• WWII tombstones desecrated in Libya in response to Quran burning

    Photos by Manu Brabo / AP

    The headstone of A.J. M. Barbe, a soldier of pioneer corps who died Jan. 25, 1943 is seen broken at the Commonwealth Benghazi War Cemetery.

    Graves of British soldiers who fought and died during the North African desert battles of WWII were recently desecrated by a mob of angry Libyans. Local reports claimed that Islamists, angered by the recent burning of a Quran at a NATO military base in Afghanistan, are to blame. Libya's national transitional government has apologized for the attacks and local authorities have detained several suspects.

    Related stories

  • Thousands at funeral after bodies unearthed in Libyan mass grave

    Manu Brabo / AP

    Libyan men carry coffins of victims, discovered in a mass grave, at a funeral in Benghazi, Libya on Monday. Thousands of mourners gathered Monday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to bury 155 bodies unearthed from a mass grave of people were killed during last year's civil war. It was the largest grave yet to be discovered from the conflict that began as a popular uprising and ended with the capture and killing of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last October.

    Manu Brabo / AP

    A woman holding a picture of a missing relative cries during a funeral in Benghazi.

    Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters

    Men pray around the coffins of dead rebel soldiers in Benghazi on Monday. The bodies of around 160 rebel soldiers were found in a mass grave in Bin Jawad, the site of fierce battles during last year's uprising.

    Manu Brabo / AP

    Libyan men bury bodies, discovered in a mass grave, at a funeral in Benghazi.

    Manu Brabo / AP

    A Libyan man prays for a relative, one of many discovered in a mass grave, at a funeral in Benghazi.

    Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters

    A child points at pictures of people killed during last year's uprising.

    AP reports that thousands of mourners attended the burial in Benghazi of the bodies found in the mass grave:

    Forensic specialists with the government say most appear to have died from gunshot wounds and rocket strikes starting in March. Some were executed, while others were severely disfigured from rocket attacks, they said.

    Benghazi resident Maher al-Maghrabi said the body of his 23 year-old brother, who was a rebel fighter, was among those found in the mass grave.

    He expressed anger at Libya's new leaders for taking nearly three months to excavate the bodies from the mass grave, which was first discovered in December. The Ministry of Martyrs, Wounded and Missing Persons began digging up the bodies on Friday.

    "They knew about this grave, and they should have worked quicker to excavate the bodies," he said. "This is unacceptable."

  • One year on, photographer Guy Martin looks back at the Arab Spring

    Ed Ou / The New York Times via Redux Pictures

    Photojournalists Guy Martin, left, and Dominic Nahr take cover behind a wall as anti- and pro-government protesters throw stones during a clash near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Feb. 3, 2011.

    By Ed Kiernan, NBC News
    LONDON — February 17 marks the anniversary of the Libyan uprising — a revolution that left photojournalist Guy Martin fighting for his life.

    The 27-year-old was in a group of photographers caught in a mortar attack in Misrata on April 20, 2011. Martin was seriously injured and two of his friends and colleagues, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, were killed. 

    Martin's life was saved by doctors who then prepared him for a perilous evacuation by boat from the besieged city.

    Ten months on and still recovering from his injuries, he spoke to NBC News. Watch the video below:

    Guy Martin was badly injured while capturing the events of the Arab Spring. As Libya marks one year since the beginning of the country's uprising, Martin reflects on life on the frontline.

    Martin had spent several months covering the Arab Spring, documenting the historic events in Egypt and moving on to the brutal civil war in Libya. His pictures documenting the unrest in Cairo's Tahrir Square have just gone on display in London. 

    As well as the chaotic scenes of violence, Martin prides himself on capturing the quiet, contemplative moments that give some context to the historical moments he has witnessed.

    "Despite the physical violence, the risk that we put ourselves in, you have a duty, a responsibility to come out of those situations with pictures, with strong images that communicate what was happening on the ground," he says.

    Guy Martin / Panos Pictures

    Rebel fighters moved from house to house, back street by back street to fire on Gadhafi's forces. Here a rebel soldier takes cover in a stairwell as he prepares to fire on Gadhafi loyalists in the adjacent room, just a few meters away. Tripoli Street, Misrata, Libya, April 20, 2011.

