NATO airstrikes in the Libyan town of Sirte struck a residential building and a home and killed 354 people, according to a spokesman for ousted leader Muammar Gadhafi.
Pro-Gadhafi loyalists have been battling invading rebel forces on the streets of Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown. As the rebels attempt to solidify their rule in remaining loyalist areas, NATO warplanes continue to provide reconnaissance and bombing assistance.
“NATO attacked the city of Sirte last night with more than 30 rockets directed at the city’s main hotel and the Tamin building, which consists of more than 90 residential flats,” Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters. “The result is more than 354 dead and 89 still missing and almost 700 injured in one night,” he added.
The statements have been difficult to verify since communications in pro-Gadhafi areas have been down for weeks, not to mention a lack of electricity, water, and food for the residents.
NATO spokesman Colonel Roland Levoie said, “We are aware of these allegations. It is not the first time such allegations have been made. Most often, they are revealed to be unfounded or inconclusive.” Although that hasn’t been the case with various reports of previous NATO strikes killing civilians.
Ibrahim said that about 2,000 civilians had been killed by NATO strikes so far in Sirte. Even if his estimates are high, that is a practice both sides are guilty of.
and the mass murder rolls on
NATO actions are comparable to Nazi Germany's activities in the 1930's
What goes around comes around. A Satan (Ghaddafi) was betrayed by his brother Satan (Nato). The victims are the Libyan people whether they are pro Ghaddafi or anti Ghaddafi. Now the rebel will continue to do the job which Ghaddafi started (oppressing the Libyan people).
Some evidence would be nice. Send in the red cross to verify.
Does anyone at antiwar.com know any actual Libyans or know anything about Libya? I'm amazed that you have such contempt for the Libyan people, ridicule any reports of their hellish lives (and deaths) under Qaddafi, and now report this as if Mousa Ibrahim is someone whose account should be trusted!
I know one thing..Ghaddafi was very brutal with Libyan dissidents. Most anitwar bloggers claim Libyans were doing well regarding education & medical which is total lie. Libyans lived like middle ages with no infrrastructure. Only the closist to ghddafi lived luxurious life and the rest were oppressed. I don't even trust the new regime because they belong to the old circle. I hope the best for Libyan people but I doubt things would get any better than Ghaddafi's time.
to beeboltwu,
How many trips did you make to Libya that informed you of the dire state of Libyans, pre-Ghaddafi? If you got your information from the Western press, you can be sure that they did their job of prejudicing the public against folks they don't like, vilifying them to the nth and allowing them to take justice into their hands as in Iraq, Aghanistan, Yemen, etc. Who will protect the Libyans from the killing of Libyan citizens by NATO bombs?
Don't try to convince the community on here that Gadhafi was bad.Dictators are only ever bad when we can tie them with domestic political figures we don't like.THEN they're bad.But even when we recognize them as bad and their people want us to intervene we shouldn't,because our tax dollars should rather go to our bankrupt entitlement programs than to help end genocide.
"both sides are guilty of ".
So what?
Here in the US we only have to concern ourselves with one side. That is the side we are supporting. It doesn't matter what Gaddafi did or has done, he is of no concern to us, because we here at anti-war or anywere were people are not cheerleading for war have never supported Gaddafi so why should we defend him or in anyway be responsible for his atrocities?
Our Job should be to worry about ourselves and that includes our governments support for the Rebels and NATO. Their atrocities are our atrocities or should I say they are done in our name.
I do not have to support Gaddafi to admit that we have released a monster and that it's carving up Libya, it's people and it's wealth.
We can admit that Gaddafi's government has commited atrocities, but that is not the same as taking the blame for them, simply because we don't think we should have taken sides.
Absolutely correct, Brad. And furthermore, to call out NATO for its insufferable hypocrisy in claiming that the "sole" reason it intervened was to "save innocent civilians," while using methods that are historically proven to cause immense numbers of civilian casualties – namely air strikes – in no way condones Ghaddafi. Regarding Ghaddafi, however, the Libyans can ponder in the months and years to come whether his regime, which was a product of Libya, was better or worse than the new regime, which is being established by foreign intervention and will be propped up for the political and economic interests of the United States and its puppet allies.
I would also like to point out another fact about many of the cheerleaders for this war. This is in regards to their hypocrisy. Many of the people who now support this war and claim that we must do something to help these poor rebels have no problem with the Israel, Saudi Arabia or US policy in Palestine, Bahrain, Yemen, etc.
When backed into a corner these same people with either say "We have to support them they are our allies" or "I don't support them". One, we shouldn't be giving billions of dollars and weapons to people who commit attrocities. Two, if you don't support Israel or Saudi Arabia how dare you remain silent while cheering on the rebels and blaming anti-war people for not cheering along with you?
Yes Cheerleader go ahead and cheer, just don't expect me to cheer or for that matter to take you seriously when you ramain silent about the attrocities we have commited along with our allies.
Wish I had a sense of why these anti-rebels, and/or victims of rebels, are especially pro-Ghaddafi. Surely some are, but haven't the rebels proven nasty enough to oppose all on their own?
E.g., ABC's report below this one seems to rely on a 'rebel commander' as a source –he apparently claims that someone was fighting back… well, someone may have fought back. What's more, they show a 'Ghaddafi suporter' being rounded up, and he's black –well, he might have been a Ghaddafi supporter, but weren't they eating up black Africans anyway? WTF?
Gates & Mullen, months ago, said they had 'no confirmation whatsoever' of press reports of Ghaddafi's misdeeds. Not too long ago, I saw Hannity blame his sloppy no-diligence on 'both sides' on the ground. I'm not convinced that press transparency has improved…
Can anyone explain to me why AntiWar.com seriously insinuated that this "report" by Gadhafi's propaganda service was credible?As if you people don't already get called Fifth Columnists enough or something.
Actually, the fifth-columnists are the murder-salesmen who suck your money (and spending power, via quantitative easing). They dd say who was saying it, and that it'd been difficult to confirm. But I see the point about the headline –I'm not hearing hundreds dead very often…
I mean was the person who posted this mentally deficient or something?This is the same regime telling us that Al-Qaeda operatives are putting drugs in the Libyan water supply who are now saying NATO bombed 354 civilians(a particular number that if believed just moans ignorance about military science,especially with the "smart" bombs the RAF and the French Air Force are dropping). This is beyond just silly.
thares that "humanaterrean" mandate at werk 4 ya, in hipocritic overdrive, i can hear it from here,,, they/them were "terrorist" deserving of slaughter
Reuters reports 17 British and French Nato advisers/soldiers captured by Gadhafi soldiers.
America and NATO are the real terrorists with double standards to worse dictators they fully support.Israel breaks every crime possible without a bo from the US.Gadhafi from things I read has way more support than the rebles being backed by NATO.Most are just scared for them selfs and their familys to say anything.Weastern government and media has masterd making up lies that are supposed to get support for there illegal actions.Many more every day are seeing through the lies and crimes that America Israel and NATO use every singel day.Soon the hole world will see the trruth so much for the new American century.Its going to be much worse than the last unless they totaly reverse course.Ron Paul would be a great start.