title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Imperial dishes served on this occasion included nine-jointed lotus roots which symbolize peace, and watermelons cut in the shape of lotus petals which symbolize reunion. Teacups were placed on stone tables in the garden, where the family would pour tea and chat, waiting for the moment when the full moon's reflection appeared in the center of their cups. Owing to the timing of the plant's blossoms, cassia wine is the traditional choice for the "reunion wine" drunk on the occasion. Also, people will celebrate by eating cassia cakes and candy. In some places, people will celebrate by drinking osmanthus wine and eating osmanthus mooncakes.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Food offerings made to deities are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard, including apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges, and pomelos. One of the first decorations purchased for the celebration table is a clay statue of the Jade Rabbit. In Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit was an animal that lived on the Moon and accompanied Chang'e. Offerings of soy beans and cockscomb flowers were made to the Jade Rabbit.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Nowadays, in southern China, people will also eat some seasonal fruit that may differ in different district but carrying the same meaning of blessing.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: The Mid-Autumn moon has traditionally been a choice occasion to celebrate marriages. Girls would pray to Moon deity Chang'e to help fulfill their romantic wishes.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. For example, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd, and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance at romance. In Daguang, in southwest Guizhou Province, young men and women of the Dong people would make an appointment at a certain place. The young women would arrive early to overhear remarks made about them by the young men. The young men would praise their lovers in front of their fellows, in which finally the listening women would walk out of the thicket. Pairs of lovers would go off to a quiet place to open their hearts to each other.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: During the 1920s and 1930s, ethnographer Chao Wei-pang conducted research on traditional games among men, women and children on or around the Mid-Autumn day in the Guangdong Province. These games relate to flights of the soul, spirit possession, or fortunetelling.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: A unique tradition is celebrated quite exclusively in the island city of Xiamen. During the festival, families and friends gather to play Bo Bing, a gambling sort of game involving 6 dice. People take turns in rolling the dice in a ceramic bowl with the results determining what they win. The number 4 is mainly what determines how big the prize is.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Hong Kong and Macau, the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday rather than the festival date itself (unless that date falls on a Sunday, then Monday is also a holiday), because many celebration events are held at night. There are a number of festive activities such as lighting lanterns, but mooncakes are the most important feature there. However, people don't usually buy mooncakes for themselves, but to give their relatives as presents. People start to exchange these presents well in advance of the festival. Hence, mooncakes are sold in elegant boxes for presentation purpose. Also, the price for these boxes are not considered cheap—a four-mooncake box of the lotus seeds paste with egg yolks variety, can generally cost US$40 or more. However, as environmental protection has become a concern of the public in recent years, many mooncake manufacturers in Hong Kong have adopted practices to reduce packaging materials to practical limits. The mooncake manufacturers also explore in the creation of new types of mooncakes, such as ice-cream mooncake and snow skin mooncake.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: There are also other traditions related to the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. Neighbourhoods across Hong Kong set impressive lantern exhibitions with traditional stage shows, game stalls, palm readings, and many other festive activities. The grandest celebrations take place in Victoria Park (Hong Kong). One of the brightest rituals is the Fire Dragon Dance dating back to the 19th century and recognised as a part of China's intangible cultural heritage. The 200 foot-long fire dragon requires more than 300 people to operate, taking turns. The leader of the fire dragon dance would pray for peace, good fortune through blessings in Hakka. After the ritual ceremony, fire-dragon was thrown into the sea with lanterns and paper cards, which means the dragon would return to sea and take the misfortunes away.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Before 1941, There were also some celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival held in small villages in Hong Kong. Sha Po would celebrate Mid Autumn Festival in every 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunisolar month. People called Mid Autumn Festival as Kwong Sin Festival, they hold Pok San Ngau Tsai at Datong Pond in Sha Po. Pok San Ngau Tsai was a celebration event of Kwong Sin Festival, people would gather around to watch it. During the event, someone would play the percussions, Some villagers would then acted as possessed and called themselves as "Maoshan Masters". They burnt themselves with incense sticks and fought with real blades and spears.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Taiwan, and its outlying islands Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday. Outdoor barbecues have become a popular affair for friends and family to gather and enjoy each other's company. Children also make and wear hats made of pomelo rinds. It is believed Chang'e, the lady in the moon, will notice children with her favorite fruit and bestow good fortune upon them.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Similar traditions are found in other parts of Asia and also revolve around the full moon. These festivals tend to occur on the same day or around the Mid-Autumn Festival.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: The Japanese moon viewing festival, (, "moon viewing"), is also held at this time. People picnic and drink sake under the full moon to celebrate the harvest.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: (; ; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚]), literally "Autumn eve", once known as hangawi (; [han.ɡa.ɥi]; from archaic Korean for "the great middle (of autumn)"), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in North Korea and South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar on the full moon. It was celebrated as far back as during the Three Kingdoms period in Silla. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns, honor their ancestors in a family ceremony (차례), and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as (), (), and rice wines such as and .


