libya jets above my head. Contemporary reports tell of the helicopters arriving shortly before the jets though I have no recollection of seeing them although there was much large helicopter activity during the week. Certainly the two jets did not arrive as defecting pilots might- whatever that might be - but they performed a kind of airshow above the Med some time before , swooping and circling like a display team. They then vanished out to sea again, before eventually returning according to the normal flightpath. I thought it extremely odd. As they landed overhead, the Libyan markings were visible from beneath.

[June 16]
It was only a brief show of skill - but they vanished for a while before returning in a straight descent as a tourist plane might make, one followed by the other about a minute later. I couldn't get out my camera as I was otherwise occupied. Only that evening did the signficance become apparent as I watched the news on Al Jazeera.


That would be an interesting addition - making sure to be noticed first, making a big show of their arrival, does seem less than consistent with someone escaping in fear and horror at the orders they were just given. Instead they show the flourish of someone delivering an important part of a big master plan they're excited to be part of.

39 comments:

  1. PS I just noticed the timing in my camera (checked against railway clock photos). I interpolated the time of the jets' arrival at just before 5.40. Now, I notice that Al Jazeera's live blog, 21 Feb:
    "5:40pm: Two civilian helicopters, followed by two Libyan fighter jets, have landed in Malta. Only one of at least seven passengers are reported to be carrying passports. All passengers are currently being held by immigration officials. Al Jazeera's Karl Stagno-Novarra, reporting from Malta, says the Mediterranean island is preparing to be used as a base for evacuation of European citizens from Libya, one hour's flight away."

    Quick work by Al J! It's as if they knew before landing.

    And only 15 minutes before, Al J shows photos of protestors in .....Malta at 17.25hrs.

    "7:39pm: Karl Stagno-Novarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Malta, reports the pilots of the jet fighters that landed there are "senior colonels", who were ordered to bomb protesters. They refused and have defected to Malta, he said"



    7:45pm: "The defected pilots reportedly tell Maltese officials they were based in Tripoli and ordered to attack protesters on the ground in Benghazi. After seeing their fellow pilots begin the airstrikes, they diverted course toward Malta. If substantiated, this would appear to confirm the use of airstrikes against civilian protesters in cities around the country."

    Late that evening, Al J reports:

    "10:19pm: Italian foreign ministry puts out urgent statement categorically denying online rumours alleging the use of Italian fighter jets in the bombardment of protesters.

    The Italian foreign ministry's spokesman harshly criticises the spread of totally false rumours suggesting the involvement of Italy in the events underway in Libya.



    The whole tone of the blog is of blood curdling massacres and genocide , supported by, er, a video from Al Bayda showing people walking around in dark streets, and something set alight. Well worth re-reading the blog, and from other days at the start of the war.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PPS
    "Libyan warplanes were bombing indiscriminately across Tripoli on Monday, a resident of the Libyan capital told al Jazeera television in a live broadcast.

    “What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead,” Adel Mohamed Saleh said.

    Saleh, who called himself a political activist, said the bombings had initially targeted a funeral procession.

    “Our people are dying. It is the policy of scorched earth.” he said. “Every 20 minutes they are bombing.”

    Asked if the attacks were still happening he said: “It is continuing, it is continuing. Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car they will hit you.”

    There was no independent verification of the report but Fathi al-Warfali, the Libyan activist who heads the Swiss-based Libyan Committee for Truth and Justice, who was taking part in a protest outside U.N. European headquarters in Geneva said he had heard the same reports.

    “Military planes are attacking civilians, protesters in Tripoli now. The civilians are frightened. Where is the United Nations, where is Amnesty International?” al-Warfali told Reuters.



    Source: Yahoo News & LA Times

    [Al Jazeera showed no evidence whatsoever for this aerial bombardment]

    The Libyan Committee for Truth and Justice seemed to be very active only between 17 and 21 Feb 2011 with press comments. It also provided names for seven alleged executions in Bani Walid on 28 May 2011 a month later, 27 June.. Alkarama is also based in Switzerland. Strangely there is no reference at all to a Fathi al_Warfali on the Alkarama website. Neither does there seem to be a Libyan Truth and Justice Committee website.

