What's in a flag? - Libya - Al Jazeera English

What's in a flag? - Libya - Al Jazeera English

The red band on the flag refers to the blood of those killed during the Libyan fight for independence from Italy [AFP]


Anti-government protesters in cities across Libya have been hoisting national flags as a sign of their revolt against Muammar Gaddafi, the man who has led the country for 41 years.

Abroad, where diplomats in several embassies have also renounced Gaddafi's leadership, the flag is also being used as a sign to show where loyalties lie.

The flag being raised, however, is not the current national flag, but one from over 40 years ago, when Libya was still ruled by a constitutional monarchy under the el-Senussi family.

It depicts three bands of green, black and red, with a white crescent and star in the centre, and was the banner under which the Kingdom of Libya won its independence from Italy on December 24, 1951.

The flag was used until 1969, when it was replaced by the pan-Arab red-white-and-black tricolour.

The red band on the 1951 flag symbolises the blood of those killed during the struggle for independence from Italy, and the green band symbolises prosperity.

The central black band appears to be a reference from the el-Senussi flag, under which King Idris I gathered Libyans together during the fight for independence.

The crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam, the religion of most Libyans. A variation of the flag that has been used by anti-government protesters has vertical bands, and no star and crescent.

'Stolen by Gaddafi'

Libya's current flag is a monochromatic green rectangle, and is the only national flag currently in use that does not feature some form of icon, symbol or design.

It is strongly associated with Gaddafi's rule, and has been in use since 1977, when the country was declared the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Youcef Bouandel, a Libyan professor of international affairs at Qatar University, explained the significance of the protesters' choice of flag.

"This flag is the flag of Libya when it achieved its independence from the Italians ... and I think that people are saying that Libya is going to achieve its independence that was stolen by Gaddafi," he said.

Bouandel said the choice of flag did not indicate a particular predilection towards returning to a monarchical structure - as the original flag was used by the country when it was ruled by the el-Senussi family - rather it was a reaction against Gaddafi, and an expression of a desire for independence.
Protesters shows areas they claim are controlled by anti-government forces under the 1951-69 flag


"[It is] to tell him that there was a Libya before Gaddafi came to power," said Bouandel.

"He seemed to imply in his speech that he was Libya, that he made Libya ... [but they wish to say] there was a Libya that fought for its independence and that was the flag of Libya before you took power in what you called a revolution."

Analysts say that while there is the possibility of the Libyan monarchy coming back to some form of power if Gaddafi were overthrown, it remains unclear at this point how strong a possibility that is.

Awad Elfeituri, from the Libyan Information Centre, a Doha-based organisation that has been using contacts in the country to get information regarding the revolt out to the wider world, spoke to Al Jazeera about the significance of the flag.

He said that it was unlikely that protesters had chosen the flag with its ties to the monarchy in mind, as most protesters are younger than 30 years old - Gaddafi seized power in a coup d'etat 41 years ago.

Elfeituri said the choice of the older flag as a symbol of the revolution came from a sense of "nostalgia", of a longing for the "good old days", where, in particular, law and order were maintained.

He said the protesters "do not want anything to do with Gaddafi", and the green flag is closely associated with the Libyan leader.

Divisions and unity

In a speech televised on national television on February 21, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi's son, warned: "Libya is not like Egypt [referring to the revolution in that country], it is tribes and clans. It is not a society with parties. Everyone knows their duties and this may cause civil wars."

The deep tribal divisions do continue to predict loyalties in Libya, and during recent unrest several tribes have turned against Gaddafi [notably the Warfala tribe, the country's largest].

The 1951-69 flag, however, is a symbol of tribal unity, as all of the country's clans agreed to be ruled under the el-Senussi family [and an elected parliament], said Bouandel.
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The flag then, appears to symbolise both independence and unity.

Interestingly, the plain green flag that Gaddafi made the national pennant in 1977 is also supposed to symbolise unity, Bouandel and Elfeituri said.

The colour green, which is closely associated with Gaddafi's government in Libya, is in the Arab world considered a colour of peace, equality and the colour of heaven, Bouandel added.

Gaddafi has also displayed a particular devotion to the colour.