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Many festivals revolving around a full moon are also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Like the Mid-Autumn Festival, these festivals have Buddhist origins and revolve around the full moon. However, unlike their East Asian counterparts they occur several times a year to correspond with each full moon as opposed to one day each year. The festivals that occur in the lunar months of "Ashvini" and "Kṛttikā" generally occur during the Mid-Autumn Festival.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Cambodia, it is more commonly called "The Water and Moon Festival" Bon Om Touk. The Water and Moon festival is celebrated in November of every year. It is a three-day celebration, starting with the boat race that last the first two days of the festival. The boat races are colorfully painted with bright colors and is in various designs being most popular the neak, Cambodian sea dragon. Hundreds of Cambodian males take part in rowing the boats and racing them at the Tonle Sap River. When night falls the streets are filled with people buying food and attending various concerts. In the evening is the Sampeah Preah Khae: the salutation to the moon or prayers to the moon. The Cambodian people set an array of offerings that are popular for rabbits, such and various fruits and a traditional dish called Ak Ambok in front of their homes with lit incenses to make wishes to the Moon. Cambodians believe the legend of The Rabbit and the Moon, and that a rabbit who lives on the Moon watches over the Cambodian people. At midnight everyone goes up to the temple to pray and make wishes and enjoy their Ak Ambok together. Cambodians would also make homemade lanterns that are usually made into the shape of the lotus flowers or other more modern designs. Incense and candles light up the lanterns and Cambodians make prayers and then send if off into the river for their wishes and prayers to be heard and granted.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Laos, many festivals are held on the day of the full moon. The most popular festival known as "That Luang Festival" is associated with Buddhist legend and is held at Pha That Luang temple in Vientiane. The festival often lasts for three to seven days. A procession occurs and many people visit the temple.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Myanmar, numerous festivals are held on the day of the full moon. However, the Thadingyut Festival is the most popular one and occurs in the month of Thadingyut. It also occurs around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, depending on the lunar calendar. It is one of the biggest festivals in Myanmar after the New Year festival, "Thingyan". It is a Buddhist festival and many people go to the temple to pay respect to the monks and offer food. It is also a time for thanksgiving and paying homage to Buddhist monks, teachers, parents and elders.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Vietnam, children participate in parades in the dark under the full moon with lanterns of various forms, shapes, and colors. Traditionally, lanterns signified the wish for the sun's light and warmth to return after winter. In addition to carrying lanterns, the children also don masks. Elaborate masks were made of papier-mâché, though it is more common to find masks made of plastic nowadays. Handcrafted shadow lanterns were an important part of Mid-Autumn displays since the 12th-century Lý dynasty, often of historical figures from Vietnamese history. Handcrafted lantern-making declined in modern times due to the availability of mass-produced plastic lanterns, which often depict internationally recognizable characters from children's shows and video games.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as (Chữ Nôm: ) in Vietnamese. It is also commonly referred to as the "Children's Festival". The Vietnamese traditionally believed that children, being the most innocent, had the closest connection to the sacred, pure and natural beauty of the world. The celebration of the children's spirit was seen as a way to connect to that world still full of wonder, mystery, teachings, joy, and sadness. Animist spirits, deities and Vietnamese folk religions are also observed during the festival.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In its most traditional form, the evening commemorates the dragon who brings rain for the crops. Celebrants would observe the moon to divine the future of the people and the harvests. Eventually the celebration came to symbolize a reverence for fruitfulness, with prayers given for bountiful harvests, increase in livestock, and fertility. Over time, the prayers "for" children evolved into the celebration "of" children. Historical Confucian scholars continued the tradition of gazing at the Moon, but to sip wine and improvise poetry and song. However, by the early twentieth century in Hanoi, the festival had begun to assume its identity as the quintessential children's festival.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Aside from the story of Chang'e (Vietnamese: Hằng Nga), there are two other popular folktales associated with the festival. The first describes the legend of "Cuội", whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree. The tree began to float towards the Moon, and Cuội, trying to pull it back down to Earth, floated to the Moon with it, leaving him stranded there. Every year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội the way back to Earth. The other tale involves a carp who wanted to become a dragon, and as a result, worked hard throughout the year until he was able to transform himself into a dragon.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: One important event before and during the festival are lion dances. Dances are performed by both non-professional children's groups and trained professional groups. Lion dance groups perform on the streets, going to houses asking for permission to perform for them. If the host consents, the "lion" will come in and start dancing as a blessing of luck and fortune for the home. In return, the host gives lucky money to show their gratitude. Cakes and fruits are not only consumed, but elaborately prepared as food displays. For example, glutinous rice flour and rice paste are molded into familiar animals. Pomelo sections can be fashioned into unicorns, rabbits, or dogs. Villagers of Xuân La, just north of Hanoi, produce "tò he", figurines made from rice paste and colored with natural food dyes. Into the early decades of the twentieth century of Vietnam, daughters of wealthy families would prepare elaborate center pieces filled with treats for their younger siblings. Well-dressed visitors could visit to observe the daughter's handiwork as an indication of her capabilities as a wife in the future. Eventually the practice of arranging centerpieces became a tradition not just limited to wealthy families.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Into the early decades of the twentieth century Vietnam, young men and women used the festival as a chance to meet future life companions. Groups would assemble in a courtyard and exchange verses of song while gazing at the moon. Those who performed poorly were sidelined until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Onam is an annual Harvest festival in the state of Kerala in India. It falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–September. According to legends, the festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Onam is a major annual event for Malayali people in and outside Kerala. It is a harvest festival, one of three major annual Hindu celebrations along with Vishu and Thiruvathira, and it is observed with numerous festivities. Onam celebrations include Vallam Kali (boat races), Pulikali (tiger dances), Pookkalam (flower Rangoli), Onathappan (worship), Onam Kali, Tug of War, Thumbi Thullal (women's dance), Kummattikali (mask dance), Onathallu (martial arts), Onavillu (music), Kazhchakkula (plantain offerings), Onapottan (costumes), Atthachamayam (folk songs and dance), and other celebrations.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Onam is the official state festival of Kerala with public holidays that start four days from Uthradom (Onam eve). Major festivities take place across 30 venues in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. It is also celebrated by Malayali diaspora around the world. Though a Hindu festival, non-Hindu communities of Kerala participate in Onam celebrations considering it as a cultural festival.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: Sharad Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin (September–October), marking the end of the monsoon season.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: In Sri Lanka, a full moon day is known as "Poya" and each full moon day is a public holiday. Shops and businesses are closed on these days as people prepare for the full moon. Exteriors of buildings are adorned with lanterns and people often make food and go to the temple to listen to sermons. The "Binara Full Moon Poya Day" and "Vap Full Moon Poya Day" occur around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival and like other Buddhist Asian countries, the festivals celebrate the ascendance and culmination of the Buddha's visit to heaven and for the latter, the acknowledgement of the cultivation season known as "Maha".