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  3. "One of the pilots requested political asylum" after the two descended from their single-seat Mirage F1 jets, AFP quoted an unnamed Maltese government spokesman as saying on Monday.
    as alluded to above...

    So, which one, now the names are known, requested political asylum?? (Source: Press TV ,published 10.57pm GMT 21 Feb 2011.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. http://gowans.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/al-qaedas-air-force/

    Canadian fighter pilots “flew 946 sorties and dropped almost 700 bombs” in last year’s NATO intervention in Libya. [1] But rather than enforcing a no-fly zone to protect civilians, the Canadian pilots—and their counterparts from other NATO countries—took sides in the conflict, intervening directly on behalf of anti-Gaddafi rebels.

    According to the Ottawa Citizen’s David Pugliese, some Canadian military officers in private refer “to the NATO jets bombing Gadhafi’s troops as ‘al-Qaeda’s air force’.” [9]

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  5. Guardian, Feb. 21 (actually 12:45 am on the 22nd), from Benghazi:
    It has been largely quiet in the city since about 10 o'clock last night, he said, although citizens had been bracing themselves for an air strike that Arabic television channels had reported was on the way. Fears of this were calmed partially after two Libyan pilots landed their jets and said they had refused orders to bomb the city, instead choosing to jettison their bombs in the sea.

    Who in the Arab media had prepared people for the Malta pilots' bogus story?

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  6. Mr Barnes-Dacey?? The twittersphere had already been reporting wildly reports of actual air strikes before the planes panded.
    A great source of Feb 21 fake attack tweets here...
    Channel 4 Live blog Feb 21

    e.g
    4.34pm ShababLibya: BREAKING: AJ protesters being fired at from planes in tripoli #feb17 #libys [via Twitter]
    Monday February 21, 2011 4:34 SultanAlQassemi
    4:34 ShababLibya: RT @SultanAlQassemi: Al Jazeera breaking: Multiple reports confirm that military airplanes are bombing protesters in Tripoli. #Libya [via Twitter]
    Monday February 21, 2011 4:34 ShababLibya
    4:35 ShababLibya: Fighter jets overhead tripoli confirmed firing at protesters #libya #feb17 [via Twitter]
    4.49 SultanAlQassemi: Al Manar TV: Libya Today website: Military airplanes belonging to Libyan regime are bombing protesters in the capital Tripoli #Libya [via Twitter]
    4.59 SultanAlQassemi: Al Hurra breaking: Eyewitnesses: Helicopters carrying senior Libyan officials have taken off in the direction of Malta. #Libya [via Twitter]
    5.04 joined the protesters. #Libya [via Twitter]
    Monday February 21, 2011 5:04 SultanAlQassemi
    5:04 EnoughGaddafi: CONFIRMED: Heavy artillery fired from fighter jets in #Tripoli, the inhumanity of Gaddafi regime is staggering, greusome!!!! #feb17 #libya [via Twitter]

    5.48 SultanAlQassemi: Breaking Al Jazeera: Eyewitness: More than 250 killed in military airplanes bombing of protesters #Libya [via Twitter]

    5.33 SultanAlQassemi: Breaking Al Jazeera: Eyewitness: Military airplanes have bombed a funeral procession #Libya [via Twitter]

    5.57 5:57 SultanAlQassemi: Al Jazeera: Eyewitness: Military aircrafts bomb protesters every 15 to 20 minutes #Libya [via Twitter]

    6:10 EnoughGaddafi: RT @nolanjazeera: Horrified by latest events in Libya! Fighter jets attacking ur OWN people?? Is there even a term to describe this - ge[nocide..] ... [via Twitter]
    Monday February 21, 2011 6:10 EnoughGaddafi
    6:13 SultanAlQassemi: Breaking Al Arabiya: AP: Senior Libyan military officials ask for political amnesty in Malta #Libya (I honestly don't know what that means) [via Twitter]

