The Interim Government gave the Syrian Ambassador 72 hours to pack up earlier this week. Here are his last moments fleeing from the embassy on the way to the airport.
Summary
We’re going tо wrap uр thе live blog. Here’s a summary оf whеrе things stand:
• Basic details оf thе attack оn a US diplomatic outpost іn Benghazi, Libya, remain unknown. US officials said thеу don’t know hоw Ambassador Chris Stevens died. It іѕ unclear whо carried оut thе attack, аnd whеthеr іt wаѕ planned bеfоrеhаnd, аѕ thе White House suspects.
• President Obama paid tribute tо Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith аnd twо оthеr Americans killed іn Benghazi іn a meeting wіth State Department staff.
• Thе film said tо hаvе incited thе anti-US violence appears tо hаvе bееn mаdе wіthоut thе full cooperation оf іtѕ actors, оnе оf whоm told Gawker ѕhе wаѕ shocked tо learn ѕhе hаd performed іn a spoof оf Islam. Thе film wаѕ originally nоt аbоut thе Prophet Mohammed but аbоut ѕоmеоnе called Master George, ѕhе said. Thе identity оf thе filmmaker іѕ ѕtіll unknown.
• Thе outpost іn Benghazi wаѕ unguarded bу Marines, аѕ аll full US embassies аrе. Thе Benghazi post wаѕ аn interim facility wіth lesser security. Fifty members оf аn elite Marine guard wеrе deployed tо Benghazi Wednesday.
• Mitt Romney drew fіrе fоr attacking thе White House response tо thе crisis іn Cairo bеfоrе news hаd emerged оf Stevens’ death іn Libya. President Obama said Romney “seems tо hаvе a tendency tо shoot fіrѕt аnd aim later.”
• Libyans staged rallies іn Tripoli аnd Benghazi tо condemn thе attacks оn thе US outpost. Libya elected іtѕ fіrѕt post-Gaddafi prime minister, Mustafa Abushagur.
This video was shown on Libyan TV. It doesn’t show Eman Al-Obeidi, just a photo of her and you can hear Eman (what we think is Eman’s voice) speaking. In the middle of the ‘secret footage’, they show a woman lying on the floor. This woman is supposedly Eman.
Translation:
Eman: I shouldn’t be arrested, I am the victim here, I am the one who is reporting an incident and they don’t want me to leave here! (Eman seems overwhelmed and begins to cry or is trying not to)
* Female voice talking to Eman but hard to hear*
Eman: Why can’t you just do what expected to be done in such litigation, bring a lawyer, call any legal authorities to investigate my claim… Show the leader (Gaddafi) … Call the leader at Bab El Azizia … find me a solution!
Female voice: We don’t have someone available from Bab El Azizia to speak with you
A female now talking on the phone (claiming she is Eman’s sister): Hello, huh? huh? no no, aha, no no no, on the Libya TV … what? … I don’t know, maybe she go out with me (meaning out of this office where the taping took place) … she went to the reporters at the hotel, today. Listen, she went straight to the hotel where the reporters are staying. She seemed in shock… We want to do a formal incident reporting, the man – attacker – should be stoned (killed) She said she was attacked/raped.
*Male voice in the room now asking about a key. Her sister is having a phone conversion in the background. The mic/ sound is not good enough to hear the words clearly. Female voice explaining some legal process, then asking Eman to speak to a reporter*
Eman shouts: I don’t want to talk to them!
* Male voice trying to convince Eman to go through some process, including medical exam and assuring her that there will not hold her in the hospital*
Eman: I am not a prisoner! I want to leave.
Male voice: Calm down, calm down
Female voice: We need you to meet an official doctor and take the medical exam required.
Male voice: Hey Eman, Eman, an incident report is necessary, that is what we are doing, that is all.
* Eman is refusing the whole treatment and feels that she should be free to go home*
Eman: I want to leave, I told you just let me take a taxi and leave and you refused. I gave you my story, why can’t I leave?!
Male voice: It is a process, Eman, you need to do a medical exam.
Eman: I don’t have mental illness, why you want me to go to the hospital. So they can keep me locked there?!