His manifesto, which he quotes often, is called the Green Book and features a green cover, and during recent violence he urged his supporters to wear green armbands as a sign of where their loyalties lay.

During his address to the nation on February 22, he urged his supporters to don their green armbands and "cleanse" Libya of anti-government protesters.

ElFeituri says the colour is somewhat of an obsession with Gaddafi. In the city of Benghazi, which in recent days has become a stronghold for protesters, he had earlier reportedly "forced people to paint their walls and doors green".

The colour appears to have a deeper importance to Gaddafi than simply being a means of identification.

Bouandel narrated an anecdote to Al Jazeera, describing a function at the University of Benghazi some years ago when Gaddafi wanted to take notes of what speakers were saying.

Students present at the university offered Gaddafi a pen that wrote in red ink. He was offended by the offer, Bouandel said, asking "Since when do I use that?"

Gaddafi then demanded that a green pen be provided for him to write with.


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In search of an African revolution - Features - Al Jazeera English

In search of an African revolution - Features - Al Jazeera English

Must a revolt be filmed and photographed to succeed? [EPA]


Demonstrations are continuing across the Middle East, interrupted only by the call for prayer when protesters fall to their knees on cheap carpets and straw mats and the riot police take a tea break. Egypt, in particular, with its scenes of unrelenting protesters staying put in Tahrir Square, playing guitars, singing, treating the injured and generally making Gandhi’s famous salt march of the 1940s look like an act of terror, captured the imagination of an international media and audience more familiar with the stereotype of Muslim youth blowing themselves and others up.

A non-violent revolution was turning the nation full circle, much to the admiration of the rest of the world.

"I think Egypt's cultural significance and massive population were very important factors in ensuring media coverage," says Ethan Zuckerman, the co-founder of Global Voices, an international community of online activists.

"International audiences know at least a few facts about Egypt, which makes it easier for them to connect to news there," he says, drawing a comparison with Bahrain, a country Zuckerman says few Americans would be able to locate on a map.

Zuckerman also believes that media organisations were in part motivated by a "sense of guilt" over their failure to effectively cover the Tunisian revolution and were, therefore, playing "catch up" in Egypt.

"Popular revolutions make for great TV," he adds. "The imagery from Tahrir square in particular was very powerful and led to a story that was easy for global media to cover closely."

The African Egypt versus the Arab Egypt

Egypt was suddenly a sexy topic. But, despite the fact that the rich banks of the Nile are sourced from central Africa, the world looked upon the uprising in Egypt solely as a Middle Eastern issue and commentators scrambled to predict what it would mean for the rest of the Arab world and, of course, Israel. Few seemed to care that Egypt was also part of Africa, a continent with a billion people, most living under despotic regimes and suffering economic strife and political suppression just like their Egyptian neighbours.

"Egypt is in Africa. We should not fool about with the attempts of the North to segregate the countries of North Africa from the rest of the continent," says Firoze Manji, the editor of Pambazuka Online, an advocacy website for social justice in Africa. "Their histories have been intertwined for millennia. Some Egyptians may not feel they are Africans, but that is neither here nor there. They are part of the heritage of the continent."

And, just like much of the rest of the world, Africans watched events unfold in Cairo with great interest. "There is little doubt that people [in Africa] are watching with enthusiasm what is going on in the Middle East, and drawing inspiration from that for their own struggles," says Manji.

He argues that globalisation and the accompanying economic liberalisation has created circumstances in which the people of the global South share very similar experiences: "Increasing pauperisation, growing unemployment, declining power to hold their governments to account, declining income from agricultural production, increasing accumulation by dispossession - something that is growing on a vast scale - and increasing willingness of governments to comply with the political and economic wishes of the North.

"In that sense, people in Africa recognise the experiences of citizens in the Middle East. There is enormous potential for solidarity to grow out from that. In any case, where does Africa end and the Middle East begin?"

Rallying cry

The ‘trouble’ that started in Tunisia (another African country) when street vendor Mohamed Bouzazi’s self-immolation articulated the frustrations of a nation spread to Algeria (yes, another African country), Yemen and Bahrain just as Hosni Mubarak made himself comfortable at a Sharm el Sheik spa.

