Libya: UN air strikes aid rebels
After weeks of debate, the United Nations finally approved a no-fly zone in
Libya, helping rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy at perhaps the
last possible moment. Rebels had been driven back by the Libyan army to their
last stronghold, the eastern city of Benghazi, and appeared ready to be overrun
there as well. Two nights of bombardment by coalition forces have sent the army
into retreat, and a missile struck Khadafy's compound in Tripoli, but the final
outcome of the conflict is far from clear. Collected here are images from the
last few days of fighting. For an earlier Big Picture post on the conflict, see
the links below. -- Lane Turner (33 photos total)
Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi explode
after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and
Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
Warning:
This image contains graphic
or objectionable content
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2Libyan rebels carry an injured comrade following a failed attempt to take the
town of Ajdabiya from Moammar Khadafy's forces on March 21 as news reports said
Libyan government forces pulled back 60 miles from rebel-held Benghazi after
Western-led air strikes destroyed much of their armor. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty
Images) #
3A Libyan jet bomber crashes after being shot down in Benghazi on March 19 as
Libya's rebel stronghold came under attack, with at least two air strikes and
sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky.
(Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
4A rebel fighter supporter shoots into the air as she reacts to the news of the
withdrawal of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy's forces from Benghazi March 19.
(Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
5Rebel fighters ride on a tank captured from Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy's
forces in Benghazi March 19. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
6Libyan army soldiers stand on a building, destroyed in what the government
said was a Western missile attack, inside Bab Al-Aziziyah, Khadafy's
heavily-fortified Tripoli compound March 21. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters) #
7A supporter of Moammar Khadafy shows pieces of shrapnel from what the
government said was a Western missile attack on a building inside Bab
Al-Aziziyah, Khadafy's heavily-fortified Tripoli compound March 21. (Zohra
Bensemra/Reuters) #
8A man fires his pistol in the air during a celebratory rally after the United
Nations approved a no-fly zone over the country on March 18 in Tobruk, Libya.
Libya declared an immediate cease-fire after the UN vote but reports indicated
that Moammar Khadafy's forces were still shelling two cities. (Joe Raedle/Getty
Images) #
Warning:
This image contains graphic
or objectionable content
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9A rebel fighter shows hand grenades found on fighters loyal to Moammar Khadafy
after they were killed by rebel fighters in Benghazi March 19. Khadafy's forces
pushed into the rebel-held city of Benghazi on Saturday, defying world demands
for an immediate ceasefire. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
10Aisha Khadafy, daughter of Moammar Khadafy, holds a Libyan flag as she greets
supporters at Bab Al-Aziziyah in Tripoli March 19. Thousands of Libyans packed
into Moammar Khadafy's heavily fortified Tripoli compound on Saturday to form a
human shield against possible air strikes by allied forces. (Zohra
Bensemra/Reuters) #
11Libyan girls receive gifts from their school during celebrations in their
classroom of Children's Day, which was marked in the Libyan capital Tripoli on
March 21. (Mahmud TukiaAFP/Getty Images) #
12A soldier from the Libyan army stands at Green Square in Tripoli March 20.
Western forces pounded Libya's air defenses and patrolled its skies on Sunday,
but their day-old intervention hit a serious diplomatic setback as the Arab
League chief condemned the "bombardment of civilians". (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)
#
13Libyans mourn during the funeral of the people who were killed after air
strikes by coalition forces, at the martyrs' cemetery in Tripoli March 20.
(Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters) #
14Libyans mourn during the funeral of the people who were killed after air
strikes by coalition forces, at the martyrs' cemetery in Tripoli March 20.
(Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters) #
15A man stands in front of a burning vehicle belonging to forces loyal to
Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between
Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
16A tank belonging to forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy explodes after an air
strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March
20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
17A Libyan rebel holds the rebellion flag as he steps over wrecked military
vehicles belonging to Moammar Khadafy forces hit by French warplanes on March
20. Dozens of Khadafy military vehicles were destroyed in morning air strikes
by the coalition west of Benghazi, as a semblance of normality returned with
cars out on the road and street markets reopened in the rebel bastion. (Patrick
Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
18A rebel fighter shouts in front of a burning vehicle belonging to forces
loyal to Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road
between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
19A Libyan rebel smiles next to wrecked military vehicles belonging to Moammar
Khadafy forces hit by French warplanes on March 20. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty
Images) #
20An elderly rebel fighter gestures in front of a destroyed tank belonging to
forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces in
Benghazi March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
Warning:
This image contains graphic
or objectionable content
click here to view it.
21Men weep beside the bodies of family members killed during Saturday's
offensive by forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy in the northeastern city of
Benghazi on March 20. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters) #
22A man looks at a destroyed tank belonging to forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy
after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and
Ajdabiyah March 20. (Suhaib Salemk/Reuters) #
23Rebel fighters gesture in front of burning vehicles belonging to forces loyal
to Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces along a road between
Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
Warning:
This image contains graphic
or objectionable content
click here to view it.
24Curious Libyan onlookers take pictures of dead African teenagers, members of
Moammar Khadafy's forces hit by airstrikes by French warplanes in al-Wayfiyah
west of Benghazi, on March 20 in al-Wayfiyah. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
25Rebel fighters point their weapons at a vehicle at a checkpoint during a gun
battle in downtown Benghazi on March 20. Sporadic explosions and heavy gunfire
broke out in central Benghazi at around 10 p.m. and lasted about 40 minutes, a
Reuters witness reported from the city. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters) #
26A rebel fighter points his gun at a suspected Khadafy supporter as other
rebels try to protect the suspected supporter, on a road between Benghazi and
Ajdabiyah on March 21. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) #
27Libyan rebels retreat with their injured under heavy fire following a failed
attempt to take the town of Ajdabiya from Moammar Khadafy's forces on March 21.
(Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
28Mourners react during the funeral of Libyans killed by forces loyal to
Moammar Khadafy, in Benghazi March 21. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters) #
29A young girl flashes the victory sign during a celebratory rally after the
United Nations approved a no-fly zone over the country on March 18 in Tobruk.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images) #
30People flee the Libyan city of Benghazi through the town of Al-Marej on March
17. Libya warned it could target all Mediterranean air and sea traffic in the
case of foreign military intervention. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
31A Libyan bank cashier gives a client outdated bank notes, which had been
removed from circulation several years ago and reissued recently by the central
bank due to cash shortage, at a bank in Tripoli on March 17. (Mahmud
Turkia/AFP/Getty Images) #
32A Libyan girl fleeing Benghazi sits in a bus on March 19 as the exodus of
civilians began shortly after the first air strikes hit Benghazi. (Patrick
Baz/AFP/Getty Images) #
33A Libyan family, who fled their house after shelling from troops loyal to
Moammar Khadafy, takes shelter in a university in Tobruk, east of Tripoli,
March 19. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters) #
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