U.S. in full spectrum War with Libya, Pentagon plans to exterminate civilians

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Analysis - West in corner as Libya deadlock drags on

Thu Aug 4, 2011 11:30am GMT  
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE7732MV20110804?sp=true
By Catherine Bremer


A government minder looks at the rubble left by bombardment in a compound beside a food storage warehouse bombed by NATO forces according to Libyan officials in the town of Zlitan, 160km (99 miles) east of Tripoli, July 25, 2011. REUTERS/Caren

PARIS (Reuters) - Having failed to bomb Muammar Gaddafi out of office, Western powers have no choice but to stick to their military campaign while also hoping that the Libyan leader will end their dilemma by bowing out himself.

Contrary to initial hopes in Western capitals, Gaddafi has clung to power despite sanctions and more than four months of NATO bombing in support of rebel forces now in further disarray following the assassination of their military chief.

Efforts to negotiate a way out of the crisis are failing to show much progress, leaving the West little choice but to grit its teeth and keep backing the ragtag army of rebels despite growing criticism of the failure to dislodge Gaddafi quickly.

NATO's current mandate for military action expires on September 27, but a failure to push ahead with the campaign would mean a massive loss of face for the alliance, even if there are signs of cold feet in some capitals.

Western diplomats are still meeting rebel leaders and people close to Gaddafi to seek a deal to remove him, sources say, but the talks are tapering off due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and European summer holidays.

"We are waiting for a signal on the part of Gaddafi," a French diplomatic source said.

"What we want is for him to leave power, that has not changed since the start. His mobility and what the Libyans do with him is up to them. We are working on a daily basis on this, and if he demands conditions to step down we will listen to him. August may seem a slow month but things could still happen."

France has tacked a Group of Eight session on the Middle East and North Africa onto a Sept 9-10 meeting of G7 finance ministers in Marseille, ahead of the next meet-up of Libya coalition partners later next month.

The French government also wants to host a broader "friends of Libya" gathering to add momentum for a political solution.

Yet his pledge not to back down until Gaddafi is out of power has left President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the coalition partners he pulled into Libya, in a hole as concern mounts over the credibility of the rebels' National Transitional Council.

"We do realise now that we are looking at more of a long-term situation," the French source said. "There are two fronts: a diplomatic one and a military one. On the diplomatic front, things have slowed down somewhat but on the military one we have added resources. There will be advances and setbacks."

The rebels, short of cash, fuel, training and ammunition, control parts of eastern Libya but are still struggling five months into the conflict to make headway around Tripoli where Gaddafi's much more powerful army is well entrenched.

"The situation is not worse or different to how it was three weeks ago but unfortunately we do need a military advance," the source said. "That could prompt a decision by Gaddafi's camp to drop weapons, change their approach and open up to dialogue."

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS

France and Britain have sent funds to the rebels and dropped their insistence that Gaddafi leave Libya as well as standing down, indicating their growing anxiety to end the stalemate. France has also parachuted in weapons.

Their latest headache is growing evidence of a lack of unity and leadership among the rebels.

Conflicting accounts of who was behind last week's killing of rebel military commander Abdel Fattah Younes suggest deep rifts that have shaken the West's confidence in the movement that a string of countries including France, Britain and the United States now back as Libya's legitimate government.

"The ambiguity surrounding Abdel Fatah's death is not helpful. Information is crucial. The NTC needs to be very transparent to stop rumours circulating about this event." said Noman Benotman, an analyst with the British Quilliam think-tank.

French writer and intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy, a supporter of the rebels from the start, said talk of divisions and lawlessness within their ranks was nonsense, as were reports Younes was shot by militiamen allied to the rebels.

"There are no more divisions within the rebel camp than with any rebellion in history. It's actually quite a united resistance," he told Reuters. "An inquiry will show in the days ahead that Younes was executed by Gaddafi's people."

Other observers disagree, and warn that the apparent lack of cohesion in the rebel movement made prospects gloomy for both the military and diplomatic pushes against Gaddafi.

"There's not much reason for the situation to change," said strategic consultant and retired French colonel Jean-Louis Dufour. "Things are tough for the rebel army, and as far as talks go there is nothing to negotiate as Gaddafi doesn't want to go to prison."