* Female voice assuring her she wouldn’t be locked in the hospital and it is just a procedure required. Eman is silent and doesn’t want to talk to anyone*
Female voice: Eman, what you want to do … Eman, talk to me
Male voice: Your sister needs to go back home (meaning, talk with us so finish this and all leave)
Female voice trying to engage Eman into talking: Don’t you want to leave with your sister, Eman?
Eman: Well, if you want me to really leave, just let me go to the car – taxi – and I’ll leave!
Female voice: Without going to the hospital?!!
Eman: Same talk.. you keep repeating the same things
Female voice: Don’t you want your right? (meaning justice)
Eman shouts back: I don’t want my right
Male voice: In order for us to find those who did this we need to do the process, so we can track/identify them and catch them.
* Eman is silent again and doesn’t seem to trust anything her sister or other people in the room saying*
Male voice: If you cooperate you could leave soon (he is trying to convince her to talk the government TV station taping this video)Why won’t you cooperate?
Eman: I do not want to cooperate, I do not want to talk to Al-Libya TV station (a government TV station). I just want to leave. What cooperation you are asking me about!! If you want litigation, we did the litigation earlier in the day. That is all the cooperation your going to get from me. Anything else, you do not have the right to ask for. * A male voice mentioning something reported by Al Arabia station (different station) about the story, and he is asking Eman to elaborate*
Male voice: you said something and now it is different, you know the rope of a lie is short, right? * Eman ignores him*
Male voice kept trying to engage her to talk: You need to talk to us (meaning the station) to explain your story. People watch it, and you watch it too.
Eman: I don’t watch Al Libya station, to begin with.
Female voice: How come, isn’t it your country, Eman?
Male voice: How come, why don’t you watch it!
Eman: I don’t
Male voice: Why not?
Eman: I don’t watch it.
Male voice: Why not!? it is your country TV station, why not allow them to interview you, Eman?
Eman: I don’t want to! I don’t watch any TV … I don’t have time to watch TV, any TV, period.
Male voice: Oh, you want to talk to Al Jazeera then, is that it!?
Eman: I don’t care about Al Jazeera TV, if I did, I would have gone to them and not to ALL the reports at the hotel.
Male voice: We want to make this TV interview with you
Eman: I do not want to do this interview
Female voice: This interview will benefit you, to help you.
Eman: I am free, and I refuse too
Female and Male pressing her to talk: So who is going to do you justice?!
Female voice: Are you expecting Al Jazeera TV to bring you justice!
Eman: I want the how world to know about the scandals that taking place in Libya and the shame brought to us.
Female voice: What shame are you talking about (the female voice sounded distrust and not of someone investigating or interested to hear Eman opinion) … If from the beginning you had gone to the justice/legal system it would have been better than going to Al Jazeera.
Male voice: Your sister was so worried about you when you are gone with no news for 2 days, you seem used to been gone away from home for days without letting anyone know (an accusation to discredit Eman’s behavior).
Female voice: You made big fuss and that brought many you unnecessary worries. Eman. Do you want to go to the medical examiner for a test? (rape kit) … Talk to me, yes or no? Eman talk to me
Female voice: Are you afraid of the medical examiner? (Rape kit)
Female voice: Eman, Eman, talk to me, Eman
Male voice: Are you afraid that the result may return negative?
Female voice: Do you want to go and do the medical test or not, Eman, Eman, Eman talk to me ** Eman ignores the woman and kept silent. The final part of Eman’s recording, a lady in uniform by the door is shouting at Eman**
Female voice: People like you are damaging this country, you should be ashamed, don’t you care about all the patriots who lost their lives for the country (meaning for the Government).
Eman shouting back: No, people like you who are the ones who damaged the country and don’t even respect human rights. What does my ordeal have to do with anything else?!!
Female voice: Rights? … What about the Libyan citizens rights, did you respect that? … the people who died in the airstrikes?
Eman: What do I have to do with the airstrikes!! ** The images now back to the news studio …
A female TV report quoting Eman’s last statement in mockery: “What do I have to do with the airstrikes” … and that is Eman for you! *The report continues* I would like to focus on some important points here.