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: As late as 2014, the Mid-Autumn Festival generally went unnoticed outside of Asian supermarkets and food stores, but it has gained popularity since then in areas with significant ethnic Chinese overseas populations, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Unlike traditions in China, celebrations in the United States are usually limited to daylight hours, and generally conclude by early evening.


title: Mid-Autumn Festival

text: The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Han calendar—essentially the night of a full moon—which falls near the Autumnal Equinox (on a day between 8 September and 7 October in the Gregorian calendar). In 2018, it fell on 24 September. It will occur on these days in coming years:


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is part of the larger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area is one of the most educated and most affluent metropolitan areas in the U.S. The metro area anchors the southern end of the densely populated Northeast megalopolis with an estimated total population of 6,385,162 , making it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the nation and the largest metropolitan area in the Census Bureau's South Atlantic division.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the area as the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metropolitan statistical area, a metropolitan statistical area used for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies. The region's three largest cities are the federal city of Washington, D.C., the county (and census-designated place) of Arlington, and the independent city of Alexandria. The Office of Management and Budget also includes the metropolitan statistical area as part of the larger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, which has a population of 9,546,579 as of the 2014 Census Estimate.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia portions of the metropolitan area is sometimes referred to as the National Capital Region, particularly by federal agencies such as the military, Department of Homeland Security, and some local government agencies. The National Capital Region portion of the Washington Metropolitan Area is also colloquially known by the abbreviation "DMV" which stands for the "District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia." The area in the region that is surrounded by Interstate 495 referred to as being "Inside the Beltway". The city of Washington, which is at the center of the area, is referred to as "the District" because of its status as a federal district, which makes it not part of any state. The Virginian portion of the region is known as Northern Virginia. The Maryland portion of the region is sometimes called the Maryland-National Capital Region by local authorities but rarely by the general public.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The U.S. Census Bureau divides the Washington metropolitan statistical area into two metropolitan divisions:


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Founded in 1957, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is a regional organization of 21 Washington-area local governments, as well as area members of the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. MWCOG provides a forum for discussion and the development of regional responses to issues regarding the environment, transportation, public safety, homeland security, affordable housing, community planning, and economic development.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for the metropolitan Washington area.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Chartered in 1964, the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area is a regional organization of 17 Washington-area local universities and community colleges representing nearly 300,000 students. The consortium facilitates course cross registration between all member universities, and universalizes library access across some of its member universities through the Washington Research Library Consortium. It additionally offers joint procurement programs, joint academic initiatives, and campus public safety training. These colleges and universities are:


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Formed in 1967 as an interstate compact between Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the WMATA is a tri-jurisdictional government agency with a board composed of representatives from Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the United States Federal government that operates transit services in the Washington Metropolitan Area.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is a multi-jurisdictional independent airport authority, created with the consent of the United States Congress and the legislature of Virginia to oversee management, operations, and capital development of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Founded in 1889, the Greater Washington Board of Trade is a network of regional businesses that work to advance the culture, economy, and resiliency of the Washington metropolitan area.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington (CAGW) works to increase appreciation, support, and resources for arts and culture in the Washington metropolitan area.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The metropolitan area includes the following principal cities (not all of which are incorporated as cities; one, Arlington, actually is a county, while Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Reston are unincorporated census-designated places.)


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area has consistently leaned Democratic, only voting Republican once in Richard Nixon's landslide reelection in 1972. Since Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, Democratic candidates have easily won the area by double-digits.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The area has been a magnet for international immigration since the late 1960s. It is also a magnet for internal migration (persons moving from one region of the U.S. to another).


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area has ranked as the highest-educated metropolitan area in the nation for four decades. As of the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the three most educated places with 200,000 people or more in Washington–Arlington–Alexandria by bachelor's degree attainment (population 25 and over) are Arlington, Virginia (68.0%), Fairfax County, Virginia (58.8%), and Montgomery County, Maryland (56.4%). "Forbes" magazine stated in its 2008 "America's Best- And Worst-Educated Cities" report: "The D.C. area is less than half the size of L.A., but both cities have around 100,000 Ph.D.'s."


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area has held the top spot in the American College of Sports Medicine's annual American Fitness Index ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas for two years running. The report cites, among other things, the high average fitness level and healthy eating habits of residents, the widespread availability of health care and facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and parks, low rates of obesity and tobacco use relative to the national average, and the high median household income as contributors to the city's community health.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: In the 21st century, the Washington metropolitan area has overtaken the San Francisco Bay Area as the highest-income metropolitan area in the nation. The median household income of the region is US$72,800. The two highest median household income counties in the nation – Loudoun and Fairfax County, Virginia – are components of the MSA (and #3 is Howard County, officially in Baltimore's sphere but strongly connected with Washington's); measured in this way, Alexandria ranks 10th among municipalities in the region – 11th if Howard is included – and 23rd in the entire United States. 12.2% of Northern Virginia's 881,136 households, 8.5% of suburban Maryland's 799,300 households, and 8.2% of Washington's 249,805 households have an annual income in excess of $200,000, compared to 3.7% nationally.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: According to a report by the American Human Development Project, women in the Washington metropolitan area are ranked as having the highest income and educational attainment among the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the nation, while Asian American women in the region had the highest life expectancy, at 92.3 years.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area has the largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation in 2006 according to the Greater Washington Initiative at 324,530, ahead of the combined San Francisco Bay Area work force of 214,500, and Chicago metropolitan area at 203,090, citing data from U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Claritas Inc., and other sources.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area was ranked as the second best High-Tech Center in a statistical analysis of the top 100 Metropolitan areas in the United States by American City Business Journals in May 2009, behind the Silicon Valley and ahead of the Boston metropolitan area. Fueling the metropolitan area's ranking was the reported 241,264 tech jobs in the region, a total eclipsed only by New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the highest master's or doctoral degree attainment among the 100 ranked metropolitan areas. A Dice.com report showed that the Washington–Baltimore area had the second-highest number of tech jobs listed: 8,289, after the New York metro area with 9,195 jobs. In 2020, the total gross domestic product for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (MSA) was $561,027,941,000.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Changes in house prices for the Washington metropolitan area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: McLean ZIP code 22102 had the highest median home prices among ZIP codes within the Washington metropolitan area as of 2013.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The economy of the Washington metropolitan region is characterized by significant wealth disparities, which were heightened by the Great Recession and the 2007–09 housing crisis, which adversely affected black and Hispanic households more than other households.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: A 2016 Urban Institute report found that the median net worth (i.e., assets minus debt) for white households in the D.C. region was $284,000, while the median net worth for Hispanic/Latino households was $13,000, and for African American households as $3,500. Asian Americans had the highest median net worth in the Washington area ($220,000 for Chinese American households, $430,000 for Vietnamese American households, $496,000 for Korean American households, and $573,000 for Indian American households).