Sarkozy, keen to prove himself as an international firefighter, was the first foreign leader to send fighter jets to Libya and is not seen backing down, even if he is queasy at the prospect of a flagging operation hanging over his quest for reelection next April.

Parliament supports him, with lawmakers of all stripes voting overwhelmingly last month in favour of extending the military action, which has cost France nearly 200 million euros so far. Opposition left-wingers have called for a new debate in the weeks ahead but are not seen blocking a further extension.

Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said at the weekend France would not ease up on Gaddafi, and army chief of staff Admiral Edouard Guillaud said last week he has ample resources.

Polls suggest only a slim majority of the French public supports the action, and while media criticism has been muted, some commentators are now speaking out against the campaign.

"Opinion is increasingly hostile but politicians are keeping quiet, the Socialist Party is supportive, the newspapers keep a low profile," political essayist Jean-Francois Kahn grumbled in the daily Liberation, calling the operation a fiasco.

"Nobody dares to say the emperor has no clothes on."

Britain has also said it will increase military pressure on Gaddafi, but faces growing criticism of what is seen by some as an ill-conceived military adventure with no clear end in sight.

Levy said there would be no let-up during August of talks between rebel leaders and "those Tripoli officials who do not have blood on their hands". He said the only obstacle to reaching a solution was resistance from Gaddafi's camp.

(Additional reporting by Yann Le Guernigou in Paris, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Bill Maclean in London; editing by Giles Elgood)


http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE7732MV20110804?sp=true

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NATO facing military stalemate in Libya



By Peter Symonds

WSWS, August 4, 2011



http://uruknet.com/?p=m80225&hd=&size=1&l=e

The unexplained killing last week of the Libyan rebel military commander, General Abdel Fatah Younis, has highlighted the divided and unstable character of the NATO-backed Transitional National Council (TNC) and the military stalemate in its efforts to oust the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The assassination has provoked a series of comments by British and French ministers that effectively reverse months of US and NATO propaganda predicting the imminent fall of Gaddafi.

Speaking on Monday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague declared: "We don’t know how long it will be. We don’t know when Colonel Gadaffi will see that he has to go. We don’t know when members of his regime will come to that conclusion." While expressing the British government’s determination to continue the war, Hague warned that "in a conflict, things do not go in an even manner."

In a revealing comment, Hague defended the NATO bombing campaign, saying it had saved "many thousands of lives and stopped the destabilisation of Egypt and Tunisia." Saving civilian lives is the pretext used to justify NATO’s illegal war on Libya. The reference to Egypt and Tunisia, however, confirms that, along with securing control of Libya’s oil, the US and NATO are intent on establishing a beachhead against the revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hague’s comments followed those on Sunday of British Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who conceded that the Libyan rebels were unlikely to topple Gaddafi. "The key to the Libyan resolution," Fox said, "will be whether or not the close circle around Colonel Gaddafi realise there’s no point in investing in him. He’s a busted flush; he will sooner or later have to leave power."

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet made similar remarks on Sunday, declaring that the so-called "rebel" fighters would not be able to take the Libyan capital by themselves. "Things have to move in Tripoli," he said. "To put it clearly, the population has to rise up. The month ahead will naturally be intense. There will not be, I think, a pause for the [Muslim fasting] month of Ramadan."

These remarks reflect concerns in Washington and European capitals about the stability of the TNC, which they have accorded diplomatic recognition. A week after the murder of General Younis, there is still no clarity as to what happened or why. Younis was apparently brought from the front lines last Thursday to face questioning on undisclosed charges in Benghazi, where he was killed along with two other officers.

Younis’s supporters have pointed the finger at the February 17 Martyrs Brigades, a militia group commanded by a local imam that includes known Islamists. Keen to avert a factional war inside the "rebel" regime, TNC spokesmen have attempted to blame Gaddafi loyalists operating undercover in Benghazi.