Yesterday I said with all due respect to whores, even a whore may have some
sense of patriotism when she is well aware and know that whatever is coming next is not going to be merciful/better like the past (meaning any future change/governs is not going to be better than our today’s government)Even the whore she may have better understanding that these airstrikes are the beginning for invasion, lose of freedom, homelessness and total lost. Even the whore will have sense of patriotism when it comes to her homeland Libya (basically, she shaming Eman’s actions)…. And that doesn’t mean I am trying to backstab/defame Mrs. Eman, and by the why she is not Miss but a Mrs. according to what she herself stated before, that she have been married and divorced, and God knows, we don’t want to claim something still unknown. But, sister Eman has political hate (agenda)… she is extreme radical, she is even … (the clip ended).
In her first interview with international or internal media, the wife of Muammer Gaddafi, Safia, accused NATO of war crimes against her country and denied rumors that her son Saif Al Arab is still alive.
Benghazi hospitals suffer from a severe shortage in medicine and blood. Dedicated nurses and doctors took to the streets of Benghazi to the streets to request blood donations from the people.
Female nurse: “Lets go people. We need blood donations. We need blood donations now.”
Saif – guys, guys, listen, listen We need high spirits [More chanting]
Saif: Listen, listen brothers, the people have said the police force have joined the protesters, but today we will prove the opposite (Context – Saif is hinting at an idea – to equip his supporters with police clothing and request them to enter the protests undercover.)
Saif: Do you need weapons?!
Supporters reply: Yes, Yes, Yes!
Saif: One minute please, you will receive all the support, all the facilities and weapons etc. Everything will be okay, and you will be victorious.
Supporters: [Chanting] ‘Only God, Muammar & Libya.’ Oh Al Jazeera you despicable, we need no other than our leader Gaddafi’
Saif: ‘Today we’re not inviting you for rice & meat’ (Libyan saying — meaning: we mean business). This is what I want to tell you today.’
Supporters: [chanting] ‘We will show them (the protestors), ‘we will bring it back (the country back to Gaddafi’s power).’ ‘The population needs Col. Muammar.’
Saif– listen, listen, this is your country … now we shall leave, and you have all the backing. But your country [unknown word] Italians. The protesters you confront are nothing; they are bums, brats and druggies. Today brothers, Tripoli that you live in, will be cleared (of protesters).
Supporters :[chanting] With spirit and blood we support you our leader’ (Gaddafi)
Saif: I shall leave now, and I will send you weapons. Tonight I will return with more people and weapons.
ROME — Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini, said Wednesday the death toll from days of unrest in Libya was likely more than 1,000.
The Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini delivering his message on the situation in Libya in the Italian lower house of Parliament on Wednesday.
Mr. Frattini told reporters in Rome that he believed estimates that more than 1,000 Libyan civilians had been killed in the clashes with security forces and government supporters “appear to be true.”
Estimates on the death toll in Libya have been difficult to pin down. Human Rights Watch has confirmed roughly 300 deaths in the week-long uprising, but has noted its estimate is conservative because of the difficulty of gathering information from morgues and hospitals during due to intermittent phone service and a near Internet blackout.
Addressing the Italian parliament on Wednesday morning after his comments about the death toll, Mr. Frattini said he was concerned about a rise in “Islamic radicalism” and “the rise of an Islamic emirate” in eastern Libya, including the Cyrenaica region, which he said was “no longer under the Libyan government’s control.” That region was one of three countries that were merged as Libya by Italian colonialists in the early 1930’s.
“This radical Islamism worries us because it is only a few hundred kilometers from the European Union,” Mr. Frattini said, adding that, “nothing can justify the violent killing of hundreds of innocent civilians.”
Mr. Frattini’s remarks on Libya were the Italian government’s strongest to date. In recent days, critics had called on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to use his close ties with Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to pressure him to stop the violence in Libya.
To read the full newspaper, please click here: https://issuu.com/libya17feb/docs/_____?layout=http%25253A%25252F%25252Fskin.issuu.com%25252Fv%25252Flight%25252Flayout.xml
March 23, 2011: This video from Misurata filmed on Wednesday appears to show gunfire, sniper fire and a line of tanks in the city.
Translation:
(inaudible)
Cameraman: Hope you get better soon (to man on bed)
Doctor: This is one of the cases where the man was shot during the massacre of Misrata by the snipers inside one of the family houses.
Doctor: The other case is a fellow brother from egypt who was shot as well in the same manner by the snipers. We currently have alot of cases such as these who are waiting for surgery, over 60 cases.
Man in back: There is one man who got shot and the bullet is near his spinal cord.
Doctor: Alot of help is needed, whether its medical donations or general surgeons.