    ]
    Monday February 21, 2011 6:20 EnoughGaddafi
    6:21 SultanAlQassemi: Times of Malta: Libyan fighter jets arrive in Malta after pilots refuse to bomb protesters http://bit.ly/gpBd6p Via @atriverside #Libya [via Twitter]


    Times of Malta reports the Mirage fighter jets arriving at 16.34 hrs, Malta time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ChangeInLibya:
      RT @dovenews: IMPORTANT: Libyan army must protect & check the doctor's IDS before entering hospitals - Army must protect hospitals - tra ... [via Twitter]

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDGr_LrwpQ&feature=related
      بنغازي والقصف بالطائرات القصة النتنة

      Punished pilot By the rebels in Libya
      هذا الطيار تم اجباره من قبل المجرمين المتمردين مثل عبد الفتاح يونس والقاعدة على فعل مالا يحب فعله

      Delete
    2. @ felix : you are amazing :

      the deleted vid :
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCslml0ERe0&feature=BFa&list=FLpSzLXxBusJlKdvxfjXCpmQ&lf=plpp_video
      جتت كتائب و مرتزقة القدافي صبيحة تحرير طرابلس
      مقطع فيديو لجتت تلاته عناصر من افراد كتائب القدافي التي كانت متمركزة في اللواء 32 معزز في منطقة خلة الفرجان الواقعه في جنوب غرب طرابلس العاصمة و كما يبين المقطع احدى الجتت متفحمه و الاخرى مصابة بطلق ناري اتر اشتباكات وقعت بين جيش التوار و كتائب القدافي التي كانت تحرس المعسكر

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    3. not sure how I helped there...

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    4. @ felix : the link y gave here above.
      The deleted vid speaks of fighting khamees brigade at day of liberation. And I don't think they mean 26 aug.

      on 26 aug amnesty already did release their report.
      The reporter in the shed wadi in the no comment vid on 26 aug

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNH3Jj3Q3H4&feature=autoplay&list=FLpSzLXxBusJlKdvxfjXCpmQ&lf=plpp_video&playnext=1
      @ 0.39 on the road to yarmouk base , hardly credible

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss7YOemgwY8&feature=BFa&list=FLpSzLXxBusJlKdvxfjXCpmQ&lf=plpp_video
      قتحام التوار 17 فبراير معسكر خميس الدي يعرف بالواء 32 معزز
      area yarmouk base, see another entrance @ 3.31

      Delete
    5. @Hurriya - did you see this video of bombing Bab Al Aziziya, 19 August?
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfGRMX2G6tQ
      There are also videos showing bomb damage inside the Khamis 32 base at Yarmouk. Was it also bombed on 19 August?

      Delete
    6. I gave some furjan bombing before and information about fighting on 19 aug :
      Apparently fighting in the area took place many days before the 26 th :

      On 19 aug the askerie did fire on this company
      http://i40.tinypic.com/b7fh8o.jpg
      http://www.almaredcargo.com/libya-en.htm
      Tripoli: Al Furjan interview Dispenser petrol station - Dakhla Mosque Al Furjan - a distance of 2 km /Airports close to Khallat al Farjān Tripoli international(TIP), Tripoli, Libya (10.5km)
      The mosque name may be : Dakhla Mosque Al Furjan

      And NATO bombed al Furjan during many months :

      http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194634.html
      Fresh blasts hit Libyan capital
      The night skies are lit as one of several powerful blasts rocked the Fernej district of southwest Tripoli on August 9, 2011.
      http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20110819/mazimi20110819053031183.jpg




      http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/updates-on-libyan-warstop-nato-news-august-19-2011/
      Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: August 19, 2011
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/may/23/libya-nato-bombing-no-fly-zone?INTCMP=SRCH
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/may/22/nato-libya-data-journalism-operations-country
      https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdFY5dFNsZDdfamdPQUdfbW5HcVR6eUE&hl=en_US#gid=0
      https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?authkey=CPeKjPMB&key=0Aq-FnOoJcl-ndG9KUHFFNDgyNENWRW5TTUl6QnFDcXc&hl=en_US&authkey=CPeKjPMB#gid=0

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    7. @ felix :Wrong page, Did try again to find something about bombing Yarmouk on 19 aug, but besides the tweets of a good source{ see comment above] I could not find exact proof on this date.