In a second unexplained incident, TNC forces fought a pitched battle in the early hours of Sunday with a militia group alleged to be a "fifth column" of pro-Gaddafi supporters. The fighting lasted for more than eight hours and left three TNC fighters and four militia members dead. TNC Deputy Interior Minister Mustafa al-Sagisli claimed that arms and explosives along with a hit list with Younis’s name were found at the factory where the militia was holed up.

In order to strengthen its grip on Benghazi, the TNC has been attempting to rein in various quasi-independent militias that have been operating in the city. On Saturday, just hours before the clash, TNC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil warned various armed groups to join the TNC or be "crushed."

TNC leaders could well have seized on the battle to invent a "fifth column" to deflect anger among members of Younis’s tribe—one of the largest groups backing the TNC. The New York Times reported that Younis’s relations were warning that the general’s killers had to be brought to justice quickly. "A week has passed with no information," one of his sons told the newspaper. "What we cannot take by law, we’ll take by arms," he said.

Obviously concerned about factional infighting, Washington has weighed in, calling for the TNC to act in a unified manner. US deputy White House spokesman Mark Toner warned on Monday that the TNC faced "a do-or-die moment" to carry out a credible and thorough investigation into the death of General Younis. "It is important, given the fluidness of the situation on the ground," he said, that the TNC "sends a clear and transparent message that they speak on behalf of the Libyan opposition and the Libyan people."

In fact, the murder highlights the faction-riven character of the TNC, which comprises an unstable alliance of former Gaddafi officials, Islamists and CIA assets. Far from representing the interests of ordinary Libyans, the TNC is a proxy for NATO and US imperialism, which are seeking to oust Gaddafi and install a puppet regime amenable to their strategic and economic interests.

More than four months after the NATO assault began, there are no signs that the Gaddafi regime is about to disintegrate or be overthrown militarily. Encouraged by the Benghazi infighting, Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, told Libyan TV on Monday: "No one should think that with all the sacrifices we have made, and the martyrdom of our sons, brothers and friends, we will stop fighting. Forget it. Regardless of whether NATO leaves or not, the fighting will continue until all of Libya is liberated."

Yesterday, the Libyan military fired a missile at the Italian warship Bersagliere, which has been enforcing the NATO blockade of the country. While the missile fell short, the attempt does point to the continuing military capacity of pro-Gaddafi forces.

NATO has already announced there will be no halt to its criminal bombing campaign during Ramadan. Its targeting of civilians and non-military facilities was highlighted on Saturday when NATO warplanes struck Libyan television transmitters, killing three people and injuring 15 others. In a statement yesterday, International Federation of Journalists Secretary-General Beth Costa said: "We utterly condemn this action, which targeted journalists and threatened their lives in violation of international law."

Inconclusive fighting is continuing around the western coastal town of Zlitan and in the mountains to the south and southwest of Tripoli. TNC fighters from the beleaguered "rebel" city of Misrata claim to have seized control of Zlitan and repelled a counteroffensive by pro-Gaddafi forces. The very limited nature of the alleged military gains underlines the fact that the TNC is no closer to ousting Gaddafi than it was months ago.


http://uruknet.com/?p=m80225&hd=&size=1&l=e

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US launches anti-Kadhafi offensive in Africa

By Herve Bar (AFP) – 1 day ago 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iEHOMgf54GFGdViCxL-nLS3pr4og?docId=CNG.c23568239de2d2c9560efb10644f622c.651


BENGHAZI, Libya — The United States has launched a diplomatic offensive against Libya among African nations as Tripoli accused NATO of a "massacre" of 85 villagers in air strikes in support of rebels.

American diplomats are visiting several African countries as part of efforts to urge leaders to press Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi to leave power immediately, officials in Washington said on Tuesday.

Several African states, having benefited financially from Kadhafi's policies, have been reluctant to call for him to step down, and have criticised the NATO-led military campaign in Libya.

Gene Cretz, the US ambassador recalled from Libya shortly before Kadhafi launched his bloody crackdown on the opposition in February, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Donald Yamamoto arrived Monday in Addis Ababa, headquarters of the African Union, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.

They "are in Africa to meet with African Union members to discuss the crisis in Libya and the need for Kadhafi to relinquish power now," he told AFP.

They also met Mahmud Jibril, leader of Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) who was visiting Ethiopia.

