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Saturday, August 06, 2011

Fighting at Brega

Libyan rebels are attacking the frontline town of Burayqah (Brega) on the loyalists' eastern front:

Libyan rebels Saturday said they had launched a push to capture the coastal oil town of Brega, but were advancing slowly because Muammar Gaddafi's forces had sown minefields across its approaches.

"There's a big movement on all fronts around Brega. We are attacking from three sides," said spokesman Mohammad Zawawi.

I thought the rebels had taken the town a couple weeks ago. Perhaps they took the oil facilities outside of the residential areas where the loyalists retreated to.

Securing the town and oil infrastructure would be a sizable victory should the fighting settle down and the rebels get the chance to really focus on their economy.

Note, too, that Moslems do fight during Ramadan. Why the belief that fighting has to stop during Ramadan keeps cropping up is beyond me.

Heck, even NATO seems to be getting a pass for continuing to bomb during Ramadan. I thought maybe that could be an issue. But if nobody can work up a good "day of rage" protest over that, let's just give the peaceful Ramadan theory a decent burial.