Meanwhile, in 'darkest Africa', far away from the media cameras, reports surfaced of political unrest in a West African country called Gabon. With little geo-political importance, news organisations seem largely oblivious to the drama that began unfolding on January 29, when the opposition protested against Ali Bhongo Odhimba’s government, whom they accuse of hijacking recent elections. The demonstrators demanded free elections and the security forces duly stepped in to lay those ambitions to rest. The clashes between protesters and police that followed show few signs of relenting.

"The events in Tunisia and Egypt have become, within Africa, a rallying cry for any number of opposition leaders, everyday people harbouring grievances and political opportunists looking to liken their country's regimes to those of Ben Ali or Hosni Mubarak," says Drew Hinshaw, an American journalist based in West Africa. "In some cases that comparison is outrageous, but in all too many it is more than fair.

"Look at Gabon, a tragically under-developed oil exporter whose GDP per capita is more than twice that of Egypt's but whose people are living on wages that make Egypt look like the land of full employment.

"The Bhongo family has run that country for four decades, since before Mubarak ran nothing larger than an air force base, and yet they're still there. You can understand why the country's opposition is calling for new rounds of Egypt-like protests after seeing what Egypt and Tunisia were able to achieve."

Elsewhere on the continent protests have broken out in Khartoum, Sudan where students held Egypt-inspired demonstrations against proposed cuts to subsidies on petroleum products and sugar. Following the protests there on January 30, CPJ reported that staff from the weekly Al-Midan were arrested for covering the event.

Ethiopian media have also reported that police there detained the well-known journalist Eskinder Nega for "attempts to incite" Egypt-style protests. In Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front Party has said that the country might experience an uprising similar to those in North Africa if the government does not slash food prices.

"There are lots of Africans too who are young, unemployed, who see very few prospects for their future in countries ruled by the same old political elite that have ruled for 25 or 30 or 35 years," says CSM Africa bureau chief Scott Baldauf.

"I think all the same issues in Egypt are also present in other countries. You have leaders who have hung onto power for decades and who think the country can only function if they are in charge. A young Zimbabwean would understand the frustration of a young Egyptian."

Divide and rule

Sure, the continent is vast and acts of dissent and their subsequent suppression are the bread and butter of some oppressive African states. But just as self-immolation was not new in Tunisia, discontentment and rising restlessness is not alien to Africans. In the past three years, there been violent service delivery protests in South Africa and food riots in Cameroon, Madagascar, Mozambique and Senegal.

But whether the simmering discontent in Africa will result in protests on the scale of those in Egypt remains to be seen.

"All the same dry wood of bad governance is stacked in many African countries, waiting for a match to set it alight," says Baldauf. "But it takes leadership. It takes civil society organisation," something the CSM Africa bureau chief fears countries south of the Sahara do not have at the same levels as their North African neighbours.

Emmanuel Kisiangani, a senior researcher at the African Conflict Prevention Programme (ACCP) at the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, believes the difference in the success levels of protests in North and sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed in part to the ethnic make-up of the respective regions.

"In most of the countries that have had fairly 'successful riots' the societies are fairly homogeneous compared to sub-Saharan Africa where there are a multiplicity of ethnic groups that are themselves very polarised. In sub-Saharan Africa, where governments have been able to divide people along ethnic-political lines, it becomes easier to hijack an uprising because of ethnic differences, unlike in North Africa."

'Where is Anderson Cooper?'

Egypt and Tunisia may have been the catalysts for demonstrations across the Arab world, but will those ripples spread into the rest of Africa as well and, if they do, will the international media and its audience even notice?

"What the continent lacks is media coverage," says Hinshaw. "There's no powerhouse media for the region like Al Jazeera, while European and American media routinely reduce a conflict like [that in] Ivory Coast or Eastern Congo to a one-sentence news blurb at the bottom of the screen."

Hinshaw is particularly troubled by the failure of the international media to pay due attention to events in Ivory Coast, where the UN estimates that at least 300 people have died and the opposition puts the figure at 500.

"With due deference to the bravery of the Egyptian demonstrators, protesters who gathered this weekend in Abidjan [in Ivory Coast] aren't up against a military that safeguards them - it shoots at them.