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Although the median net worth for white D.C.-area households was 81 times that of black D.C.-area households, the two groups had comparable rates of business ownership (about 9%). The Urban Institute report suggests that this "may be driven by the presence of a large federal government and a local district government whose membership and constituents have been largely Black, coupled with government policies designed to increase contracting opportunities for minority-owned businesses."


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area has a significant biotechnology industry; companies with a major presence in the region as of 2011 include Merck, Pfizer, Human Genome Sciences, Martek Biosciences, and Qiagen. Additionally, many biotechnology companies such as United Therapeutics, Novavax, Emergent BioSolutions, Parabon NanoLabs and MedImmune have headquarters in the region. The area is also home to branch offices of many contract research organizations. Firms with a presence in the area include Covance, IQVIA, Charles River Laboratories, and ICON plc. The area's medical research is driven by government and non-profit health institutions, such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, J. Craig Venter Institute, and the National Institutes of Health.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Many defense contractors are based in the region to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include Lockheed Martin, the largest, as well as General Dynamics, BAE Systems Inc., Northrop Grumman, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), CACI, ManTech International, DynCorp, and Leidos.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The Washington metropolitan area contains the headquarters of numerous companies in the hospitality and hotel industries. Major companies with headquarters in the region include Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Hilton Worldwide, Park Hotels and Resorts, Choice Hotels, Host Hotels and Resorts, and HMSHost.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The media industry is a significant portion of metropolitan Washington's economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Washington DC region has the second largest concentration of journalists and media personnel in the United States after the New York metropolitan area. Washington's industry presence includes major publications with national audiences such as "The Washington Post", "U.S. News & World Report", and "USA Today", as well as new media publishers such as Vox Media, RealClearPolitics, Axios, and Politico. A secondary portion of this market is made up of periodicals such as "National Affairs", those by The Slate Group, "Foreign Policy", "National Geographic", "The American Prospect", and those by Atlantic Media, including "The Atlantic". There are also many smaller regional publications present, such as "The Washington Diplomat", "The Hill," "Hill Rag", "Roll Call", "Washington City Paper" and the "Washington Examiner".


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Anchored by the Dulles Technology Corridor, the telecommunications and tech industry in DC spans a diverse range of players across internet infrastructure, broadcasting, satellite communications, and datacenters. Firms headquartered in the area include Cogent Communications, GTT Communications, Hughes Network Systems, iCore Networks, Iridium Communications, Intelsat, Ligado Networks, NII Holdings, Oceus Networks, OneWeb, Tegna Inc., Transaction Network Services, Verisign, WorldCell, and XO Communications.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Tourism is a significant industry in the Washington metropolitan region. In 2015, more than 74,000 tourism-sector jobs existed in the District of Columbia, a record-setting 19.3 million domestic tourists visited the city, and domestic and international tourists combined spent $7.1 billion. The convention industry is also significant; in 2016, D.C. hosted fifteen "city-wide conventions" with an estimated total economic impact of $277.9 million.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: Tourism is also significant outside the District of Columbia; in 2015, a record-setting $3.06 billion in tourism spending was reported in Arlington, Virginia, and $2.9 billion in Fairfax County, Virginia. A 2016 National Park Service report estimated that there were 56 million visitors to national parks in the National Capital Region, sustaining 16,917 and generating close to $1.6 billion in economy impact.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure resulted in a significant shuffling of military, civilian, and defense contractor employees in the Washington metropolitan area. The largest individual site impacts of the time are as follows:


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: BRAC 2005 was the largest infrastructure expansion by the Army Corps of Engineers since World War II, resulting in the Mark Center, tallest building they have ever constructed, as well as National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Campus East, which at 2.4 million square feet is the largest building the Corps have constructed since the Pentagon.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: 'WMATA'-indicated systems are run by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and always accept Washington Metro fare cards, others may or may not.


title: Washington metropolitan area

text: DCTV, "USA Today", C-SPAN, PBS, NPR, "Politico", BET, TV One and Discovery Communications. The two main newspapers are "The Washington Post" and "The Washington Times". Local television channels include WRC-TV 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (FOX), WJLA 7 (ABC), WUSA 9 (CBS), WDCA 20 (MyNetworkTV), WETA-TV 26 (PBS), WDCW 50 (CW), and WPXW 66 (Ion). WJLA 24/7 News is a local news provider available only to cable subscribers. Radio stations serving the area include: WETA-FM, WIHT, WSBN, and WTOP.


title: 2022 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election

text: Legislative Assembly elections were held in Himachal Pradesh on 12 November 2022 to elect 68 members of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.


text: The result was a victory for the Indian National Congress, which returned to power after losing their majority in 2017, continuing a pattern of the incumbent party losing reelection in Himachal Pradesh since 1985.


text: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu became the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh whereas Mukesh Agnihotri became deputy chief minister.


text: The tenure of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 8 January 2023. The previous assembly elections were held in November 2017. After the election, Bharatiya Janata Party formed the state government, with Jai Ram Thakur becoming chief minister. The Indian National Congress became the opposition with Mukesh Agnihotri becoming Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.


text: Since the last assembly elections, several bypolls were held, the most recent of which were won by the Indian National Congress, with it wresting control of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency and 3 other assembly constituencies.


text: Congress MLAs Pawan Kumar Kajal and Lakhvinder Singh Rana joined BJP in August 2022. Kajal was the head of Congress Working committee. The defection of the two senior Congress officials was deemed to be a major blow to the party just a few months prior to the Assembly election. On 28 September 2022, Himachal Pradesh state Congress working president and former cabinet minister Harsh Mahajan joined BJP. The defection was another shock to Congress.


text: AAP released the first list of 4 candidates on 20 September 2022. Second list of 54 candidates was released on 20 October 2022. Third list of 10 candidates was released on 20 October 2022. AAP's nomination from Darang was withdrawn on 29 October 2022.


