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Saturday, August 13, 2011

This Would Be Big

Well, I'll be. Actual light at the end of the tunnel in Libya.

Libya's western rebels are apparently attacking Zawiyah, an important city on the coast west of Tripoli:

Gunfire was heard in the Libyan coastal town of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli on Saturday.

A Reuters TV producer and other journalists were traveling from the Tunisian border to Tripoli but had to turn back because the road was blocked where it passes near Zawiyah.

"I heard gunfire, skirmishing," producer Martin Veal said from the outskirts of the town.

If the loyalists lose that city, any supplies coming in to the loyalist heartland will have a much harder time making it.

The loyalists are finally gaining some traction on the propaganda front, but I don't know if the loyalists have enough time to break the alliance before they break.

I'd guess losing Zawiyah would be a big hit on loyalist morale. Mercenaries fighting for Khaddafi might start thinking about other employment opportunities.

Good grief, we might get rid of Khaddafi after all.

Meanwhile, the eastern rebels are still battling at Burayqah (Brega) which could be the Isonzo River of this war. How the eastern rebels get a seat at the table the way the western rebels (including Misrata) have carried the burden is beyond me.

UPDATE: While loyalists remain in parts of Zawiyah, the rebels do appear to have taken the city. Let's see if Khaddafi can manage a counter-attack to open up this key supply line chokepoint. If the rebels hold, this is big.

Also, Burayqah (Brega) is a big if low-population place: "Brega is strung out along about 15 km (10 miles) of Mediterranean coast. The rebels have captured a residential neighborhood in the east while Gaddafi's troops still hold an oil terminal in the town's industrial sector in the west." So what I guessed earlier is correct.