First you see her large brown eyes and rosebud lips, framed by a pink headscarf. Then you notice that her bruised feet are secured by manacles to the foot of her bed.
Nisreen Mansour al Forgani is a pretty 19-year-old. She was also a serial killer for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Yesterday, in a heavily guarded room at the Matiga military hospital in Tripoli, she admitted to the Mail that she had executed as many as 11 suspected rebel prisoners in the days leading up to the fall of the Libyan capital last week. Shot at point-blank range, in cold blood.
‘I killed the first one, then they would bring another one up to the room,’ Nisreen said. ‘He would see the body on the floor and look shocked. Then I would shoot him too. I did it from about a metre away.’
One of thousands of girls and young women recruited by Gaddafi’s all-female militias, Nisreen is now a prisoner of the rebels and in fear of her life. Yet despite her killings, it is impossible not to feel pity for her.
[More]
Afternoon Updates:
12:54 pm EDT, August 29th, 2011 — While Gaddafi is free, Libya cannot move on
Where is Amnesty International in all this, oh I forgot, they are dissing Canada.
If Canada is to be involved in the new govt of Libya, in any way, with support, (no money, they have billions) we must send a clear message, The first time there is any violence against people, assassinations, or whatever, WE ARE GONE.
That country is in for years of violence and unrest as some of the rebels seem no better than Gadafi’s troops.
My personal view is that Canada should be re-evaluating our input into this situation. There is an old saying — “S**t sticks, ya know” — and that is my concern. We went there with the best of intentions but if it turns out we are being “used” I have no problem with Harper ordering our troops out immediately.
Libya means nothing to Canada and continuing to support tribal butchery from whatever side is not in our national interest.
Canada is fighting against the only dictator in the Arab world that was once a sworn enemy and turned into a sworn ally, even going as far as to embrace Israel.
The West is fighting alongside Al Qaeda in more nations (Libya, Syria, Yemen, Egypt – by way of military and CIA) than we are fighting against them (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan). Geopolitics is a strange beast indeed.
Doesn’t matter. I don’t like the optics and Canada has a hard earned reputation to maintain.
Cy makes a good comment, but it looks like a mess that is going to get messier and separating the white hats from the black hats is difficult if impossible ! In many cases the rebels are as cruel as the Government forces, but on a gut level it may be seen as rough justice: Pure but at times merited revenge, maybe ?
Also the power struggle for power will cause a lot of innocent victims as well as allies of convenience becoming rivals to power:
” Modernists ” versus ‘ Fundamentalist “, Tribe against Tribe.
So ” Revolution ” leading to freedom versus ” Revolution ” leading to a period of ” Terror ” like after the French Revolution: Oil up the guillotines ! ( sad /sarcasm ).
If I sound ambivalent about Canadian participation, and for whom, it’s because I am ambivalent !
You should visit their site and have a look Mary T – top of the media list at this point in the day is “Libya: Detainees killed by al-Gaddafi loyalists”.
Not that specific story (although it may be there as well ….. I didn’t comb through the archives looking) but they have definitely addressed the issue of the Gaddafi regime and atrocities.
Maybe you should have pulled a feather out of Ezra’s hat and and waved it in the direction of the CBC instead.
This is one case were I disagree with PM Harper and the government’s sending in the Royal Canadian Air Force on a fool’s errand. There are no good guys or bad guys in this conflict. Its kind of watching the Blue Jays play the Yankees hoping they both lose.