"The country's economy has been coughing up blood since November, with banks shutting by the day, businesses closing by the hour and thousands of families fleeing their homes," he continues. "And in all of this where is Anderson Cooper? Where is Nicolas Kristof? Why is Bahrain a front page news story while Ivory Coast is something buried at the bottom of the news stack?"

The journalist is equally as disappointed in world leaders. "This Friday, Barack Obama publicly condemned the use of violence in Bahrain, Yemen and Libya. When was the last time you saw Obama come out and make a statement on Ivory Coast? Or Eastern Congo? Or Djibouti, where 20,000 people protested this weekend according to the opposition?

"The problem is that most American media compulsively ignore everything south of the Sahara and north of Johannesburg. A demonstration has to be filmed, photographed, streamed live into the offices of foreign leaders to achieve everything Egypt's achieved."

Nanjala, a political analyst at the University of Oxford, suggests this journalistic shortcoming stems from journalists' tendency "to favour explanations that fit the whole 'failing Africa' narrative".

Filling a void

So with traditional media seemingly failing Africa, will social media fill the void?

Much has already been written about the plethora of social media networks that both helped engineer protests and, crucially, amplified them across cyber-space. Online-activists, sitting behind fibre optic cables and flat screens, collated and disseminated updates, photographs and video and played the role of subversive hero from the comfort of their homes. Of course, not all Tweets or Facebook uploads came from pyjama-clad revolutionaries far from the scene of the action - an internet-savvy generation of Egyptians was also able to keep the world updated with information from the ground.

"It's not clear to me that social media played a massive role in organising protests," says Zuckerman. "[But] I do think it played a critical role in helping expose those protests to a global audience, particularly in Tunisia, where the media environment was so constrained."

So, could the same thing happen in Africa?

"I think it's important to keep in mind that African youth are far more plugged in than most people realise. The spread in mobile phones has made it possible for people to connect to applications like Facebook or Twitter on their telephones," says Nanjala, adding: "At the same time, I think most analysts are overstating the influence of social media on the protests.

"The most significant political movements in Africa and in other places have occurred independently of social media - the struggles for independence, the struggles against apartheid and racism in Southern Africa. Where people need or desire to be organised they will do independently of the technology around them."

Baldauf concurs: "In every country you see greater and greater access to the internet and greater access to cell phone networks. I remember getting stuck on a muddy road in Eastern Congo, out where the FDLR [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] controls the mining industry. We had to stay the night in a village, the guests of a lovely old man in his mud hut. It was [at] the end of the world, but to get a phone call off to my wife and my editor, I just had to walk out of the hut and use my cell phone."

An important year

2011 is an important year for Africa. Elections are scheduled in more than 20 countries across the continent, including Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

But as food prices continue to rise and economic hardship tightens its grip on the region, it is plausible to imagine Africans revolting and using means other than the often meaningless ballot box to remove their leaders.

"What people want is the democratisation of society, of production, of the economy, and indeed all aspects of life," says Manji. "What they are being offered instead is the ballot box."

But, Manji adds: "Elections don't address the fundamental problems that people face. Elections on their own do nothing to enable ordinary people to be able to determine their own destiny. "

This, according to Kisiangani, is because "the process of democratisation in many African countries seems more illusory than fundamental".

Gabon, Zimbabwe, even Ethiopia may never have the online reach enjoyed by Egyptians, and the scale of solidarity through linguistic and cultural symmetry may not allow their calls to reach the same number of internet users. But this does not mean that a similar desire for change is not brewing, nor that the traditional media and online community are justified in ignoring it.

Screens were put up in Tahrir Square broadcasting Al Jazeera’s coverage of the protests back to the protesters. It is difficult to qualify the role of social media in the popular uprisings gaining momentum across the Arab world, but it is even more difficult to quantify the effect of the perception of being ignored, of not being watched, discussed and, well, retweeted to the throngs of others needing to be heard.

Ignoring the developments in Africa is to miss the half the story.

"The protests have created the 'hope' that ordinary people can define their political destiny," says Kisiangani. "The uprisings ... are making people on the continent become conscious about their abilities to define their political destinies."

Follow @azadessa on Twitter.