Kadhafi, meanwhile, said world powers would be held responsible for the "ugly massacre committed by NATO" on the village of Majer where 85 people were killed, Libya's official JANA news agency reported.

Majer, 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Zliten 120 kilometres east of Tripoli, was attacked late on Monday to try to help rebel fighters enter the government-held city from the south, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said.

"After the first three bombs dropped at around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Monday, many residents of the area ran to the bombed houses to try to save their loved ones. Three more bombs struck," he told reporters on an organised visit.

Thirty-three children, 32 women and 20 men from 12 families were killed in the "massacre," Mussa said.

Reporters attended the funerals of victims and saw 28 bodies buried at the local cemetery where hundreds of people vented their anger against NATO, "the spies and the traitors," an AFP correspondent said.

In the hospital morgue, 30 bodies -- including two children and one woman -- were shown along with other bodies which had been torn apart.

NATO, which launched its air campaign at the end of March under UN resolutions to protect civilians against Kadhafi's forces, insisted the raids were "legitimate" and said it had no evidence of civilian deaths.

"We do not have evidence of civilian casualties at this stage," the NATO spokesman for the alliance's Libya campaign, Colonel Roland Lavoie, said from his Naples headquarters.

NATO raids south of Zliten were against two former farms used for military purposes by Kadhafi forces, he said. "This was a military facility clearly... NATO takes extreme precaution not to harm innocent civilians living or working nearby."

JANA said Kadhafi sent a message to the heads of state of UN Security Council members saying "they should bear responsibility for the ugly massacre carried out by NATO in Majer."

He was quoted as saying "there has never been such a massacre throughout the history of wars."

Rebels fighting around Zliten said on Monday they were running low on ammunition as they struggled to hold off an assault by loyalists.

The rebels, advancing from the nearby port city of Misrata, punched into the centre of Zliten a week ago. But they later pulled back to the edge of the city of 200,000 inhabitants.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, at least two rebels were killed in fighting on Tuesday around the oil town of Brega in eastern Libya, a rebel spokesman said.

NATO said it had hit nine targets in the Brega area on Tuesday, listing them as a military facility, one tank, four armed vehicles and three multiple rocket launchers.

The alliance also said it hit nine anti-aircraft systems and eight surface-to-air missile systems in Tripoli.

On the diplomatic front, France said new EU sanctions were imposed on Kadhafi's regime. Canada and Denmark, which have both recognised the NTC, also expelled pro-Kadhafi diplomats, officials said.

And the United States said it has transferred the Libyan embassy in Washington to the NTC, which it has recognised as Libya's de facto government.

On Wednesday, JANA quoted Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim as saying British Prime Minister David Cameron should step down as he had "lost all legitimacy" because of the riots shaking Britain since Saturday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iEHOMgf54GFGdViCxL-nLS3pr4og?docId=CNG.c23568239de2d2c9560efb10644f622c.651

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Imperial Plans for Libya Post-Gaddafi



by Stephen Lendman


August 11, 2011

http://uruknet.info/?p=m80407&hd=&size=1&l=e

A previous article suggested NATO's Libya war is unraveling, having misjudged the commitment of Libyans to resist, fight back, and support Gaddafi. Access it through the following link:
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/08/natos-libya-war-unrave
ling.html

Nonetheless, daily bombings continue intensively, averaging 51 daily strike sorties in the last week alone, targeting Tripoli and other Gaddafi controlled areas mercilessly.

Despite clear evidence of war crimes, NATO claims civilians and civilian targets aren't struck. In fact, they're targeted deliberately and repeatedly, killing hundreds and injuring many more as part of a campaign to cow targeted populations into submission.

In the last 48 hours, Tripoli power facilities were bombed, knocking it out to parts of the city. Earlier, Libya's Great Man-Made River system and a factory producing pipe for it were struck to reduce fresh water supplies. A food warehouse was destroyed to decrease available amounts.

Three ground-based satellites were disabled, killing three employees and injuring another 15. Hospitals and medical clinics are targeted so less healthcare can be provided, and oil facilities are bombed, reducing available stockpiles. Numerous other civilian targets are also struck repeatedly, including infrastructure and residential neighbors unrelated to military necessity.