(cameraman wishes injured a safe and swift recovery)
Doctor: There are lot of lost cases, whereas there are other cases which need immediate surgery and some eye surgeries and spinal cord surgeries as well. These injuries call for the basic medical help in Misrata in order to save the patient’s life. Unfortunately, we don’t have alot of specialists in Misrata to help take care of these cases, such as eye or nerve specialists.
Doctor: There are also cases such as his where the patient need orthopedic surgery and follow-up surgeries as well, but there was not enough time to do that since our main goal in the first surgery was to save the patient’s life and to reduce the blood loss. We (the surgeons) do not have a balance in performing surgeries and checking up on patients, as we have priorities, and there are many injured. Our main goal is to save lives.
Cameraman: We are now going into the other room for injured patients which have been brought to this small hospital. For more translation
Doctor: Allow me to add something which is quite disturbing. There are cases when we didn’t sterilize (scrub in) and now we have stopped since there is a shortage in supplies and as you know we are in a war. We wouldn’t even have the time to sterilize since we receive many injured, since there are no other hospitals to accept them even on the outskirts of the city.
Doctor: Even as you can see, this is not a proper ward, but it is a hallway/waiting area for patients. This is a child who has 2 broken bones, a fracture in his leg and the other in his arm. And this case needs care and a medical team, whether it is nurses or any one working in the hospital, just so we can reach the level of care/support needed.
(inaudible)
Doctor: There are many types of cases, such as broken bones and gunshot wounds. We have noticed that they are not using light artillery, but in fact are using heavy artillery.
Cameraman: Anti aircraft bullets
(injured youth raises his and in a victory sign while doctor is speaking)
Doctor: The problem with anti aircraft bullets is that it causes many injuries. In may cases, they were shot in the right leg and the bullet shot straight through to the left leg, destroying the bones in both legs. This even makes surgery impossible since the bones are crushed. This requires alot of time in surgery since there are many breaks in the bone which can not be fixed easily, and most of the bones are broken into small pieces, which causes us (surgeons) great distress in the surgeries. This brother here is from Syria. (motions to injured with the broken arm) He is one of the workers here in the city.
Doctor: Even the extensions that we are using are very simple. We use what is available to us be it to keep the bones straight or just making simple extensions such as this(motions to the extension) made in workshops in the city. This helps us to make sure that the broken bones mend properly and there are many, many many cases. Currently, there are more than 80 cases on the list, which need major surgeries and Allah knows when we will be able to do these surgeries. We ask Allah for success and to help us in these surgeries.
(moves along to other patient)
Cameraman: May Allah give you patience
Doctor: As you can see most of the patients have leg injuries, either the left or right leg or both. In some cases, we have to amputate the leg (inaudbile; moves along to other patients) The most hardest surgeries are the ones with multiple wounds and the eye surgeries. As you can see this ward is crowded, and as soon as a patient is able to move, he is taken home so we may have as many free available beds and supplies for the incoming patients. And we also tell the family how to care for them at home, as we no longer are able to cope with the influx of injured and give the care needed for the patient afterwards.
Cameraman: Any last words Doctor? Would you like to add anything else?
Doctor: We are in a very disastrous state. We need urgent medical help and humanitarian efforts in this city which has a very very low amount of medical supplies and medical teams. We need more than just a hospital. We need doctors, nurses and general surgeons. Especially orthopedic, ENT and eye surgeons. We need neurosurgeons as well, and many more since we have a small number of surgeons available. We also have a shortage of beds.
Cameraman: For how many days has there been a shortage of electricity?
Doctor: There has been a shortage of electricity for the past 20 days. And there is also a shortage in water supplies. Most surgeries are performed under battery powered lights which may turn off in the middle of surgery. This is a very tragic situation we are in now.
Doctor: I ask all of you who are hearing me in these moments, to do all that they can to help us in this humanitarian situation that we are in. I just want to add one last thing. When a patient arrives at this hospital, we do not ask him which side he is on and where he is from. We just ask what are your injuries and how were you injured. But by who he was injured, we do not ask, since it is not important at the moment since we are a pillar of humanity and it doesn’t matter where he is from and which side he is on since it is not my specialization. I am a doctor and when i became one all that matters to me is to treat the patient. I ask Allah to help us all and thank you.