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The project for a new Arab century - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The project for a new Arab century - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

One constituency the US has long ignored in the Arab world is the people [GALLO/GETTY]


No sooner did former US president George W. Bush come into power in January 2001 than a much vaunted neo-conservative doctrine came into full swing, wreaking havoc across the Middle East. Throughout the eight years of the Bush presidency, the levers of power - the political, the economic, the scholarly and, importantly, the military - were all employed towards one ultimate goal: The project for the new American century.

Bush's neo-con backers had prepared the manual for his presidency well before time. With their man in power, the greatest force of Western power since the Roman Empire set about changing the world in the name of neo-conservatism, to "promote American global leadership", we were told.

At the receiving end of the mighty American military-industrial complex were the people of the Arab world. The basic premise was to utilise maximum US force, power and influence to create a new Middle East, one obedient to the interests and objectives of the US. The central focus was the preservation of the superiority of Israel and the utilisation of American hard-power to eliminate any threats posed to it. The benign undercurrent, we were told, was the need to spread democracy across the region. After all, democracies do not fight wars against one other.

The scorecard of the Bush doctrine is there for all to see: "Shock and awe" was unleashed against Iraq in the pursuit of this project; the Palestinians in Gaza were collectively imprisoned for having the audacity to vote for Hamas; Lebanon was brutalised by Israel with the tacit backing of the US in an effort to destroy Hezbollah; Iran became the new public enemy number one (after Iraq had been dealt with of course); the Gulf states went along quietly arming themselves in the name of stability and North African dictators were given free rein to fight "Islamism" - also in the name of stability.

With American hyper-power on full display over this period, there was little doubting the contention that in the realm of international relations, "the end of history" was indeed being reached in the absence of any challenger to the formidable US military might. "Liberty" to Arabs, it seemed, was being brought on the back of American battle tanks. The destruction wrought on the region over this period was apparently "the birth pangs" of a new Middle East.

It's the people, stupid

How times change. The human and capital cost, however, of the Iraq adventure almost bled the US economy dry. The invasion became so bogged down that the political will to continue the war soon weakened. The thought of expanding the military adventure to other lands similarly evaporated. Post-Bush, the Americans were now left grappling with "soft-power", to persuade, to diplomatically engage with Arab/Iranian leaderships in order to resolve disputes. In the midst of this power play in the region, one constituency which the US had long ignored (and continues to ignore) is the people.

Toppling disobedient leaders and oiling the wheels of pliant ones proved useful so long as the populations of these countries remained voiceless. As the people begin to find their voices, however, the Middle East as we have long known it is beginning to alter. Unfortunately for the decision-makers in the US (and their policy advisers and legions of "intellectual" think tanks) the dramatic changes are not in the direction that they had conceived.

The catalyst for the political earthquake that we are currently witnessing was a massive popular uprising in Tunisia at the end of 2010. Emboldened by the overthrow of the brutal regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the people of Egypt then took to the streets demanding reform. In just 18 days, Egyptian civil society, which we had been told by regional "experts" either did not exist or was spineless, broke the shackles of oppression and overcame a dictator whose regime had become synonymous with abuse and corruption. Egypt had finally been released from 30 years of political imprisonment.

That Hosni Mubarak continued to breed fear about the "chaos" that his removal would unleash and his foreign backers continued to maintain the need for "stability" and "orderly" change, showed the total lack of understanding on their part of the momentous changes that were being played out. The revolutionary bug has now spread across the wider region with people in Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya currently battling despotism, while leaderships in Jordan, Syria and Morocco (to name but a few) consider ways of preventing the tide of "people power" from sweeping their shores.

'Islands of stability'

Consider for a moment the extent to which various US administrations have suffered from an ailment which, for wont of a better description, we will call "foot in mouth syndrome". The shah of Iran was an "island of stability" in the troubled Middle East, according to the then US president, Jimmy Carter. A short time after these illustrious words were spoken, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was dethroned; Iran had witnessed an Islamic revolution and US policy in the country was found lacking. Around the time that Iran’s new Islamic leadership swept to power, Egypt too was undergoing change, this time in the form of the presidency of Hosni Mubarak who came to power in 1981 following his predecessor’s assassination.