      Tripoli , Khillet al Furjan, خلة الفرجان

      http://reports.wbmonitor.com/reports/
      Saturday, Apr 23, 2011-Tripoli - According to Libyan media, 7 civilians died and 18 were wounded by a NATO raid in a southwestern Tripoli suburb. The official Jana news agency reported the coalition warplanes bombed the Khellat Al-Ferjan suburb and that the victims include women and children.

      5th August 2011 NATO planes bomb Tripoli,About 10 loud explosions rocked the city around 1:30 am (2330 GMT), an AFP journalist said.
      Shortly afterwards, Libyan television said "civilian and military sites" at the southeastern suburb of Khellat al-Ferjan had been targeted by "the colonialist aggressor."

      http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/253822
      5 aug

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    8. Sorties conducted 18 AUGUST: 133/Strike sorties conducted 18 AUGUST:48
      Sorties conducted 19 AUGUST: 130/Strike sorties conducted 19 AUGUST: 26
      Sorties conducted 21 AUGUST: 126/Strike sorties conducted 21 AUGUST: 46

      http://reports.wbmonitor.com/reports/view/761
      Libya: Fighting said to be ongoing in Tripoli/08:40 -Aug 21 2011 ,Tripoli, Libya

      Fighting broke out in several districts of the Libyan capital on Saturday (Aug 20). Gunfire and explosions could be heard. NATO airstrikes could also be heard, reportedly coming from the area of Ain Zara.
      According to reporting from the ground, fighting appears to be taking place in the district of Tajoura, Souq al Jouma as well as near Tripoli airport.

      http://reports.wbmonitor.com/reports/view/773
      Libya: Rebels move toward Tripoli commercial airport after seizing army base in Mitiga
      23:18 Aug 21 2011 Tripoli, Libya

      Delete
    9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymyOBIky-Kk
      Gaddafis son's palace in Ain Zara, Tripoli /NATO airstrikes Ain Zara aug 20

      http://www.tiptopglobe.com/city?i=1367887&n=Ain%20Zara#lat=32.81330&lon=13.26970&zoom=7

      Fighting broke out in several districts of the Libyan capital on Saturday (Aug 20).
      Gunfire and explosions could be heard. NATO airstrikes could also be heard, reportedly coming from the area of Ain Zara.

      Delete
    10. Home of Libya intelligence chief hit by NATO -neighbour/Fri Aug 19, 2011
      http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE77I0KU20110819

      08/19/2011 -Nato jets target Gadafy compound
      http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0819/breaking13.html

      A slew of explosions were heard early Friday in the heart of the seaside capital where Gaddafi's residential complex is located, as well as in several areas in the west of the city. On Thursday NATO warplanes also targeted the capital, witnesses said.
      Tripoli makes do as rebels close in/Posted at 08/19/2011

      Delete
    11. APACHES 21 AUG : Today 1300 innocent unarmed civilians were killed and 5000 wounded in Tripoli alone in the last 11 hours.

      Constant bombings and 3 Apache Gunships nonstop firing of their mini-cannons.

      Delete
    12. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/08/19/11/tripoli-makes-do-rebels-close

      08/23/11: The Miami Herald reports that as the battle in Libya appeared at stalemate, it was an open secret that foreign military advisers were working covertly inside the country providing guidance to rebels and giving tactical intelligence to NATO aircraft bombing government forces.