text: CPI(M) released the first list of 11 candidates on 22 September 2022. and second list of 2 candidates on 24 September. However, the earlier lists were withdrawn and a final list of 11 candidates was released on 18 October 2022. It was reported that CPI would contest on 3 seats, but decided to contest on 1 seat only.


text: Congress released the first list of 46 candidates on 18 October 2022. Second list of 17 candidates was released on 20 October 2022. Congress released third list of 4 candidates on 22 October 2022. Candidate for the remaining 1 seat was named on 25 October 2022.


text: BJP released the first list of 62 candidates on 19 October 2022. Second list of remaining 6 candidates was released on 20 October 2022. BJP replaced its candidates from Chamba on 20 October 2022 and Kullu on 25 October 2022.


text: On 6 April 2022, AAP held a roadshow in Mandi with Delhi CM Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Surjeet Thakur was appointed as President of the state unit in June 2022.


text: Aam Aadmi Party published its 10 promises as guarantees of jobs for all youth, unemployment allowance, an advisory board for traders, end of "inspector rule", and corruption-free administration.


text: The BJP has launched ‘Mission Repeat’ with an aim to retain power in the State. BJP leader and PM Narendra Modi held two rallies in Una and Chamba and also inaugurated various projects in state.


text: From August 17 to 22, the Indian National Congress organized demonstrations throughout Himachal Pradesh as a part of its "Mehangai Chaupal". The block units of the Himachal PCC protested in all the 68 constituencies against price rise and inflation. The protests were a part of the wider "Halla Bol" demonstrations organized by the Congress against the BJP-led government in Delhi.


text: On 31 August 2022, the Indian National Congress launched its manifesto with its 10 guarantees in Himachal Ka Sankalp.


text: On 14 October 2022, Congress started its campaign with its "Parivartan Pratigya Rally" in Solan with senior Congress leaders, Priyanka Gandhi, Pratibha Singh, Mukesh Agnihotri, and Bhupesh Baghel.


text: On 4 November 2022, Priyanka Gandhi addressed a rally in Nagrota Bagwan, Kangra. She promised 1 lakh government jobs and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme in the first cabinet meeting if the Congress comes to power.


text: The Election Commission of India prohibited the conduct of any exit poll and publishing the result of exit polls from 12 November 2022 and 6:30 PM on 5 December 2022. Accordingly, these exit polls were released on the evening of 5 December.


text: The Indian National Congress emerged victorious with 40 seats, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party fell down to 25 seats. Notably, the BJP lost all of its seats in union minister Anurag Thakur's home district Hamirpur to the Congress and 1 independent. 8 cabinet ministers in the BJP government lost their seats. 3 BJP rebels won as independents. On the other hand, lone CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha lost his seat to Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Rathore.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve (originally known as da Vinci Resolve) is a color grading, color correction, visual effects, and audio post-production video editing application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, originally developed by da Vinci Systems, and now developed by Blackmagic Design following its acquisition in 2009. In addition to the commercial version of the software (known as "DaVinci Resolve Studio"), Blackmagic Design also distributes a free edition, with reduced functionality, simply named "DaVinci Resolve" (formerly known as "DaVinci Resolve Lite").


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The initial versions of DaVinci Resolve (known then as "da Vinci Resolve") were resolution-independent software tools developed by da Vinci Systems (based in Coral Springs, Florida), who had previously produced other color correction systems such as da Vinci Classic (1985), da Vinci Renaissance (1990), and da Vinci 2K (1998). The system was first announced in 2003 and released in 2004. It began with three possible configurations: the Resolve DI digital intermediate color correction tool, the Resolve FX visual effects tool, and the Resolve RT 2K resolution processing tool. These initial versions were integrated exclusively into dedicated hardware controllers.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The systems leveraged parallel processing in an InfiniBand topology to support performance during color grading. This was initially implemented using proprietary hardware cards; however, the 4K resolution Resolve R series (such as the R-100, introduced in 2008, and the stereoscopic 3D R-360-3D, introduced in 2009) replaced this proprietary hardware with CUDA-based NVIDIA GPUs.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: In 2009, Australian video processing and distribution technology company Blackmagic Design bought da Vinci Systems, retaining and expanding the engineering team for Resolve but eliminating support-based contracts for the tool. In October 2009, Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty speculated in an interview that the price of Resolve could likely be reduced to below $100,000.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: At NAB 2010 in Las Vegas, in April 2010, Blackmagic Design announced three new pricing models for Resolve, with a new software-only macOS version retailing for $995, the macOS version with the Advanced Control Surface (previously branded as "Impresario" by da Vinci Systems) retailing for $29,995, and licenses for the Linux version (supporting multiple-GPUs for increased performance) retailing at $19,995 (with the most advanced configuration available retailing for under $150,000). Before this change, the pre-built versions of Resolve were the only available options, selling for between $200,000 and $800,000, which was common industry practice at the time. In September 2010, version 7 (restyled as "DaVinci Resolve") was the first to be released by Blackmagic Design under the new pricing model, and the first release for macOS. It included a redesigned user interface, Apple ProRes support, and support for the RED Rocket digital video decoder boards manufactured by Red Digital Cinema.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The pricing model changes continued in June 2011 with the release of version 8: As part of this new version, Blackmagic Design announced a free, reduced-functionality edition of the software (known as "DaVinci Resolve 8 Lite"), alongside the continuing commercial options. Version 8 also introduced OpenCL acceleration support and XML integration with non-linear editor (NLE) applications. Subsequently, version 8.2 (December 2011) further expanded the software's scope (which was previously available only for macOS and Linux) with the first Windows release, beginning with a public beta.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Version 9 (2012) included redesigned user interface elements, added metadata editing options, and expanded the range of supported cameras and file types. The following year, version 10 was released, increasing the amount of information imported from XML, AAF and EDL files, and adding OpenFX plug-in, JPEG 2000 and AVI support. Version 10 was also the first to include basic video editing features alongside the color correction functionality, such as the trimming of clips.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Released in August 2014, version 11 added audio mixing, media organization features, and further video editing features, enabling the software to function as a standalone non-linear editor (NLE) for the first time, in addition to integrating with other NLEs.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Subsequently, version 12 (announced at NAB 2015) added a new audio engine (supporting VST/AU plug-ins), and version 14 (2017) added an integrated version of audio editing software previously developed by Fairlight (following Blackmagic Design's acquisition of the company during the same year).


