This is the good old Green Libyan Army in full uniform and battle gear. I see up to 30 pickups, many of them regular Libyan army issue Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD pickup trucks of the type firstseen in the Toyota War of 1987. Some of the solders also wear flak jackets and helmets. It is clear this is a large unit of the regular Libyan Army acting under strict military command, most likely at least 100 men.
The interesting question is where and when this happens. I do not think this is before August 20th, as was some other video material passed on as Libyan resistance. The place is the large gate structure of some evidently equally large military structure.
This could be the January 23rd takeover of Bani Walid, reported in the Western press as just infighting between "local tribes". If that is the case, then most likely the green flags have already been hidden from view and the Libyan Army retreated to a more safe location. It could also be from this week, but so far we have heard nothing of this development, apart from this video.
I have searched Google maps for the location. There is a 7th April School. It is located some 500 meter north of what AP on January 24th called the headquarters of the "May 28 Brigade" in Bani Walid after it was attacked by "armed Gaddafi loyalists." May 28 Brigade is the name of a pro-NTC revolutionary brigade, so this could well be the former April 7th Brigade military base.
The base is here on Google maps: g.co/maps/25jah It is a small base with five barracks buildings and no gate structure. This is not the base shown on the video – it is simply far too small! Another difference is the trees. There is no place in Bani Walid with this much trees, apart from the bottom of the wadi.
The video could be related to this weeks fighting in al Kufra. Western media again attributes the fighting to infighting between tribes. Feb 17 accounts however paint a different picture. Accordingly Chadianmercenaries have attacked Kufra in 40 vehicles. The "Libyan air force" has bombed them. Based on the visual evidence it is possible that these "Chadian mercenaries" were in fact the regular Libyan Army, maybe the same unit we see on the video.
This video shows that NTC rebels were already driven out of al Kufra ("the city of infidels") by December 23rd. (Note the battle damage in the building.) The rat occupation flags painted on the HQ building are very similar to the ones in seen in Rabiana oasis, 100km west of al Kufra.
This is the good old Green Libyan Army in full uniform and battle gear. I see up to 30 pickups, many of them regular Libyan army issue Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD pickup trucks of the type first seen in the Toyota War of 1987. Some of the solders also wear flak jackets and helmets. It is clear this is a large unit of the regular Libyan Army acting under strict military command, most likely at least 100 men.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting question is where and when this happens. I do not think this is before August 20th, as was some other video material passed on as Libyan resistance. The place is the large gate structure of some evidently equally large military structure.
This could be the January 23rd takeover of Bani Walid, reported in the Western press as just infighting between "local tribes". If that is the case, then most likely the green flags have already been hidden from view and the Libyan Army retreated to a more safe location. It could also be from this week, but so far we have heard nothing of this development, apart from this video.
I have searched Google maps for the location. There is a 7th April School. It is located some 500 meter north of what AP on January 24th called the headquarters of the "May 28 Brigade" in Bani Walid after it was attacked by "armed Gaddafi loyalists." May 28 Brigade is the name of a pro-NTC revolutionary brigade, so this could well be the former April 7th Brigade military base.
The base is here on Google maps: g.co/maps/25jah It is a small base with five barracks buildings and no gate structure. This is not the base shown on the video – it is simply far too small! Another difference is the trees. There is no place in Bani Walid with this much trees, apart from the bottom of the wadi.
The video could be related to this weeks fighting in al Kufra. Western media again attributes the fighting to infighting between tribes. Feb 17 accounts however paint a different picture. Accordingly Chadian mercenaries have attacked Kufra in 40 vehicles. The "Libyan air force" has bombed them. Based on the visual evidence it is possible that these "Chadian mercenaries" were in fact the regular Libyan Army, maybe the same unit we see on the video.
This video shows that NTC rebels were already driven out of al Kufra ("the city of infidels") by December 23rd. (Note the battle damage in the building.) The rat occupation flags painted on the HQ building are very similar to the ones in seen in Rabiana oasis, 100km west of al Kufra.
ReplyDelete