      Diplomats say members of the alliance and partners in the Middle East were engaged in an undercover campaign on the ground in Libya.
      The operation was kept separate from the NATO command structure to avoid compromising its mandate from the United Nations - to protect civilians.

      [A] former member of the SAS told RIA Novosti on condition of anonymity that Britain’s special forces had been there “since day one.”

      http://www.securitylawbrief.com/main/2012/01/un-diplomat-wants-libya-nato-investigation.html
      the United States established around-the-clock surveillance over the dwindling areas that Libyan military forces still controlled, using armed Predator drones to detect, track and occasionally fire at those forces.

      Delete
    13. Donnerstag, 25. August 2011,

      http://www.wsws.org/de/2011/aug2011/liby-a31.shtml

      Get an overview of the situation in Tripoli is very difficult for journalists currently as SF-Special Correspondent Philip Zahn said in the "evening news". Because the insurgents hardly gave information

      Once again heavy fighting near the Gaddafi residence.
      About thousand insurgents have surrounded two buildings in which remain Gaddafi's followers.

      An AP reporter tells of a gun fire and a heavy explosion
      The explosions could have involved the bombing of such fighters.
      http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/nach-nato-flug-raetselraten-um-explosionen-in-tripolis-/4549706.html

      The rebels have penetrated into the by Gaddafi loyalists held neighborhood Abu Salim.

      IT SEEMS THEY SUCCEEDED AFTER THE NATO AIR RAIDS. Thousands of insurgents poured into the streets and subsequently into the houses of the slum. Many buildings are on fire.

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    14. The authority of the NATO :
      NATO has no mandate to support the rebels in a change of government in Libya . The Resolution 1973 of the UN Security Council authorizes UN member states only to set up a no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect the population .

      Unmanned drones will give NATO commanders precision capabilities to strike targets that are "nestling up against crowded areas," said US General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

      "Now you have the intermixing of the lines, so it's very difficult to pick friend from foe," Cartwright said. "A vehicle like the Predator (drone) that can get down lower and get IDs helps us."

      Delete
    15. The Commission claimed that NATO flew 17,939 armed sorties in Libya.
      NATO says that it flew “24,200 sorties, including over 9,000 strike sorties.”

      What the gap between the two numbers might tell us is not explored in the report

      http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/03/15/natos-craven-coverup-of-it-libyan-bombing/

      Delete
    16. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8714803/Libya-conflict-Final-battle-for-Libya-under-way-as-rebels-advance-on-Tripoli.html

      bombing 21 aug
      Libya conflict: Final battle for Libya under way as rebels advance on Tripoli

      In the early hours of Saturday morning, RAF Tornado GR4s conducted a precision strike on a key communications facility in south west Tripoli, used by the former regime intelligence organisations headed by Abdullah Senussi, concealed in a building known as the Baroni Centre.

      "Heading south from Tripoli, the RAF aircraft then detected one of Gaddafi's main battle tanks on the outskirts of the city and destroyed it with a further Paveway weapon."

      Delete
  8. The former MI6 sponsored LIFG, apparently reborn as the Islamic Movement for Change was anonymously reported in Asharq Alawsat (Middle East) Libya: Islamists call on Air Force to bomb Gaddafi 23 Feb 2011:
    "this regime has lost control of most Libyan cities with the exception of the main part of the capital Tripoli…which has forced this gang [the Gaddafi regime] to carry out airstrikes – using foreign pilots – against locations where protestors are gathering." The statement added that "this is in order to guarantee freedom of movement to military brigades and foreign mercenaries that have been brought in from abroad to carry out a campaign of genocide against the Libyan people, away from the eyes of the outside world."....The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change also praised the courage of Libyan Air Force pilots who refused to attack and bomb protestors, and called on them to take a historic position by carrying out air strikes against Gaddafi's military compound in Bab al-Azizia and "cut off the head of the snake." The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change called on Libyan Air Force pilots to bomb Gaddafi's headquarters and thereby spare Libyan people the bloodbath being arranged by the Libyan leaders, enabling the people of Libya to regain their independence and freedom

