Carte de Situation en Libye

Update: Revolutionaries lost control of Raz Lanouf under a heavy barrage of artillery, naval and rocket fire. Rebels are pleading for help from western powers, but so far none have intervened with military force. Zawiya, just outside Tripoli, has also fallen to Qaddafi forces after a two week struggle for control of the town. France is the first to formally recognize the rebel leadership based in Benghazi as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people, but on the ground Col. Qadaffi is making good on his promise to "fight to the last man" regardless of the cost in civilian lives. Apparently the United States is only interested in supporting fascist, oil rich dictatorships rather than actual democratic uprisings. الله أكبر

crédit: Le Monde

{10.03.11}The map shows the current situation in the Libyan uprising. Col. Qaddafi has had time to organize his hired foreign mercenaries and loyal military units. Qaddafi forces counterattacked the oil terminal of Raz Lanuf taken by rebels with armor and aircraft. Latest reports indicate rebels have retaken control of the fluid situation there. Government forces also pushed fiercely into Zawiyah using tanks and air support. The town had been held for two weeks by rebel forces, but the revolutionary fighters are surrounded by government troops and outgunned [Sky News video]. Women and children have been killed in the streets. Refugees fleeing the conflict are massing at Libya's borders in significant numbers. The UK and France are preparing a no-fly zone resolution for consideration by the United Nations Security Council. Arab nations have expressed qualified support for such a move in an attempt to protect Libyan citizens from the extreme horrors of modern aerial bombardment. Col. Qaddafi has around 300 older Soviet jet fighters, half of which are not operational. NATO has military assets patrolling the Libyan coast as part of an ongoing anti-terror operation.

The escalation of fighting is causing speculators to drive up oil prices as the disruption in flow of Libyan oil is within the top ten disruptions of the post-WWII era: