Libya

I'm sure many of you have been waiting for this one. I would have done it sooner, but I've been fairly busy the past couple of weeks, hence my last post being so lazy. For the past four or so months, a bloody civil war has been raging in Libya. Libya, a country in North Africa along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, hasn't seen fighting like this since World War II, when it held strategic port cities and a path to the oil rich Middle East for the Nazis. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has ruled the country with an iron fist since a coup in 1969, and in wake of the recent uprisings in nearby countries, such as Egypt, a portion of Libya's populace has rebelled and started a civil war dividing the country in half.

The nucleus of the rebellion is Benghazi, a major port city well east of the government held capital, Tripoli. Recently, most of the fighting has been in between Benghazi and Tripoli. The Rebels consist of turncoat government troops and other sympathetic Libyan citizens. The Rebel arsenal consists of captured government weapons (typical African weapons: Kalashkinovs, FN FALs, RPG-7s, and other older weapons from the former Soviet Union and other European powers). Tanks are not out of the question, as the separatists have acquired T-55s and on a smaller level, T-72s.

Foreign support has been key for the rebellion, as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom have established a No-Fly zone over the country. The No-Fly zone quickly turned into a bombing campaign, devastating Gaddafi's forces. Other foreign support has included Anti-Tank weapons from France and Qatar, rifles from Qatar, medical supplies from the US, and communications equipment from the UK. The situation in Libya changes on a day to day basis, so anything could happen. I plan to update the status when new information is available.