Thursday, October 20, 2011

Latest News in Libya


Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. Here are the latest developments:
-- U.S. Defense Department costs for operations in Libya stand at about $1.1 billion as of September 30, according to Pentagon spokesman George Little. That includes daily military operations, munitions, the drawdown of supplies and humanitarian assistance.
-- Opposition activists from Syria and Yemen said dictators should pay heed to the fate of Gadhafi.
-- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "This day marks an historic transition for Libya," after hearing of Moammar Gadhafi's death.
-- U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said Gadhafi's death marks the end of his reign of terror and the promise of a new Libya.
Earlier developments:


On the ground:
-- Moammar Gadhafi's son Mutassim has been killed, according to Anees al-Sharif, spokesman for AbdelHakim Belhajj of the Tripoli military council.
-- Al-Sharif also said Gadhafi's chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, has been killed.
-- Libyans erupted in jubilation with the first reports that Gadhafi may have been killed. A "cacophony of celebration" could be heard in Tripoli as ships and cars blasted their horns and shots were fired into the air.
-- Revolutionary fighters attacked the house where Gadhafi was hiding, National Transitional Council Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told CNN. Gadhafi was shot while trying to flee, he said.
-- A cell phone photograph distributed by the news agency Agence France-Presse appeared to show the arrest of a bloodied Gadhafi. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the image.
-- A video surfaced that apparently shows Gadhafi's body.


International:
-- NATO is going to convene soon for a meeting to discuss ending its operation in Libya, a source told CNN's Barbara Starr on Thursday.
-- NATO said its aircraft struck two pro-Gadhafi military vehicles in the vicinity of Sirte on Thursday. "These armed vehicles were conducting military operations and presented a clear threat to civilians," Col. Roland Lavoie said.

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