Ghaddafi Punishes Libya

It seems to be the end of the line for Muammar Ghaddafi. Cabinet members and diplomats are fleeing his administration. Demonstrations and counter-protests have rocked every population center in Libya, and the 41-year dictator is clinging to power. Around the world Libyans and leaders are calling for him to step down.



Instead of heeding the calls of his people, Ghaddafi has sent jets and tanks to attack his own people. Al Jazeera English posted this a couple of hourse ago on their live blog:

12:34am: Images of bodies gutted in the attacks are too harrowing to be shown. Our colleagues on the TV side of the newsroom have had to pixellate the bloodied bodies, where limbs have been hacked off and torsos maimed.

In the mean time, BP and other oil companies are moving to shut down their operations within Libya and move their staff out of the country, which many fear may be slipping into civil war. This will no doubt cause oil prices to surge - Libya is in the top 10 of oil producing countries and is the third largest supplier of oil to the EU. Lower oil supply will drive prices, already at 2 year highs, to new maximums.

Given the reported atrocities that Ghaddafi is incurring on the Libyan people combined with the economic impact of a new oil crunch, some western leaders are no doubt considering whether some sort of intervention is necessary to prevent a long-term conflict.