Libyan Revolution
Following the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, in February 2011 anti-government protests began in Benghazi in eastern Libya and forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi dispatched elite troops and militia in an attempt to recapture it. They were repelled and the situation quickly descended into a civil war. I travelled to both the rebel-held east and to the capital Tripoli while it was still under Gadhafi's control.
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Rebel fighters standing in the back of a pickup truck prepare to make an advance, in the desert on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya Thursday, April 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A broken board painted with a picture of Moammar Gadhafi is used as a coffee tray by Libyan rebel fighters, on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya, Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists shelled the Nafusa mountain area and clashed with opposition forces in the besieged coastal city of Misrata Wednesday, rebels said, as the Libyan leader also sought to quell resistance in the western part of the country that is largely under his control. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rebels positioned behind a previously-destroyed tank, fire a rocket in the air towards advancing pro-Gadhafi forces, on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya Saturday, April 9, 2011. Government forces shelled the rebels' main front-line outpost of Ajdabiya ahead of a possible advance Saturday, killing at least three fighters and bringing a possible NATO airstrike down on their heads. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A wounded prisoner from Gadhafi's forces is transported in the back of a pickup truck by rebels, to take him to a hospital for treatment, half way between Brega and Ajdabiya, in Libya Saturday, April 9, 2011. Rebels say they took two prisoners after a clash Saturday with soldiers near Brega's university outside the government-controlled oil facilities, marking a noticeable advance by rebels struggling to push back Moammar Gadhafi's forces. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi smells flowers given to him by a supporter as he drives away in an electric golf cart after speaking in Tripoli, Libya, Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Gadhafi spoke to supporters and the media at an event to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the declaration of transferring the "Power to the masses," and announcing the establishment of the "Republic of the Masses". (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Libyan rebel fighters make noon prayers near a previously destroyed pro-Gadhafi forces tank, in background, on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya Monday, April 18, 2011. Libya's fighting, which erupted two months ago, has reached a deadlock, with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage and the front line shifting back and forth across a stretch of desert near the eastern city of Ajdabiya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A man carrying bread from a bakery walks past felled palm trees used as roadblocks by residents in the Tajoura district of eastern Tripoli, Libya Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. Residents there have blocked many streets with roadblocks after protesters demanding Moammar Gadhafi's ouster came under a hail of bullets Friday when pro-regime militiamen opened fire to stop the first significant anti-government marches in days in the Libyan capital. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Pro-Gadhafi soldiers and supporters gather in Green Square, Tripoli, Libya Sunday, March 6, 2011. Thousands of Moammar Gadhafi's supporters poured into the streets of Tripoli on Sunday morning, waving flags and firing their guns in the air in the Libyan leader's main stronghold, claiming overnight military successes. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rebel fighters shoot the tires out of a vehicle, unseen, belonging to Gadhafi's forces as it sped through the rebel front line east of Brega, Libya Sunday, April 3, 2011. The vehicle was driven by a young boy who said he had spent two days in besieged Brega and stolen the vehicle in order to return to the rebel side. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
An armed resident makes the victory sign in the main square in Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, in Libya Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. Hundreds of armed anti-government forces backed by military defectors in Zawiya, the city closest to the capital Tripoli, prepared Sunday to repel an expected offensive by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi who are surrounding the city. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken during a government-organised visit for foreign media, a pro-Gadhafi fighter makes his evening prayers in the desert as a plume of smoke rises from the burning oil refinery in Ras Lanouf, 380 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tripoli, in Libya Saturday, March 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rebel forces fire rockets near the front line in Brega, Libya Monday, April 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A coffin draped in the opposition flag is carried into the square, as a funeral for some of those killed by Thursday's airstrike on rebel forces takes place during Friday prayers in the square next to the courthouse in Benghazi, Libya Friday, April 8, 2011. NATO acknowledged Friday that its airstrikes had hit rebels using tanks to fight government forces in eastern Libya, while thousands of people gathered in central Benghazi to pray and mourn for some of those killed in the attack and chanted for revenge against Moammar Gadhafi's regime. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Libyan rebel fighters pray in the desert on hearing claims from other rebels that an airstrike further up the road towards Brega had hit rebel forces killing at least two and injuring more than a dozen, at the west gate of Ajdabiya, Libya Thursday, April 7, 2011. Rebel fighters claimed NATO airstrikes blasted their forces Thursday in another apparent mistake that sharply escalated anger about coordination with the military alliance in efforts to cripple pro-Gadhafi forces. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
In this photo taken during a government-organised visit for foreign media, a pro-Gadhafi soldier stands on the roof a shelled building draped in green and white ribbons, in the main square of Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, in Libya Friday, March 11, 2011. Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime has gained momentum with the capture of Zawiya after days of fierce fighting with rebels, in a key test of the government's ability to maintain its hold on the Libyan capital and surrounding areas. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A Libyan rebel fighter drinks a juicebox through the window of a building pockmarked with bullet holes, on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya, Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists shelled the Nafusa mountain area and clashed with opposition forces in the besieged coastal city of Misrata Wednesday, rebels said, as the Libyan leader also sought to quell resistance in the western part of the country that is largely under his control. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rebel fighter Abdul-Hakim Jinjan, 42, who lost his leg before the current conflict, walks on crutches past destroyed pro-Gadhafi vehicles toward a checkpoint on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya Thursday, April 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)