    Omar Ashour of the University of Exeter and a visiting fellow in the Brookings Doha Center. interviewed Belhaj 2 hours after he was released from prison See here in Foreign Policy, 29 Aug 2011:
    Ex-jihadists in the new Libya

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  9. via Petri:

    http://vimeo.com/26790121
    Zintan to Benghazi (Flying in a No Fly Zone)

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    Replies
    1. No problem at all....NATO could authorise anything specially: eg. Arab News 13 Sept: NATO has been enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya since the start of its involvement in the fighting, but it allows humanitarian and other civilian flights.

      At NATO’s operational headquarters in Naples, Italy, an officer said that several airlines have been authorized to fly to Libya.

      “But this is not something permanent,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity under standing rules. “NATO still enforces the no-fly zone and will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to approve each flight.”

      Good analysis here,Libya: NATO Selectively Enforcing No-Fly-Zone with some rebel commenters, by Micah Zenko, 18 July 2011.

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  10. was it on this entry that there were many comments before or was it on another page?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both, depending how you define "many." :)

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    2. o.k. caustic, y righy, I meant the entry with the links who these pilots are , don't see them here.

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  11. LICENSE TO FLY AND KILL IN A NO-FLY ZONE :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdcCzUlhV_4&feature=related


    This happened a few hours before the intervention of NATO

    Eagle of Benghazi Fakhri Al salabi / events about the extraordinary effort done by a group of Libyan military pilots, including brigadier pilot commander Squadron Fakhri Al salabi
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m10_VUMm1M&feature=relmfu
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2cGlNrpdA&feature=relmfu
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krZaM8-xyeo&feature=endscreen&NR=1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M60sPXeb5ss&feature=related

      if his (Gaddafi) troops come towards Benghazi we will resist them
      .
      This is plane (pointing to a plane) has 1470 bullets and a plane that has 64 missiles.

      These planes were bought by your brothers, and they are Lieutenant colonel Mohammed Beleed from Tawergha and pilot Mohammed Burwees Aldrzi and Salah Ottman Al-Burasi and another one whose name I do not know

      interviewer: and if you don't mind, can you tell me about pilots that arrived in Malta.
      The planes that landed in Malta are Mirage.
      Interviewer: were they from Sirt or Tripoli.

      Pilot: most likely they are from Triploi, Mitiga airbase; they are all your brothers

      Delete
    2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1_QBS_I06Q&feature=endscreen&NR=1
      @ 2.16 the mission chasing down pro khadafi elements who manage to escape in the farmlands

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS3WHZ1GQ7E&feature=related
      Libya how to stir up the rebellion and fool people into intervention YouTube


      UN Resolution 1973 will stay in place, protecting civilians is at the heart of this legal text.
      Meaning that any Gaddafi's punk who is trying to continue attack civilian population will continue to get his ass pounded either by Nato or by the Freedom Fighters.

      Second, now that TNC is officially recognized and will get access to money, situation will evolve and FF will lead the fight with new weapons and will be able to pound Gaddafi & associates' black asses more and more deeply and violently
      ImazighenLibya 8 months ago
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0lTbrD7Zm4&feature=related
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqtAV79YVL8&feature=related

      Delete
  12. 9:00am/2011-02-25
    According to this Global Voices piece, which cites Malta.cc, a Maltese blog, Serbian military pilots reportedly took part in the bombing of anti-government protesters in the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.

    Two Libyan pilots made the claim upon fleeing to Malta, the blog said.

    Al Jazeera can't confirm the authenticity of the report - but you can read it for yourself here.
    http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live

    http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/02/24/serbia-reactions-to-the-story-of-serbian-mercenaries-in-libya/
    Serbian pilots are reputed to be manning the planes which are dive bombing protesters.

    http://malta.cc/latest-news/rolling-update-live-libya-2011/#more-3087

    source Sasa Milosevic : I published articles in UPI.com (USA), Palestine Note (USA), The Peninsula (Qatar) All Voices (USA).