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The first version of Resolve for standard editions of Linux (version 12.5.5) was made available in 2017. It was also the first version in which a free Resolve version for Linux became available. Previous versions required a custom build of Linux, use of the DaVinci Resolve Advanced hardware control panel, and a license dongle.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Released in 2018, version 15 added an integrated version of the Fusion compositing and visual effects application, which was first developed in 1987 and was acquired by Blackmagic Design in 2014.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Blackmagic Design officially announced DaVinci Resolve version 16 at NAB 2019, in April 2019. New features included a dedicated 'Cut' page (a streamlined alternative to the 'Edit' page), machine learning functionality (Studio edition only) to handle repetitive tasks (e.g. facial recognition to sort clips by person), 3D audio within Fairlight, and new collaboration features (including Frame.io integration). Version 16.0 was made available on 8 August 2019.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The first details for DaVinci Resolve version 17 were announced on November 9, 2020, including improved Fairlight audio and HDR color correction tools. Version 17.0 final was officially released on February 25, 2021. Version 17.1 was released on March 10, 2021, and was the first Mac release to run natively on Apple silicon. Version 17.2 was released on May 12, 2021, and added AV1 hardware decoding support. Version 17.4 was released on October 22, 2021. Version 17.4.6 added AV1 hardware encoding support.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve 18 was officially announced on April 18, 2022, with introduction of real-time collaborative video editing, using Blackmagic Cloud devices as host servers. Version 18.0 final was officially released on July 21, 2022. DaVinci Resolve 18.1 added Nvidia NVENC AV1 hardware encoding support and was released on November 11, 2022.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: On October 20, 2022, Blackmagic Design announced that DaVinci Resolve was also coming to iPadOS for the first time, stated that DaVinci Resolve for iPad would take advantage of 12.9-inch screen of the iPad Pro, and would be "a true professional editor that’s focused on introducing new innovations in speed". Unlike the desktop application, the iPad application will be provide only editing and color-related functionalities, while maintaining compatibility with DaVinci Resolve 18 project files and real-time collaboration via Blackmagic Cloud. The company expected to release the iPad version within 2022 as a free app on Apple's App Store, with the option to upgrade to DaVinci Resolve Studio via in-app purchase. No pricing details of the Studio version have yet been released.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The software includes modules for video editing, color correction, audio mixing/effects (including Fairlight), and visual effects (including Fusion). It can either be used as an intermediary between other NLE software and Digital Cinema Package (DCP) creation software, or as a standalone end-to-end video editing application.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: For content delivery to services such as Netflix, Resolve provides functionality to create and validate IMF (Interoperable Master Format, standardized by SMPTE) packages, known as IMPs (which comprise multiple components, such as MXF content, a composition playlist (CPL), and XML package data), without the use of separate DCP software.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Compatible file formats include video formats such as AVI, MP4, QuickTime, DNxHD, and XAVC; data exchange formats such as XML, EDL, AAF, DCP, MXF, and CinemaDNG; audio formats such as AAC, AIFF, and WAVE; and image formats such as RAW, OpenEXR, TIFF, DPX, R3D, JPEG, and JPEG 2000.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: As of version 12.2 (December 2015), Resolve supports the hybrid log–gamma (HLG) standard for a high dynamic range, as well as OpenCL and Intel Quick Sync Video.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Unlike the free edition of the software, the commercial edition, DaVinci Resolve Studio, supports resolutions greater than ultra-high-definition and frame-rates over 60 FPS. It also includes support for multiple GPUs, additional OpenFX plug-ins such as Face Tracking and Lens Flare, stereoscopic grading, video noise reduction, motion blur, HDR color grading, and user collaboration tools.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: It is also the only edition to include the machine learning functions introduced as part of Resolve version 16.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Since version 14 (2017), DaVinci Resolve has included an integrated version of the software developed by Fairlight (now owned by Blackmagic Design) designed for TV & Film post-production, and live audio mixing. The Resolve-integrated software supports up to 1000 audio tracks, with a maximum of 6 inserts and 24 aux-sends per track. Other functionality includes 96-channel audio recording and 3D audio mixing for formats such as 5.1, 7.1 and 22.2. Integrated audio tools include compression/expansion, limiting, gating and parametric EQ.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Fairlight software has been used in the production of TV shows, advertisements, and feature films such as "Logan" and "Murder on the Orient Express".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Since version 15 (2018), DaVinci Resolve also includes an integrated version of the Fusion application for compositing and visual effects, also developed by Blackmagic Design. Fusion's core functionality is based on a modular, node-based interface, with each node forming one specific aspect of the effects being implemented. The same interface style is used in the Resolve-integrated version.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Prior to its integration with Resolve, the standalone Fusion version was used to create effects for over 1,000 feature films and TV shows, including "The Martian", "" and "".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve (free edition) and DaVinci Resolve Studio are available from the macOS App Store. However, some functionality, such as CUDA support, is not available in these versions due to restrictions imposed by Apple.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Since introducing software-only options for Resolve, Blackmagic Design have also released hardware control panels that integrate with the software and provide users with a tactile interface and access to additional shortcuts. They include the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel, the DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel (both released in 2017), and the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel (previously known as "Impresario" when manufactured by da Vinci Systems).


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: In addition to the full control panels, Blackmagic Design also announced the Editor Keyboard for Resolve in April 2019. It includes a standard computer keyboard and specialized components (such as a dial for altering timeline position) to support two-handed editing.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Resolve also integrates with other hardware produced by Blackmagic Design, such as their Cintel film scanner.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: In July 2018, Blackmagic Design released an external, portable graphics processing unit, the eGPU, developed in association with Apple to leverage the Metal API for professional video and graphics (such as those used by DaVinci Resolve).