    Guy Martin / Panos Pictures

    Rebel fighters run across an intersection that was frequently targeted by sniper fire. Misrata, April 18, 2011.

    Guy Martin / Panos Pictures

    Rebel fighters takes cover behind trees on the strategically important Tripoli Street in Misrata during a fierce battle for control of the road on the morning of April 20, 2011. Hours later Guy Martin was seriously injured.

    The Last Days of Mubarak, an exhibition by Guy Martin and Ivor Prickett, runs at London's Foto8 gallery until March 10. 

     

  • Panetta becomes first Pentagon chief to visit Libya

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Pool via Reuters

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, thrid from left, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz, second from left, and Gen. Carter Ham, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, left, bow their heads during the wreath laying ceremony at the grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, Dec. 17.

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Rheem Al-Keeb greet one another during their joint news conference in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17.

    TRIPOLI - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Tripoli Saturday, taking advantage of the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in an eight-month civil war to become the first Pentagon chief to set foot on Libyan soil.

    But Panetta has indicated that the U.S. will give more time to gain control of the militias that overthrew Gadhafi before determining how to help the fledgling government.

    "The last thing you want to do is to try to impose something on a country that has just gone through what the Libyans have gone through," said Panetta on Friday before landing in Tripoli.

    "They've earned the right to try to determine their future. They've earned the right to try to work their way through the issues that they're going to have to confront," he said.

    Read the full story here and see more images of Leon Panetta's travels on PhotoBlog.

     

  • US, Libyan bomb disposal specialists secure 5,000 surface-to-air missiles near Tripoli

    Ismail Zitouni / Reuters

    A MANPAD (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) missile is detonated along the shore, east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on Dec. 11. A top U.S. official said that a team of U.S. and Libyan bomb-disposal specialists has secured about 5,000 surface-to-air missiles.

    Mahmud Turkia / AFP - Getty Images

    Andrew Shapiro, U.S. assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, second from right, and his delegation gather around MANPAD missiles in the village of Sidi Bin Nur, Libya, Dec. 11.

    According to AP:

    On Sunday, a team of U.S. weapons experts disposed of some 1,300 pounds (600 kilograms) of ordnance deep in the sand just outside Tripoli.

    "Our goal is to help the Libyan people to secure these loose arms," said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Andrew Shapiro, who was on hand to watch along with the U.S. ambassador.

    He said that since September, American experts have disabled around 5,000 shoulder-fired missile launchers — weapons that Western and Libyan officials have expressed concerns about because they pose a threat to civil aviation.

    Read the full story about today's happenings in Libya here.

    Related content:

  • HMS Ocean sails home in time for Christmas

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    Ship's Captain Andrew Betton is greeted by his 5-year-old son George as HMS Ocean returns to Plymouth on Dec. 9, 2011 in Plymouth, England. HMS Ocean left Plymouth in April for a seven-week training exercise, but was diverted to Libya to support the UN air mission launching Britain's first seaborne Apache raid, destroying pro-Gaddafi military vehicles, installations and communications equipment during the uprising. Whilst at sea, some of the crew of the Royal Navy warship made a Christmas video using the Mariah Carey song "All I Want for Christmas Is You," to celebrate their homecoming, which has had over 1 million hits online.

    By Rich Shulman

    Captain Betton's son certainly seems pleased to see his dad. The HMS Ocean was unexpectedly diverted to Libya earlier this year; as the viral video below shows, they were able to have some fun on their mission.

    The Daily Mail has a story and more photos.

     

  • Libya Free TV via Reuters TV / Reuters

    Saif al-Islam, son of the late former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, sits after his capture, with his fingers wrapped in bandages and his legs covered with a blanket, at an undisclosed location, in this photograph aired on Free Libya TV on Nov. 19. The International Criminal Court Prosecutor's Office said on Saturday it had received confirmation of the arrest of Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Islam, from Libya's Ministry of Justice.

    Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam is arrested in Libya

    NBC, msnbc.com and news services report:

    Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam — the only wanted member of the ousted ruling family to remain at large — was captured as he traveled with aides in a convoy in Libya's southern desert, Libyan officials said Saturday. Thunderous celebratory gunfire shook the Libyan capital as the news spread.