As stated above, it's part of NATO's terror bombing campaign to cow Libyans. So far, they've become more embolden, knowing the unacceptable alternative.

On August 8, AFP reported at least 85 civilians killed in Majer village near Zlitan in western Libya. Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim called it "a crime beyond imagination," saying the dead included 32 women, 32 children, and 20 men from 12 families, massacred in cold blood.

NATO spokesman Col. Roland Lavoie called the farmhouses bombed (with civilian families, not belligerents) "legitimate target(s)."

He lied, saying "very clear intelligence demonstrat(ed) that 'former' farm buildings were being used as a staging point for (pro-Gaddafi) forces to conduct attacks against the people of Libya. We do not have evidence of civilian casualties at this stage...."

Reporting from Tripoli, independent journalist/activist Lizzie Phelan commented on how Libyans reacted to the massacre, saying:

"I watched their heartbroken and incensed loved ones bury the 33 children, 32 women, and 20 men NATO (called) 'mercenaries.' Most (people in) Zlitan....turned out for their burial, chanting furiously against NATO."

"Person after person came to tell us how NATO was creating a generation of Libyans so filled with rage that they would see no recourse but to send themselves to martyrdom in revenge against the west."

Farmhouses bombed were "some distance apart from one another." They'd "been hosting scores of refugees from....Misrata, who fled from the horrifying (rebel) atrocities," what NATO and western media never report.

In fact, many of those massacred came to help after bombing began. Follow-up attacks slaughtered them, unconscionable war crimes, including by pilots carrying out illegal orders.

"At the funeral, survivors said "they would sacrifice their lives for their leader Muammar Gaddafi." Grief stricken children chanted, "The blood of our martyrs will not be forgotten."

The attack followed a decision by National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdul Jalil to sack his entire executive committee, a sign of further disarray besides the assassination of rebel commander Adbul Fatah Younis and two of his aides last month, allegedly for holding talks with Gaddafi officials. If true, he wanted reconciliation to end the conflict.

For Washington, its NATO partners, and TNC puppets, however, peace and reconciliation aren't options. As a result, Libyans can expect more attacks and/or destabilization to inflict relentless pain and suffering, even if fighting winds down to stalemate and Washington accepts a face-saving solution.

It may be no more than an unacceptable "Kosovo Model," a fifth column resolution, giving anti-Gaddafi extremists a foothold to parlay toward total control.

Post-Gaddafi Planning

On July 25, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) convened a conference, hosting 50 government, diplomatic, and other experts to assess the Libya war and way forward. It concluded the following:

(1) No military solution is possible because rebels can't take Tripoli or other strategic Gaddafi-controlled areas. Moreover, Libya's military adjusted "to its degraded condition, and defections slowed to a trickle. While time is not on Gaddafi's side, neither" does it favor rebels.

(2) "Even so, the post-Gaddafi era" already began. Washington and its NATO partners should adapt to it that way.

(3) Giving too much money to TNC officials is as bad as too little.

(4) Washington shouldn't "become wedded to the TNC," but should flexibly "accept a wide variety of outcomes. TNC officials perhaps are "fragment(ed) and out-of-touch with conditions on the ground."

(5) The UN has some legitimacy in Libya. Gaddafi only fears Washington. A possible new Security Council resolution will be needed for Libyan reconstruction that will be considerable with parts of the country turned to rubble, mostly non-military sites.

On August 9, the Australian posted a London Times Tom Coghlan article headlined, " Iraq haunts plans for post-Gaddafi Libya," saying:

Washington, its NATO partners and TNC officials "prepare(d) a (70 page) blueprint for a post-Gaddafi Libya (that) charts the first months after" he falls, believing it's a fait accompli. In fact, it may be more imperial arrogance, similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, besides America's humiliating defeat in Vietnam and Korea stalemate.

Claiming the document draws from lessons learned, it relies on Gaddafi defections after he's ousted or killed. Whether rebel fighters will accept them is uncertain, given disparate elements in their ranks.

A United Arab Emirates-supported "10,000 - 15,000 strong 'Tripoli task force' " is planned to control Tripoli, "secure key sites and arrest high-level Gaddafi" loyalists.