However, after almost 30 years of stern one-man rule, Egyptian civil society revolted against Mubarak’s despotism, seeking his ouster in January 2011, precisely a decade after Bush’s first inauguration. What were the very first utterances of the US administration under Barack Obama, as protesters gathered on Egypt’s streets? "Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable ..." said Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state. Her assessment, reminiscent of the meanderings about Iran, could not have been more wrong.

The islands of stability that the US has traditionally favoured are not the same sort that the people of the Arab world have desired. While Iraq under Saddam Hussein was ripe for invasion and "democratic change", the hunger for reform on the part of populations in other parts of the region also subjected to Saddam-like repression was not felt by the US. Where the American military brought democracy to Iraq, the Arab people are now battling to bring democracy to themselves. Should we then be surprised that the neo-con intellectual machine that planned change in the Middle East under Bush is now largely silent? While their project has failed, a new Arab people’s project is beginning to blossom.

If any clear evidence of US opposition to the people's wishes in the region were needed, the Obama administration willingly obliged on February 18. The UN Security Council (UNSC) held a vote to condemn Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank as illegal and to demand an immediate end to all such activity. Settlement building is a particular sore among Palestinians and the wider Arab population. While 14 out of the 15 UNSC members backed the resolution, the US issued its first veto under Obama, damning the Palestinian Territories to further Israeli expansionism - well in keeping with the American spirit of defying global opinion. The PR spin on the veto will no doubt attempt to portray the US measure as some sort of noble endeavour. The nobleness was certainly in Israel's favour.

Moment in history

When I was an undergraduate, the most fascinating, most closely scrutinised event that all students of the Middle East were exposed to was the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. That was a truly momentous event. The repercussions for the Middle East were staggering. Political Islam came to the fore as an academic discipline. The political power play in the region shifted with alliances quickly emerging against Iran for fear that its brand of revolutionary zeal would spread. That revolution continues to captivate.

More than 30 years later, however, the new crop of undergraduates will be evaluating perhaps an even more momentous event: That of February 11, 2011, when Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous nation, one at the core of the region’s political, economic and security affairs, defeated its very own despotism, rid itself of fear and raised expectations of a new era of political relations in the Middle East. Incidentally, Mubarak was forced out precisely 32 years from the day when the shah of Iran was deposed.

While the people of Tunisia wrote the introduction to what we can call the unfolding "project for the new Arab century", the people of Egypt have just completed its defining first chapter. What conclusions can be drawn from these historic events is far too early to gauge. What is certain, however, is that many more chapters will be written before the political dust settles. Safe to say, nevertheless, that the birth pangs of a new Middle East are now definitely being felt, but not in ways that many outsiders imagined.

Mohammed Khan is a political analyst based in the UAE.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.


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Blast hits Afghan police officers - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Blast hits Afghan police officers - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

In the last three weeks more than 100 people including many bystanders have died in six large blasts [AFP]


A car bomb has exploded in southern Afghanistan, injuring at least 24 people, including police and intelligence officers.

The car exploded in the main market in the border town of Spin Boldak, the officer to the governor of Kandahar province told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

"Sixteen civilians have been injured. Six intelligence personnel have been injured, two border police have been injured," said Abdul Razaq, a senior border police official.

"The bomber was being chased by the intelligence department. He detonated in the middle of the town."

In the last three weeks, more than 100 people including many bystanders have died in six large blasts.

Violence across Afghanistan in 2010 reached its worst levels since the Taliban was toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001.

The Afghan police and army are due to take responsibility for security starting from 2014, allowing the bulk of international troops to withdraw. There are currently around 140,000 international military personnel in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.


Afghan officials have accused NATO troops in recent days of causing mass civilian casualties in operations - a highly sensitive subject in the fight to win hearts and minds while defeating the Taliban.



Source:
Al Jazeera and agenci

NATO convoy attacked in Pakistan - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

NATO convoy attacked in Pakistan - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

The Taliban frequently takes responsibility for attacks on NATO supply tankers in Pakistan [AFP]


At least four people have been killed after a convoy of NATO fuel tankers was attacked in Pakistan's northwest.

While estimates vary, between 12 and 25 lorries bound for Afghanistan were set ablaze at a terminal during the attack, which occurred near the city of Peshawar on Friday.

