Libya

Amnesty International has today urged all sides in Libya to protect the rights of civilians and safeguard them from attack as forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) continued to battle for control of the capital, Tripoli. NTC forces said earlier that they had captured some of Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi's sons, including Saif al-Islam who, like his father, was recently indicted for alleged crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC)."These are momentous but extremely dangerous days for the people of Libya. All forces must respect the rights of civilians and ensure that the fighting in Tripoli and elsewhere does not result in reprisals," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director.

After six months of fighting, the Libyan opposition forces have finally marched into the capital city of Tripoli. Another major victory for the Libyan opposition is the capture of Gadhafi’s sons and the sudden defect of top Gadhafi loyalist such as Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Al Mahmoudi. Despite such major setbacks, Gadhafi vowed to ferociously fight to the very end.This is a clear sign that the devastating Libyan Civil War is finally coming to an end and General Muammar Gadhafi’s days are numbered. Or is it?

A coalition of Western military forces (mainly US, British and French) launched operation “Odyssey Dawn” by bombing strategic Libyan national defense targets over the weekend in hopes of ending Muammar Gaddafi’s 42 year iron rule.

According to the associated press, French fighter jets fired the first shots on Saturday. US and British navies followed by firing more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles from submarines and ships stationed in the Mediterranean which continued throughout the night into Sunday morning.