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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Hacked Calls and Misrata Dues

September 20, 2011

I thank Brian Souter for the tip-off to this interesting story. It concerns an alleged phone conversation between Colonel Ahmed Bani, the NTC's military spokesman, and a rebel commander from Misrata, somehow interceptedand made into a Youtube video. (One person below describes it as "hacked.") A number of interesting things are said - there's reference to weapons and fighters from Qatar being kept in Beghazi instead of shared with Misrata, and the presence of American and French troops in Misrata and Tripoli. This as France's Sarkozy again warns that Gaddafi too, Libya's rightful ruler, can still "hire mercenaries," so foreign mercenary bombing must continue.


The partial transcription plus the video, with original audio, is available here: http://justpaste.it/luzbek. Brian also sent a short thread of Tweets among the people (including Luzbek who posted the video) who first discussed and put this together:
luzbek @electradiffusa @GreenLibya69 I'll try to make a translation of the phone-call as soon as possible
about 8 hours ago
luzbek @GreenLibya69 It's a dispute between a Misrati rebel leader and the NTC's Military spokesman, Ahmed Bani, showing rebel's lies & hypocrisy
about 8 hours ago in reply to GreenLibya69
luzbek For those who understand Arabic, this hacked phone call is Amazing!! youtu.be/6K3DoUZuHB8 via @MuammarLGaddafi
about 8 hours ago
MuammarLGaddafi Here is the phone call recording i promised you yesterday. Two rats fighting over ratisem youtube.com/watch?v=6K3DoU…
about 9 hours ago
Retweeted by luzbek
luzbek The clearer voice is from the Misrati, right? ST @MuammarLGaddafi: Here is the phone call recording i promised uyoutu.be/6K3DoUZuHB8
about 8 hours ago
luzbek @MuammarLGaddafi Am I hallucinating, or are they clearly admitting the crimes & mass graves were committed by Misrata's rebel brigade?
about 8 hours ago

Indeed, or so the provided translation says. Of special interest is the following retort from the Misrata commander on his people's track record in battle.
"Think about the armies we destroyed, Man, we destroyed 16 battalions in Misurata, there are MASS GRAVES of Gaddafi soldiers, but we are not supposed to talk about it. Who destroyed them? And you are talking about a National army?! Where is your National army of Benghazi? We are taking major casualties right now. Ambulances and planes are full of our casualties; hospitals are full of Misuratan rebels! Where is the help coming from Qatar? Where are the weapons coming from Qatar? You guys are excluding us from Libya like if we were Bangladesh. You are doing worse than Gaddafi, forgetting us and putting us apart”
To answer the bolded "who destroyed them?" ... er, their commanding officers, for "refusing to fire on demonstrators?" Or maybe NATO? Gravediggers for found soldier soup playing the victors? To some extent, that's probably so.

This helps illustrate one tension that seems to have been tautening behind the scenes. Misrata's special position, and the trauma of a prolonged siege those in Benghazi simply haven't experienced, have apparently poisoned them into hateful, twisted, and extremely needy people. They've been threatening to split off and make their own country, feeling unappreciated. The NTC might have been quelling such gripes when they went out of their way to promises Misratans a free hand in their ethnic cleansing of Tawergha, where mass graves were "discovered" and even talked about by rebels - Gaddafi's fault they said.

Also, looks like the media (David Enders) is just now talking about a "pro-Gaddafi"cemetery full of over 800 largely unidentified bodies sometimes just dumped there. Mass grave-relocation? Cemetery volunteer Hisham Embarika "said that justice for those who had committed crimes against Misrata would be left to Misratans, not to a national government. "Misrata will decide what to do," Embarika said."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/18/124456/prisons-grow-as-rebels-pursue.html

7 comments:

  1. This is realy an very interesting insight. I wonder if it's propaganda from loyalists, but it seems very authentic and fits well to other scattered reports. If so, it is very professional propaganda and I have always learned in the mass media that Gaddafi and his loyalists only produce stupid propaganda;)

    An other information I found very interesting:"Your So-called National Army has been totally crushed at Dafniya by Gaddafi troops (...) There is no National Army anymore." In deed the NTC troops which came to help Misrata took heavy losses in their many unsuccessfull attempts to conquer Zlitan. I think the video below which accuses loyalists of an other massacre outside Misrata indeed shows killed "Fredom Fighters" there. At least I can't see any indication for an execution like in al-Bayda or Qawalish.

    http://feb17.info/media/video-16-egyption-workers-executed-outside-of-misrata-graphic/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peet, you're back! Now go check out the Abu Salim hospital piece... It's gotten scary in your absence. How was France? Sharkface was away visiting lynching sites for a bit - did the weather get nicer then?

    I'm with you on the call-I lean towards it being genuine, but it could be fake. A Dafniya victory, maybe. They seem to have presence around Misrata, reportedly re-taking it briefly while the rebels were in Tawergha.

    On that video, I don't know. If these are freedom fighters killed by the regime, why did rebel kids feel a need to dress like soldiers again and gloat over the bodies on video again?

    Could be genuine as well. I dunno.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had a great time in France, thanks.

    Sharkface? I didn't now that name. I was told he is gladly called the penguin, but sharkface even fits well. Let's hope he will not succeed to keep the media illusion of a great victory and thankfull libyan people up until the comming reelections.

    I'm curious to see if you found out more about the events at Abu Salim. I will probably have time for a closer look at the story tonight. So long, cheers:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yvs_ESDsr4&feature=related

    2 young loyalists before they die in misrata

    ReplyDelete
  5. October 25 video : New Mass Grave in Misrata.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7LFK8DWR4 (10 mins) from Al-Samoud, uploaded by NASALBY. One commenter says they are Gaddafi soldiers killed by NATO. Not sure who the 2 talking heads are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. might be related :


      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBrTwmz8-g
      الكشف عن مقبرة جماعية في مصراتة - خاص

      http://17-feb.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=9&task=videodirectlink&id=140

      Found on the morning of 24.10.2011 on a mass grave in the Air Force Academy in Misurata, with only two bodies, one of these bodies , identified of the private papers is "Youssef Ibrahim Ragoubi born in 1975 " , the identity of the second person to know later, as " Muhammad Ali Sassi Fiqi - born in 1971 "and is known as the leader of Baghdad, and the leaders of the brave and the Blanea , major shuffling in the events of battles Air Force Academy in February, March and the remnants of al-Gaddafi protest in the "Debit dog" in the Air Force Academy to the family by the battalion and its implementation, we ask God to write them and bring them into martyrs gardens of delight and inspire their loved ones a beautiful patience and steadfastness. http://www.facebook.com/alssomood

      http://www.tekniktv.com/--izle-u9GzxrbVrbjR3KY.html

      http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DfY_EX7_7Xpo

      Delete
  6. acarvin Andy Carvin
    Hint, hint, get out of the way. NATO has advised Misrata fighters to stop moving west

    portia_walker Portia Walker
    Hearing rumours that rebels might be restricting access to foreign journalists at frontlines around #Misurata. Hope this not the case.

    Maybe nato instructions? you’re the journo!

    LibyaFTW Fares Breaking Unconfirmed #Misrata Apaches are being used there right now after NATO requested #FF not to advance
    http://www.libyauprisingarchive.com/61---68-from-a-good-source.html#/


    same timeline :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx8EWlssIjY&feature=youtu.be
    RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
    VIDEO: Capturing some of #Gaddafi’s mercenaries in #Tawarga youtu.be/Zx8EWlssIjY #Libya #feb17

    ReplyDelete

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