"More than two dozen militants entered the terminal and planted timed devices on 12 out of a total of 18 fuel tankers parked at the terminal," Imtiaz Shah, a senior police official, told the AFP news agency.

He said that one device did not explode, and that two drivers and two guards were killed in the raid. Another driver was hurt in the attack.

Empty shells from Kalashnikov rifles and human blood were visible at the site of the attack.

Liaquat Ali Khan, a police officer, told the Associated Press news agency that around 15 fighters armed with rockets carried out the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspected Taliban fighters and criminals often attack lorries carrying supplies for US and NATO troops in Pakistan.

The supplies arrive in Pakistan's port city of Karachi and travel overland to Afghanistan.

Deaths in Afghan dogfight blast - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Deaths in Afghan dogfight blast - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Local and international troops are struggling to prevent attacks that have killed scores in recent weeks [File: AFP]


At least eight people have been killed after two bombs exploded at a dogfight event in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, officials said.

The blasts took place as villagers gathered to watch the traditional event in Arghandab district, located on the outskirts of Kandahar city on Sunday.

"People had gathered to watch dogfighting. Two explosions, from planted bombs, happened. Eight people, all civilians, have been killed," Shah Mohammad, the district chief of Arghandab, told AFP news agency.

Though dog fights are against the law in Afghanistan, they are still common and often ignored by the authorities.

In this case, however, police had heard about the fight and had just arrived to break it up when a bomb exploded, according to Niaz Mohammad, a district police chief.

He also said that another blast went off as security forces got out of their vehicle, and that five policemen were subsequently wounded.

Spate of attacks

It was unclear who the target of the attack was, though a witness said it was unlikely that it was the police.

"The Taliban also don't allow dogfighting," Ismail Alokozai, a local resident, who was in the area during the first blast and helped some of the wounded, told the Associated Press.

"This was not the first time that there was a bombing at a dogfight. It is probably the fourth time.''

In recent weeks, scores of civilians have been killed in a spate of attacks across Afghanistan, and on Saturday, at least four people were killed in the northwest of the country when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a sports field.

About 2,000 people had gathered for a game of buzkashi, a traditional Afghan sport in which players on horseback wrangle for a headless goat carcass.


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Libya opposition launches council - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Libya opposition launches council - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Defected army officers have been teaching civilians in Benghazi how to use anti-aircraft guns and other arms [Reuters]


Opposition protesters in eastern Libya have formed a national council, pledging to help free areas of the country still under Muammar Gaddafi's rule.

Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the new National Libyan Council that was launched in the city of Benghazi on Sunday, said the council was not an interim government.

"The main aim of the national council is to have a political face ... for the revolution," Ghoga told a news conference after the gathering to announce the council's formation.LIVE BLOG



"We will help liberate other Libyan cities, in particular Tripoli through our national army, our armed forces, of which
part have announced their support for the people," Ghoga said.

On Saturday, former justice minister Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jalil - who resigned from Gaddafi's cabinet on Monday in protest at the killing of protesters - told Al Jazeera he had led the formation of a body which would lead the country for three months to prepare for elections.

Both Libya's ambassador to the US and its deputy UN ambassador said they supported the initiative.

Ex-minister taking lead

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Benghazi, said there was an understanding that the uprisings in different cities that have fallen into the hands of the opposition need to be concentrated under one umbrella to counter the regime.

"The ex-justice minister is taking the lead in this movement," she said.

"They have five representatives of each city or town and each time a new one falls, they immediately establish contact to have that city or town join this national council.

"There is a feeling here in the east that if they stay separated from the rest of the country, then it will soon look like a secessionist movement rather than an uprising."

Ghoga said the newly formed council was not contacting foreign governments and did not want them to intervene.

His comments came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington was "reaching out" to opposition groups in the east.and was prepared to offer "any kind of assistance" to Libyans seeking to overthrow the regime.

"We are reaching out to many different Libyans in the east as the revolution moves westward there as well," she said.

In places such as Benghazi that have ejected Gaddafi's loyalists, citizens have set up committees to act as a local authority and run services.

Gaddafi and his supporters still control Tripoli, but their grip beyond the capital has been shrinking, with protesters taking over Zawiyah and Misurata in the western part of the country.


Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

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