Whether true or not, it claims 800 government security officials are already covertly recruited, ready "to form the 'backbone' of a new security apparatus." Another 5,000 non-ideologically committed Gaddafi loyalists will become part of the interim government's forces "to prevent a security vacuum."

In addition, it claims rebels in and around Tripoli have 8,660 supporters, including 3,255 in Gaddafi's army. Moreover, mass high-ranking official defections are "considered highly likely, with 70 per cent of them (supporting) the regime out of fear alone."

Again, these unverified claims may be more propaganda than factual. Leaking to the Times, in fact, may be to entice defections. In other words, if Gaddafi loyalists believe others are deserting, and the regime appears near collapse, they may not wish to feel like rats on a sinking ship so will come over to avoid going down.

Notably, TNC planner Aref Ali Nayed expressed regret about the leak, but said:

"It is important that (Libyans know) there is an advance plan, and it is now a much more advanced plan."

Perhaps so or maybe it's propaganda intimidation to discourage resistance and encourage giving up on Gaddafi to end bombings and fighting on the ground. Why continue if defeat is imminent, but is it?

Evidence shows Libyans are winning. Rebels are in disarray, and though NATO bombing inflicted extensive numbers of deaths, injuries and destruction, popular support for Gaddafi is strong. Moreover, Libyans remain emboldened to resist, steadfastly unwilling to have their country colonized and plundered.

Nonetheless, other document details include:

-- securing key security, telecommunications, power, transportation infrastructure, and other important sites;

-- deploying Nafusa Mountain and Zentan fighters, not rebels, in Tripoli;

-- having mostly Tripoli residents serve as interim security forces in Gaddafi loyalist areas;

-- providing an emergency one-month $550 million to supply gas and oil to western Libya after Gaddafi falls;

-- having the UN provide humanitarian aid, supported by the UAE, Qatar and Turkey;

-- "a pre-recorded program of announcements by rebel leaders and clerics would initiate the Tripoli task force plan, call for calm and warn against revenge attacks on regime supporters;" an out-of-country FM radio station was set up for this purpose;

-- if Gaddafi is killed, negotiating with his sons, called "regime captains;" and

-- "multiple rebel groups" will be avoided, as well as having a "clear plan to deal with a hostile fifth column."

A Final Comment

Despite intensive bombing since mid-March, Gaddafi remains firmly in control, enjoying overwhelming support with good reason. The alternative is too grim to accept.

As a result, whether the above document is factual, wishful thinking, or propaganda, imperial Washington is a long way from prevailing.

Nonetheless, make no mistake. Libya is Obama's war. At the same time, America hasn't won one since WW II. Hopefully Libyans will keep that record intact and retain their sovereignty, free from intolerable imperial dominance.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.


http://uruknet.info/?p=m80407&hd=&size=1&l=e



 

[Optimus]

NATO'S Massacre at Majer, Libya

Dr. Franklin Lamb, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Majer, Libya -- Located about 20 miles east of the ancient Roman city of Leptis Magna, six miles south of Zliten, and off Libya's southern coast across the Mediterranean from Rome, Majer was a picturesque village known for the fine quality of its dates and is claimed by locals to produce the best tarbuni (date juice) in Libya.

Family members, eyewitnesses and Libyan government officials claim that NATO's air-strikes at Majer killed 85 people, including 33 children, 32 women and 20 men. Reporters and visitors were shown 30 of the bodies in a local morgue, including a mother and two children. Officials and residents explained that approximately 50 bodies were taken to other locations for family burial and most of the injured rushed to hospitals at Tripoli.

At Majer, NATO chose to bomb three neighboring compounds, and visitors examined a total of five bombed-out houses. There was no evidence of weapons at the farmhouses, but rather mattresses, clothes and books littered the area. One badly injured 15-year old young lady, Salwa Ageil Al Jaoud, had earlier written her name inside one notebook found amidst the rubble. She was later visited in hospital and attested, like the witnesses at Qana had, that there was no military presence in the homes that were bombed.
Read more » http://www.activistpost.com/2011/08/natos-massacre-at-majer-libya.html