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[Taricus]

SAME, nay he's MORE badass because of the axe.

[Earthquake Damage]

Half freedom fighter, half lumberjack, all manly.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

And, depending on the conext, he's either telling the photographer "Peace, "Victory", or "Fuck Off".

[RedKing]

Okay, so the situation is:

Rebels in the east are steadily driving west. They took the oil port of Ra's Lanuf in the last 24 hours (where the fighter jet was apparently shot down in the last couple of hours), and planning to continue their drive west along the coast to Sirte, Qaddafi's hometown that he turned into sort of a second capitol and luxury home. Big propaganda victory if they can take it.

Meanwhile, Qaddafi's forces are attempting to siege the city of Az-Zawiyah, only 30 miles west of Tripoli. There are two loyalist brigades, one on each side of the city (east/west), but so far the rebels in Az-Zawiyah (who are not nearly as well-armed as the Benghazi rebels) have fortified the city and are holding ground. But they're apparently under attack from tanks, artillery, the works. Pretty grim situation there for our shotgun-toting buddy above.  My guess is that Qaddafi wants to crush any western pockets of rebellion first, so he can focus everything on the Benghazi forces. The way Libya is laid out geographically, there's not a lot of room to manuever (as Rommel and Montgomery found out in WWII). All the major population centers are strung out along the coast, with one main road connecting them. Not far to the south, the land rises into the high desert plateau. So the Benghazi rebels have pretty much one route to Tripoli.

[Puzzlemaker]

I find it amazing the rebels in Az-Zawiyah have managed to fight off Qaddafi as long as they have.  You have guys armed with double barreled shotguns taking on troops and tanks and winning.  Seems like they are prepared to make a last stand in the center of the city.  It also seems like there are no civilians in this battle... Everyone is a target.

[DJ]

How far from Tripoli are the Benghazi guys? If Al-Zawiyah can hold out till Benghazi army gets close to Tripoli they're safe, since the loyalists will have to go back to defend Tripoli. Question is, how long do they have to hold out?

[Sheb]

Quite a bit. The rebels aren't making much progress, and Sirte is in the way.  It looks like it's going to last a long while, with the rebels probably not being able to move until the no-fly zone is enforced.

[Puzzlemaker]

The revolutionaries are outside of Sirta, which is a Qaddafi stronghold.  Zawiyah is to the west, right outside Tripoli.

Image source Al Jazeera.

[olemars]

Guess it should be pointed out that Misurata is already in rebel hands and has been for many days, and rebels are now on the doorsteps of Sirte from both east and west (coming from Bani Walid in the west, another rebel-held city). Reports of military units in Sirte being split and demoralized. If Sirte falls, then everything east of Misurata is out of Muammars grip.

Edit: Man, two weeks ago I wouldn't even have been able to place Tripoli on a map.

[DJ]

Hm, then there's still chance, if Sirte falls quickly. I reckon Az Zawiyah can hold out for several days thanks to morale, especially if it gets boosted by the fall of Sirte.

[Puzzlemaker]

If a no fly zone is put it, it should help tremendously too.  Stop the bombing of the city.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Sirte is Gaddafi's hometown, by the way. He certainly won't be happy if the revolutionaries take control of it. Maybe we'll get another crazy speech. I hope he brings the umbrella.

[olemars]

More from egypt: Protesters have taken over the secret police HQ in Cairo, Egypt (yesterday was Alexandria). They're finding files on state repression of copts to keep sectarian divides going and lots of other juicy stuff. Cells too, but apparently empty. Many of the protesters who're there are actually former prisoners. Ther army is detaining any police officers in the building, mostly for their own safety. Lots of people with serious grudges among the protesters.

[RedKing]

Edit: Man, two weeks ago I wouldn't even have been able to place Tripoli on a map.

I think it was Paul Rodriguez who said, "War is God's way of forcing us to learn geography."


And yeah, the situation in Egypt is far from settled. People are still royally pissed. They want all the vestiges of the former regime gone. Ditto in Tunisia.

[Flaede]

Edit: Man, two weeks ago I wouldn't even have been able to place Tripoli on a map.

I think it was Paul Rodriguez who said, "War is God's way of forcing us to learn geography."

Really? Not even with the "something something Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli"?

I'm not even American and I looked that one up after hearing it.