Libya Alhurra Updates

Sky’s Special Correspondent Under Sniper Fire in Mayah

August 21, 2011 - Alex Crawford, Sky News:

Sky’s Special Correspondent Alex Crawford comes under sniper fire in Mayah on the road from Zawiyah to Tripoli, whilst reporting on the Libyan rebel advance on the capital.

Libya: Rebels Take Martyr Square in Zawiyah

August 20, 2011 - Alex Crawford, Sky News - Zawiyah:

A fresh assault with new supplies of weapons and ammunition, witnessed by Sky News, led them to taking back the square, prompting jubilation.

The victory puts the rebels on the brink of retaking the town which is close to Colonel Gaddafi’s stronghold.

Celebratory gunfire rang out across the area and delighted rebels circled the square in their cars.

Torn uniforms of Gaddafi soldiers were strewn on the ground as well as traditional Libyan flags - a symbol of the regime - which had been ripped down.

The successful assault comes around five months after the town first managed to break free from the control of Gaddafi loyalist fighters.

Control of the strategically important spot will restrict supply routes for Gaddafi forces, as Zawiyah is located between Tripoli and Tunisia.

Zawiyah is a Ghost Town

“The truth is, nothing is under control here.”

6 weeks after the regime recaptured Zawiyah, Reporter Frederik Pleitgen claims the city is a “ghost town,” with tanks hidden in the city and many checkpoints that are attacked by opposition forces at night.

CNN has a video report from the city.  

ICRC sets up shop in Libya.

The International Committee of the Red Cross was given authorization to establish a permanent office in Tripoli April 11. Yesterday a team of four staff specializing in health matters, detention-related activities and logistics arrived there.

“Now that our specialists have arrived, we will go back to Misrata and Zawiyah but we will also start working in other areas,” said Jean-Michel Monod, who heads the ICRC team in Tripoli. “We need to see and talk to those affected and respond directly to their needs. Having the support of all the parties will certainly help us to achieve this aim.”

Some key points from today’s ICRC Operations Update:

• Misrata: The ICRC ship that docked there on 8 April delivered enough medical supplies to treat 300 patients with weapon-related injuries. Together with Libyan Red Crescent personnel, ICRC staff toured the streets in Misrata to assess the need for humanitarian aid.
• ICRC staff also collected more than 180 “safe and well” messages from foreign nationals in Misrata and contacted their families abroad, with the help of Libyan Red Crescent volunteers, to give them news of their loved ones.
• Thousands of people have been displaced to the eastern towns of Tobruk, Daran, Al Beyda and Al Marj. On 14 April, the ICRC started distributing food and other items to 18,000 people in those towns in cooperation with the Libyan Red Crescent, the municipal councils and the Committee for Humanitarian Aid and Relief.
• The ICRC has provided the General Electricity Company of Libya and the Benghazi Water and Sewage Authority with basic supplies needed to repair the low-tension electricity network and the water network so that thousands of people will continue to have water and electricity.
• An assessment of weapon-contaminated areas in Benghazi, Baida and Ajdabiya has already been completed. Together with the Libyan Red Crescent, the ICRC is now starting an awareness-raising campaign to warn of the danger of unexploded ordnance. The ICRC also intends to send a specialized team to provide technical support for clearing the worst-affected areas.
• Efforts continue to assist refugees displaced on the borders of Tunisia and Egypt.