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Davinci Resolve only had 100 users in 2009; however, since being acquired by Blackmagic Design, the software had a user base of more than 2 million using the free version alone as of January 2019. This is a comparable user base to Apple's Final Cut Pro X, which also had 2 million users as of April 2017.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: Version 14 received an additional Red Dot award in 2017 for 'User Interface Design, Post-Production Software', and in the same year, the software's newly released control panels, the Micro Panel and Mini Panel, also received Red Dot awards for 'Motion Picture Colour Grading System'.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: In 2018, the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) named DaVinci Resolve (version 15) as a recipient of their 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve has been used for the color grading and/or editing of feature films such as "", "Avatar", "Best of Enemies," "Deadpool 2", "Jason Bourne," "," "La La Land," "Love & Mercy," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Prometheus," "Robin Hood", "Spectre", "", and "".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve and Blackmagic Design hardware were used to create five of the eight 2019 Oscar nominated best picture films including "Bohemian Rhapsody" (most awards), "The Favourite" (most nominations), "Roma" (most nominations), "Green Book" (won Best Picture) and "Vice". Additionally, DaVinci Resolve and Blackmagic Design hardware were used to create thirteen 2018 Oscar nominated films, nine 2017 Oscar nominated films, seven 2016 Oscar nominated films, four 2014 Oscar nominated films, and four 2010 Oscar nominated films (two for Best Picture).


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: 20 films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival leveraged DaVinci Resolve, followed by 35 in 2016, over 45 in 2017, over 55 in 2018, and over 35 in 2019. Presence of films created with Resolve at other film festivals includes the 2018 Austin Film Festival (over 25 films), the 2014 Cannes Film Festival (three films), the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (21 films), the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, and the 2016 and 2017 South by Southwest festivals.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve has also been used in the restoration of classic films, such as "Les Misérables", "Spartacus", "Black Like Me", "Jamaica Inn," and "The Perfect Woman".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve software has been used in television shows including "2 Broke Girls, American Horror Story, Arrow," "Ash vs Evil Dead", "The Big Bang Theory, Criminal Minds, Daredevil, The Flash, Gotham, How To Get Away With Murder, The Last Man on Earth, Lethal Weapon, The Man in the High Castle, The Mentalist, The Muppets," "", "Orphan Black" ", Portlandia," "Sons of Anarchy","" "Supernatural," "The Walking Dead," and "Westworld".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: The software has also been used in the creation of television shows which have received Emmy Awards, such as "Game of Thrones" and "Modern Family".


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: More than 55 of the 2018 fall television and streaming series relied on Blackmagic Design software and hardware, including DaVinci Resolve.


title: DaVinci Resolve

text: DaVinci Resolve has also been used during the creation of other media, such as music videos, advertisements, concert production, and online media.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya which was fought between forces which were loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libyan Revolution, also known as the 17 February Revolution. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces that fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution on 26 February, freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation. In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians, which turned into a bombing campaign by the forces of NATO against Libyan military installations and vehicles. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting and bombing continued. Throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In August, rebel forces launched an offensive on the government-held coast of Libya, backed by a wide-reaching NATO bombing campaign, taking back territory lost months before and ultimately capturing the capital city of Tripoli, while Gaddafi evaded capture and loyalists engaged in a rearguard campaign. On 16 September 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the legal representative of Libya, replacing the Gaddafi government. Muammar Gaddafi evaded capture until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed in Sirte. The National Transitional Council declared "the liberation of Libya" and the official end of the war on 23 October 2011.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In the aftermath of the civil war, a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists continued. There was various disagreements and strife between local militias and tribes, including fighting on 23 January 2012 in the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, leading to an alternative town council being established and later recognized by the National Transitional Council (NTC). A much greater issue had been the role of militias which fought in the civil war and their role in the new Libya. Some refused to disarm, and cooperation with the NTC had been strained, leading to demonstrations against militias and government action to disband such groups or integrate them into the Libyan military. These unresolved issues led directly to a second civil war in Libya.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Muammar Gaddafi was the head of the Free Officers, a group of Arab nationalists that deposed King Idris I in 1969 in a "bloodless coup". He abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, considering it a neocolonial document. From 1969 until 1975 standards of living, life expectancy and literacy grew rapidly. In 1975 he published his manifesto "The Green Book". He officially stepped down from power in 1977, and subsequently claimed to be merely a "symbolic figurehead" until 2011, with the Libyan government up until then also denying that he held any power.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Under Gaddafi, Libya was theoretically a decentralized, direct democracy state run according to the philosophy of Gaddafi's "The Green Book", with Gaddafi retaining a ceremonial position. Libya was officially run by a system of people's committees which served as local governments for the country's subdivisions, an indirectly elected General People's Congress as the legislature, and the General People's Committee, led by a Secretary-General, as the executive branch. According to Freedom House, however, these structures were often manipulated to ensure the dominance of Gaddafi, who reportedly continued to dominate all aspects of government.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: WikiLeaks' disclosure of confidential US diplomatic cables revealed US diplomats there speaking of Gaddafi's "mastery of tactical maneuvering".<ref name="Whitlock 02/22"></ref> While placing relatives and loyal members of his tribe in central military and government positions, he skilfully marginalized supporters and rivals, thus maintaining a delicate balance of powers, stability and economic developments. This extended even to his own sons, as he repeatedly changed affections to avoid the rise of a clear successor and rival.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Both Gaddafi and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, however, officially denied that he held any power, but said that he was merely a symbolic figurehead. While he was popularly seen as a demagogue in the West, Gaddafi always portrayed himself as a statesman-philosopher.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: According to several Western media sources, Gaddafi feared a military coup against his government and deliberately kept Libya's military relatively weak. The Libyan Army consisted of about 50,000 personnel. Its most powerful units were four crack brigades of highly equipped and trained soldiers, composed of members of Gaddafi's tribe or members of other tribes loyal to him. One, the Khamis Brigade, was led by his son Khamis. Local militias and Revolutionary Committees across the country were also kept well-armed. By contrast, regular military units were poorly trained, and were armed with largely outdated military equipment.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: By the end of Gaddafi's 42-year rule, Libya's population had a per capita income of $14,000, though a third was estimated to still live below the national poverty line. A broadly secular society was imposed. Child marriage was banned, and women enjoyed equality of equal pay for equal work, equal rights in divorce and access to higher education rose from 8% in 1966 to 43% in 1996, equal to that of men. Homelessness was insignificant, with literacy rates estimated at 88%, and average life expectancy rose from 51/54 in 1969 to 74/77.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Much of the state's income came from its oil production, which soared in the 1970s. In the 1980s, a large portion of it was spent on arms purchases, and on sponsoring militant groups and independence movements around the world. Libya's economy was structured primarily around the nation's energy sector, which in the 2000s generated about 95% of export earnings, 80% of GDP, and 99% of government income. Libya is a member of OPEC and one of the world's largest oil producers. It was producing roughly 1.6 million barrels a day before the war, nearly 70% of them through the state-owned National Oil Corporation. Additionally, the country's sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority, was one of the largest in the world, controlling assets worth approximately US$56 billion, including over 100 tons of gold reserves in the Central Bank of Libya. Libya's GDP per capita (PPP), human development index, and literacy rate were better than in Egypt and Tunisia, whose Arab Spring revolutions preceded the outbreak of protests in Libya.<ref name = "Maleki 02/09"></ref>


