What's Happening in Libya Explained
by Ashley Bates and Siddhartha Mahanta in Mother Jones
Last week, Libyan dissident Najla Aburrahman begged western media to pay attention to the bloodbath unfolding in her country. "If the Libyan protesters are ignored," she wrote, "the fear is that [Libyan dictator Muammar] Qaddafi— a man who appears to care little what the rest of the world thinks of him—will be able to seal the country off from foreign observers, and ruthlessly crush any uprising before it even has a chance to begin."
Since then, Qaddafi’s troops have used machine guns and large-caliber weapons against protesters in Benghazi, the country’s second-biggest city, and more than 200 protesters, including children, have reportedly been killed.
This article covers the basics of what's going on and then is absolutely filled with updates of new information.
Sadly one of the updates from Saturday was of the death of a young activist Mohammad Nabbous
Saturday, March 19, 6:44 p.m. EST/ 1:44 a.m. Sunday Tripoli (Ashley Bates/Monika Bauerlein): Mohammad Nabbous, described as the "face of citizen journalism in Libya," was reportedly shot dead by Qaddafi forces in Benghazi on Saturday. Nabbous had recently launched Libya Al-Hurra TV (Libya Freedom TV), broadcasting raw feeds and commentary from Benghazi on livestream. In this interview with Democracy Now's Anjali Kamat, conducted on his 28th birthday, the Oxford-educated engineer explained that while he personally hadn't been victimized "all that much" by the regime, he was compelled to take action by what the injustices he saw around him.
Nabbous's journalism was a key resource to many following the events in Libya, including NPR's Andy Carvin, whose tweetstream has become a major source of news on the Middle East. Nabbous was killed while out reporting on the attack on Benghazi; his last recording is dominated by the sound of gunfire and explosions until the audio abruptly stops. Nabbous leaves behind his wife, who is expecting their first child.
Earlier today, Guardian reporter Chris McGreal filed a harrowing report from Benghazi. He interviewed besieged residents who, the day before, had thought they'd been "saved" by the west's threat of airstrikes. "Where are the air strikes? Why is the west waiting until it is too late?" asked a 27-year-old chemical engineer, who shook his finger in fury. "Sarkozy said it. Obama said it. Gaddafi must stop. So why do they do nothing? Is it just talk while we die?"
Mohammad Nabbous was interviewed on CNN in February and reported that friends' of his had already been killed and he was likely next.
He was one young man out of many who passionately believed in this cause, this battle for a free and democratic Libya. And he did end up paying the ultimate price. Yesterday, he was killed when Gaddafi forces entered the city of Benghazi. He was shot by a sniper according to his wife and supporters when he decided to go out into a neighborhood where he had heard that rocket fire had killed a number of children. He himself was an expecting father his wife was pregnant with their first children. And Don I'd like to just share one of his favorite quotes; a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Crossposted to The Progressive Electorate