THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

@ChangeInLibya

TRIPOLI BREAKING: Gaddafi's personal house in gharghour was bombed using 4 NATO missiles according to eyewitnesses for Zintan FB page

@Tripolitanian

BREAKING: #Gaddafi building hit by #NATO air-strikes within last hour (confirmed) | #Libya

@Tripolitanian
BREAKINGGGGGGGGGGGG: Saif-Al-Arab #Gaddafi son DEAD in AIRSTRIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! CONFIRMED!
3 minutes ago via web

@Tripolitanian

BREAKING: several government officials also dead/injured | #gaddafi #libya #feb17
half a minute ago via web

@mpoppel

One of Gaddafi's children has been killed in a NATO airstrike, according to Reuters
4 minutes ago via TweetDeck

@mpoppel

Muammar Gaddafi narrowly escaped death when NATO bombed his location, Reuters reports. His son has been killed.
7 minutes ago via TweetDeck

@SultanAlQassemi

Breaking BBC Arabic: One of Gaddafi's sons and three of his grandchildren have been killed in a NATO strike. #Libya
half a minute ago via Mobile Web

wjk wrote:Sky news saying Saif but theres two Saifs?

@libyansrevolt

This was saif al Arab NOT said al Islam aka pointy finger man #Libya

@Tripolitanian

BREAKING: Heavy gunfire in #TRIPOLI | #Libya
less than a minute ago via we

Nato strike 'kills Gaddafi's youngest son'
Libyan official says son and three of Libyan leader's grandsons killed in air strike, but NATO is yet to confirm deaths.
Last Modified: 01 May 2011 01:00
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Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren have been killed in a NATO air strike, a Libyan government spokesman said.

Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, according to Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

"The house of Mr Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was attacked tonight with full power. The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives.


"The leader himself is in good health, he wasn't harmed," the spokesman said, adding that Gaddafi's wife was also unharmed but other people in the house were injured.

"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle.

"What we have now is the law of the jungle," Ibrahim told a news conference.

"We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."

Ibrahim would not give the names of the three children, who he claimed were killed, except to say they were nieces and nephews of Saif al-Arab and that they were younger than 12. He said they are not releasing the names yet to protect the privacy of the family.

He said the compound that was hit was in the Garghour neighborhood.

"It seems there was intelligence that was leaked. They knew about something. They expected him for some reason. But the target was very clear, very, very clear. And the neighbourhood, yes of course, because the leader family has a place there, you could expect of course it would be guarded, but it is a normal neighbourhood. Normal Libyans live there," he said.

The 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.

"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.

"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."

Ibrahim said al-Arab was a civilian and a student who had studied in Germany.

Report questioned

Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles. Given the level of destruction, it is unclear that anyone could have survived.

Benghazi rebels, who control a vast swathe of the east of the country, say they cannot trust Gaddafi.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.


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"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.

"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."

Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.

NATO statement

In a press release issued early on Sunday, NATO said it had staged air strikes in Tripoli's Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood but did not confirm Libyan claims that strongman Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren were killed.

"NATO continued its precision strikes against Gaddafi regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening," the statement said.

"All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the... regime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals," Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said.

Bouchard said he was aware of unconfirmed reports that some of Gaddafi's family members might have been killed in the strike, adding: "We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of the ongoing conflict."

Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread.

Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.

01 May. 2011
NATO strikes command and control facility in Tripoli
NAPLES -- NATO continued its precision strikes against Qadhafi regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening.

“All NATO’s targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Qadhafi regime’s systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals,” said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, Commander of NATO’s Operation Unified Protector.
The strike was part of NATO’s coherent strategy to disrupt and destroy the command and control of those forces which have been attacking civilians.
“I am aware of unconfirmed media reports that some of Qadhafi’s family members may have been killed,” Lieutenant-General Bouchard said. “We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of the ongoing conflict. NATO is fulfilling its UN mandate to stop and prevent attacks against civilians with precision and care - unlike Qadhafi’s forces, which are causing so much suffering.”
NATO’s operation is conducted under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for an immediate end to all attacks and authorized all necessary measures to protect civilians in Libya. NATO plans and conducts its strikes with great deliberation to minimize the risk to innocent people.
“I want to remind again all civilians in Libya to distance themselves as much as possible from Qadhafi regime forces, equipment and known military infrastructure to reduce the potential danger to them,” Lieutenant-General Bouchard said.
As NATO and partner foreign ministers made clear, NATO will continue operations until all attacks and threats against civilians have ceased; until all of Qadhafi's forces, including his snipers, mercenaries and paramilitary forces have verifiably withdrawn to their bases, and until there is full, free and unhindered access to humanitarian aid to all those in Libya who need it.

Panda wrote:Thanks Carmen, without U.N. Officials on the ground, how can any of this be verified? If it IS true, God help the
Rebels and citizens of Tripoli now. I"ll bet Gaddafi is on his way to another Country now.

@robcrilly

No-one seems to think it's true this morning
5 minutes ago via web

Scepticism surrounds 'Gaddafi son's death'
Benghazi celebrates report of Gaddafi son's death in air strike, but NATO offers no confirmation of Libyan announcement.
Last Modified: 01 May 2011 13:09
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NATO has denied that its strikes targeted Gaddafi [Al Jazeera]
Libyans in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi have taken to the streets to celebrate the government's announcement of the death of Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son in an air strike, but growing scepticism remains over the veracity of the news.

Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said on Sunday.

Al-Arab's compound in Tripoli’s Garghour neighbourhood was attacked "with full power" in a "direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country", Ibrahim said, calling the strike a violation of international law.


"What we have now is the law of the jungle," he told a news conference. "We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."

Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles.

No NATO confirmation

Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.

NATO continued strikes against military installations in the Libyan capital, including one on a known command and control building in the Bab al-Aziziya neighbourhood, but it could not confirm the deaths of some of Gaddafi's family members, Carmen Romero, the deputy NATO spokeswoman in Brussels, told Al Jazeera by phone.

NATO targets do not include individuals, as they are military in nature and clearly linked to the regime's systematic attacks on Libyans, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said earlier on Sunday in a statement.

"This was a military target and we cannot confirm who was there," Romero emphasised, dismissing questions over the target site being a family home.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron echoed NATO's stance on the western coalition forces’ targeting policy, and refused to comment on an "unconfirmed report".

Report questioned

Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread. Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.

But opposition fighters there who control a vast swathe of the east of the country say they cannot trust Gaddafi.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.

"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.


Follow our coverage of the Libya uprising
"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."

Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.

"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.

"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."