    ReplyDelete
  13. November 18, 2010

    A French ‘commercial’ delegation leaves for Benghazi. In the delegation there are officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and representitives from Cam Cereals, France Export Cereals, Cargill, Glencore, France Agrimer, Soufflet, Louis Dreyfous, and Comagra. Among the delegation, posing as government officials, there are French secret service agents and military staff. Their ‘business’ was meeting army officers indicated by Mesmari who will be ready to defect from the Libyan army.

    While in Benghazi, contact is made
    with Libyan air defence colonel, Abdallah Gehani,
    who was indicated by Nouri Mesmari as an army officer who is ready to collaborate to topple Muammar Gaddafi.

    Gehani had good contacts in Tunisia too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. December 23, 2010

      A delegation of Libyans arrives in Paris for meetings with Mesrami and other French officials.

      The Libyans are Ali Ounes Mansouri, Farj Charrant and Fathi Boukhris. These three men will be known later together with Ali Hajj as leaders of the revolution, that started from Benghazi.

      The Libyan delegation together with Mesrami and French military and secret service personnel dined at an elegant French restaurant at the Champs Elisée.

      http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Catherina

      Delete
  14. An interesting possible explanation for the defection: the analagous defection of a Mig21 to Jordan from Syria.
    The Turkish military jet's incursion into Syria may have been a botched NATO operation on counterfeiting Syrian military aircraft ID in order to fool the country’s air defense. The necessary codes could have been “borrowed” from the Syrian fighter that had been stolen by its defector pilot.

    This theory, explaining why the Turkish reconnaissance plane entered Syrian airspace before being taken down, was voiced by Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, which cited unnamed sources in the Syrian security forces.

    Syrians believe that the Friday incident has its roots in last week’s defection of a Syrian pilot who escaped in his MiG-21 fighter jet to Jordan. Damascus branded the defector a traitor, while Jordanian authorities gave him asylum.

    The defection brings memories of a similar incident that took place in February 2011, when two Libyan pilots “delivered” their military aircraft to Malta. NATO’s bombing campaign, which ended with the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi’s government, started just a month after.

    Military analysts note that, curiously, the Libyan air defense systems appeared to be helpless against NATO’s air strikes. The explanation may lie in the friend-or-foe systems that the two stolen aircraft had onboard, the newspaper suggests. This system is used by the military in combat to distinguish their own aircraft.

    According to the newspaper, the Syrian military believe that NATO took a similar approach again, but failed to properly decipher the codes. This is evident by the fact that the defector pilot managed to send his family to Turkey before stealing the fighter jet, which means the act was probably not done out of a sudden emotional breakdown

    ReplyDelete
  15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX6GbFK8sV4&feature=plcp

    z2pilots

    where did I see the man on the left before ? Anybody else recognise him? Felix?

    ReplyDelete
  16. http://libya.tv/en/ssc-strikes-again-father-of-popular-libyan-twitter-user-abducted/

    December 19, 2012 a Around 3 pm local time on Tuesday December 18,
    the father of popular Libyan Twitter user known as 
    Ismael (@ChangeInLibya) 

    was abducted on his way home from the Tripoli Airport.

    Ismael, based in Malta, tweeted details of his fathers abduction in an effort to mobilize friends to help inquire about his fathers case.

    According to Ismael’s mother, his father along with one of his friends were “dragged” out of the VIP lounge at the Tripoli Airport by two armed men who were carrying a “report”.

    Ismael’s family were told that his father was taken to Zawiya for questioning upon the request of the Supreme Security Committee (SSC).

    Ismael’s father, now over 60 years old, has worked with Libyan Airlines for almost thirty years.

     He played an important role during the revolution organizing the delivery of food and water to Misrata and providing logistical support to the NTC.  

    It is unclear why his father has been abducted nor the nature of the charges being held against him.

    ReplyDelete

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