Defying West, Gaddafi Forces Push Into Benghazi

Mercenary Trader Links Roundup for Tuesday, March 15th (below the jump). 03-15 Tuesday

The Libyan rebel capital of Benghazi came under heavy attack from forces loyal to Colonel Muammer Gaddafi on Saturday, in a clear violation of the regime’s promise of a ceasefire

Several thousand Libyan women marched through the streets of rebel-held Benghazi on Saturday, demanding a no-fly zone to stop Moamer Kadhafi from bombing rebel fighters."No-fly zone! No-fly zone!" chanted the crowd in English and in unison, waving Libyan flags and flashing victory signs as they marched along the seafront corniche in the country's rebel-held second city.

Sixteen months ago, Ayoub Badi was so beaten up, sad, hopeless and sick with the relentless pain only torture can inflict he begged for his own death. These days, he’s in Toronto wishing for a date. Mr. Badi is alive. And, like the other wounded Libyan freedom fighters who’ve recently arrived in downtown Toronto, he is eager to enjoy living. The war veterans are in Canada to receive medical care for injuries incurred during the 2011 revolution that led to the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. They’re also determined to make the most of their experience.

TORONTO — The president of an Ontario-based security firm told an immigration hearing Monday he helped senior members of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s inner circle, including his wife, flee Libya as the dictatorship was falling to rebel forces two years ago. Testifying publicly for the first time about the affair, Gary Peters described his role in ferrying Col. Gaddafi’s wife, daughter and three of his sons to neighbouring Niger and Algeria in August, 2011.

A no-fly zone would be of "limited use" in stopping Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces from launching a final assault on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, a defence expert said Wednesday.Air strikes would be the only effective way of preventing the regime from encircling the key rebel-held city in eastern Libya, said Gary Li of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).