    A spokesman for the Libyan fighters who captured him said Seif al-Islam, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, was detained about 30 miles west of the town of Obari with two aides as he was trying to flee to neighboring Niger. But the country's acting justice minister later said the convoy's destination was not confirmed.

    His capture just over a month after his father was killed leaves only former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi wanted by the ICC, which indicted the three men for in June for unleashing a campaign of murder and torture to suppress the uprising against the Gadhafi regime that broke out in mid-February.

    Read the full story here.

  • Libyan teams excavate Gadhafi's hidden weapons

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Teams from Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) collect unexploded weapons buried underground by the Gaddafi regime at a military base in Tajura, about 30 km (19 miles) east of Tripoli on November 16.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

    Teams from Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) collect unexploded weapons buried underground by the Gaddafi regime at a military base in Tajura, about 30 km (19 miles) east of Tripoli November 16, 2011.

    Mohammed Salem / Reuters

     Click here for more images from Libya's revolution and transition to a post-Gadhafi era.

  • Libyans fleeing revenge attacks take shelter at construction site

    By Jim Seida

     

    On Sunday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch accused militias from the coastal city of Misrata of "terrorizing" displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, in retribution for the townspeople's alleged collaboration in atrocities committed by Gaddafi forces.

    Joseph Eid / AFP - Getty Images

    Displaced Libyan children from the city of Tawarga live in prefabricated houses for workers at a construction site in Tripoli on Nov. 3. Misrata militias are carrying out revenge attacks on the displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, a stronghold of Moamer Kadhafi loyalists during Libya's eight-month conflict, according to Human Rights Watch.

    "Revenge against the people from Tawarga, whatever the accusations against them, undermines the goal of the Libyan revolution," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East and North Africa director.

    Joseph Eid / AFP - Getty Images

    Displaced Libyan children from the city of Tawarga live in prefabricated houses for workers at a construction site in Tripoli on Nov, 3.

    These early signs may be part of the inevitable chaos that follows the end of any conflict. Yet they are adding fuel to pro-Gadhafi feelings at a time when people are waiting for the NTC to show signs of strong leadership.

    Joseph Eid / AFP - Getty Images

    Displaced Libyans from the city of Tawarga live in prefabricated houses for workers at a construction site in Tripoli on Nov. 3. Misrata militias are carrying out revenge attacks on the displaced residents of the nearby town of Tawarga, a stronghold of Moamer Kadhafi loyalists during Libya's eight-month conflict, according to Human Rights Watch.

    Joseph Eid / AFP - Getty Images

    A displaced Libyan woman from the city of Tawarga lives in houses built for construction workers at a construction site in Tripoli on Nov. 3.

  • Cleaning up after Gadhafi: masking dead bodies and uncovering gold

    Youssef Boudlal / Reuters

    A man covers his face as he walks past a truck spraying smoke to mask the smell of corpses and to ward off insects attracted to the stench in the streets of Sirte, Libya on Nov. 2, 2011.

    Youssef Boudlal / Reuters

    Libyan fighters show boxes of gold and personal items found in different houses during the war in Sirte, Libya on Nov. 2, 2011.

    By Natalia Jimenez, msnbc.com

    The clean up of Sirte begins. Many were left dead after the heavy fighting that took over Moammer Gadhafi's hometown in the final days leading up to his capture and death. AFP reports the city was left littered with bodies. Trucks have been spraying smoke to mask the stench and deter insects.

    At the same time, Libyan fighters uncovered gold, cash and other personal items left in homes around the city.

    For more images, see our slideshow on the conflict in Libya.

  • Large quantities of munitions found in area south of Sirte, Libya

    Philippe Desmazes / AFP - Getty Images

    Crates containing tank shells litter the desert near ammunition storage bunkers located in the desert, 62 miles south of Sirte, October 26, 2011.

    Philippe Desmazes / AFP - Getty Images

    Piles of ammunition is seen stored in a bunker 62 miles south of Sirte on October 26, 2011.

    Philippe Desmazes / AFP - Getty Images

    A Libyan man looks at a missile in a wooden crate in an ammunition storage bunker about 62miles south of Sirte on October 26, 2011, where at least 80 ammunition bunkers are believed to be located.

    By Phaedra Singelis, msnbc.com

    Looks like they had plenty of ammunition left even after nine months of fighting.

Older posts
Advertise | AdChoices