The president of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel Jalil, denied Aug. 30 any presence of elements of the Polisario Front in the country, in response to a question at a Benghazi press conference about claims aired by Moroccan media that TNC forces have arrested some 556 members of the Western Sahara armed independence movement. The Sahrawi government and the Polisario Front last week said they denied categorically the charges made by the Morocco Board News Service Aug. 25 that Polisario fighters serving as mercenaries for Qaddafi had been detained in Libya. The joint statement called for an urgent independent inquiry into the allegations, and invited the new Libyan authorities to issue a denial. (Sahara Press Service, Aug. 31)

NATO warplanes have carried out repeated air raids on Moammar Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte over the past three days, as NTC forces advanced on his last major bastion of support. The strikes have hit supply convoys, bunkers and other targets of the Qaddafi-loyalist forces. NTC leaders charge that Qaddafi forces in the town and surrounding villages are using the populace as "human shields," refusing to let residents flee in advance of the impending battle, and even taking over their homes. (Oman Tribune, Aug. 29; The Guardian, Aug. 28; BBC Arabic service via Link TV, Aug. 26)

From ABC News, Aug. 29:

The same man who triumphantly led Libyan rebels into Gadhafi's compound last week first came to the attention of the U.S. intelligence community years ago—as a the founder of a terror group. Abdelhakim Belhaj, who was recently appointed to Tripoli's rebel military council, was one of the original founders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an anti-Gadhafi group which was later designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization with links to al Qaeda, according to U.S. government reports.

Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC) suffered a setback Aug. 26 when the African Union, in an emergency summit at Addis Ababa, refused to recognize it as the country's legitimate government. The TNC has been recognised by more than 40 countries, but divisions remain within the AU. South African President Jacob Zuma, one of only three African heads of state to attend the summit, opposed recognition. He said that the AU would not recognize the TNC as long as fighting continues. The AU has called for an "all-inclusive transitional government" for Libya, that could involve some Qaddafi officials. That proposal was rejected by the TNC. (The Independent, Aug. 27)

Eighteen people—including two civilians—were killed, and some 35 injured, when two suicide bombers struck military barracks in the Algerian town of Cherchel, some 100 kilometers west of the capital, Aug. 26. The attack came soon after iftar—the moment when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It was the third such attack in recent weeks. On July 16, militants used the same technique—a suicide blast at the front gate, followed by a second charging in on a motorcycle—claimed four lives, including one civilian, at a police station in Bordj Ménaïl, Boumerdes province, in the Kabylia region. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility. On Aug. 14, a suicide car bomb attack outside of a police station left 29 wounded, including 11 police, in Tizi-Ouzou, Kabylia's regional capital. Prior to this summer, Algeria's last suicide attack was on July 25, 2010, at a police barracks in a village near Tizi Ouzou. (Ennahar Aug. 27, Reuters, Long War Journal, Aug. 26)

The most intransigent leader of the Tuareg rebels in Mali was killed Aug. 26 in a supposed accident in in his remote Saharan homeland. "Ibrahim ag-Bahanga died Friday in an accident in north-eastern Mali. His funeral has already taken place," said Baye ag Alhassane, a relative in a statement. The nature and circumstances of the accident were not made clear. Local sources cited by Reuters say he was involved in a dispute with fellow traffickers who were moving weapons to the Libyan rebels, who just toppled Moammar Qaddafi.

Juan Cole of the Informed Comment blog was a hero of the left when he slapped down mainstream media jive on the Iraq war just a few short years ago. But now he takes on idiot left jive on Libya—which has at times deteriorated into shameless cheerleading for Qaddafi. You don't have to support the NATO intervention—you can voice legitimate protest over the civilian casualties, and the Orwellian arguments that have been raised in defense of the bombing. But you can still recognize the anti-war left's own Orwellian arguments—and join with Cole in acknowledging that "this is a moment of celebration, not only for Libyans but for a youth generation in the Arab world that has pursued a political opening across the region." In a piece picked up by CNN (!), Cole identifies "Top ten myths about the Libya war," which we slightly condense here:

As fighting continues in Tripoli, Qaddafi once again took to the airwaves to appeal to his followers to "purify" the capital of "rats, crusaders and unbelievers"—indicating that at least some of the city's TV transmitters remain in his hands. In what accounts called an "audio broadcast on loyalist satellite TV channels," Qaddafi sounded as defiant—and delusional—as ever: