The Fall of the Third Tyrant – Two More to Go

The fall of Col. Gadhafi and his departure from Tripoli led the Libyan people to celebrate their holiday without the dictator for the first time since 1969. There has been much speculation about his whereabouts, but no one knows for certain where he is.

The Libyan National Transitional Council stated that more than 50,000 Libyans have been killed since the uprising started. Also, more than 30,000 have been injured and nearly 50,000-60,000 are missing and not accounted for.

Nevertheless, Libya is still not completely free from Gadhafi’s mercenaries. Sirt, the birthplace of Gadhafi, with a population around 70,000 people, is considered the strongest military community where plenty of armaments are stored.

Reports revealed that Gadhafi stored chemical and nuclear armaments in addition to heavy military equipment, such as tanks and artillery. The Libyan Transitional Council issued an order for those responsible leaders in Sirt to surrender peacefully within one week, or they would be attacked by the rebel forces. Gadhafi and his son responded negatively. Nevertheless, the days of Col. Gadhafi will come to an end within the next few weeks.

After the Libyan Transitional Council’s message, which was sent to the followers of Gadhafi in Sirt, Saif al-Islam issued a taped message that he is leading 20,000 Libyan soldiers and is ready to fight the rebels, whom he described as the rats of Libya.

In the meantime, the civil protests and violence is still going on in both Syria and Yemen. In Syria, according to an Amnesty International report, around 580 people have died in prison since the uprising nearly 7 months ago. The report is based on 45 videos that show torture used in prisons during interrogations, such as burning, electrical shock and beating.

It seems to be so clear that the Syrian government, led by the two brothers Bashar and Maher al-Assad, will not surrender their authority peacefully and they will have to be forcibly removed. The only way this might happen is if it comes from the Syrian military forces. In the meantime, the balance of regime survival is tilted more towards the government than the protestors. Regardless, the present regime’s days are limited and their government will collapse at the end.

In Yemen, the protestors continue to call for President Ali Saleh to surrender his authority and he is still refusing to do so. He just returned from Saudi Arabia after spending nearly two months in the hospital after an attempt on his life in Sana.

Recent reports revealed that the Persian Gulf mediation might be implemented, which might lead to a transitional government until a new election takes place. Regardless, the Yemeni dictator’s days are also limited, and at the end he will be kicked out.