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Libya's corruption perception index in 2010 was 2.2, ranking 146th out of 178 countries, worse than that of Egypt (ranked 98th) and Tunisia (ranked 59th). One paper speculated that such a situation created a broader contrast between good education, high demand for democracy, and the government's practices (perceived corruption, political system, supply of democracy). An estimated 13% of Libyan citizens were unemployed. More than 16% of families had no members earning a stable income, and 43.3% had just one. Despite one of the highest unemployment rates in the region, there was a consistent labor shortage with over a million migrant workers present on the market. These migrant workers were the bulk of the refugees leaving Libya after the beginning of hostilities. Despite this, Libya's Human Development Index in 2010 was the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia. Libya had welfare systems allowing access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing, and the Great Manmade River was built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Some of the worst economic conditions were in the eastern parts of the state, once a breadbasket of the ancient world, where Gaddafi extracted oil. Except for housing improvements and the Great Manmade River, little infrastructure was developed in this region for many years. For example, the only sewage facility in Benghazi was over 40 years old, and untreated sewage has resulted in environmental problems.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Several foreign governments and analysts have stated that a large share of the business enterprise was controlled by Gaddafi, his family, and the government. A leaked US diplomatic cable said that the Libyan economy was "a kleptocracy in which the government – either the Gaddafi family itself or its close political allies – has a direct stake in anything worth buying, selling or owning". According to US officials, Gaddafi amassed a vast personal fortune during his 42-year leadership. "The New York Times" pointed to Gaddafi's relatives adopting lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, Hollywood film investments, and private parties with American pop stars.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Gaddafi said that he planned to combat corruption in the state by proposing reforms where oil profits are handed out directly to the country's five million people rather than to government bodies, stating that "as long as money is administered by a government body, there would be theft and corruption." Gaddafi urged a sweeping reform of the government bureaucracy, suggesting that most of the cabinet system should be dismantled to "free Libyans from red tape" and "protect the state's budget from corruption". According to Western diplomats, this move appeared to be aimed at putting pressure on the government to speed up reforms. In March 2008, Gaddafi proposed plans to dissolve the country's existing administrative structure and disburse oil revenue directly to the people. The plan included abolishing all ministries except those of defence, internal security, and foreign affairs, and departments implementing strategic projects. He stated that the ministries were failing to manage the country's oil revenues, and that his "dream during all these years was to give power and wealth directly to the people".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: A national vote on Gaddafi's plan was held in 2009, where Libya's people's congresses, collectively the country's highest authority, voted to delay implementation. The General People's Congress announced that, of 468 Basic People's Congresses, 64 chose immediate implementation while 251 endorsed implementation "but asked for (it) to be delayed until appropriate measures were put in place". Some top government officials opposed the plan, saying that it would "wreak havoc" in the economy by "fanning inflation and spurring capital flight". Gaddafi acknowledged that the scheme, which promised up to 30,000 Libyan dinars ($23,000) annually to about a million of Libya's poorest, may "cause chaos before it brought about prosperity," but said "do not be afraid to experiment with a new form of government" and that "this plan is to offer a better future for Libya's children".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In 2009 and 2011, the Freedom of the Press Index rated Libya the most-censored state in the Middle East and North Africa. In contrast, a January 2011 report of the United Nations Human Rights Council, on which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya sat prior to the uprising, released a month before protests began, praised certain aspects of the country's human rights record, including its treatment of women and improvements in other areas.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's delegation to the United Nations issued a report about human rights in Libya. The report said that the country was founded on direct people's democracy that guaranteed direct exercise of authority by all citizens through the people's congresses. Citizens were said to be able to express opinions to the congresses on political, economic, social, and cultural issues. In addition, the report stated that there were information platforms such as newspapers and TV channels for people to express their opinions through. Libyan authorities also argued that no one in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya suffered from extreme poverty and hunger, and that the government guaranteed a minimum of food and essential needs to people with low incomes. In 2006, an initiative was adopted for providing people with low incomes investment portfolios amounting to $30,000 to be deposited with banks and companies.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The Revolutionary Committees occasionally kept tight control over internal dissent; reportedly, 10% to 20% of Libyans worked as informants for these committees, with surveillance taking place in the government, in factories, and in the education sector. The government sometimes executed dissidents through public hangings and mutilations and re-broadcast them on public television channels. Until the mid-1980s, Libya's intelligence service conducted assassinations of Libyan dissidents around the world.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In December 2009, Gaddafi reportedly told government officials that Libya would soon experience a "new political period" and would have elections for important positions such as minister-level roles and the National Security Advisor position (a Prime Minister equivalent). He also promised that international monitors would be included to ensure fair elections. His speech was said to have caused a stir. These elections were planned to coincide with the Jamahiriya's usual periodic elections for the Popular Committees, Basic People's Committees, Basic People's Congresses, and General People's Congresses, in 2010.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Dissent was illegal under Law 75 of 1973, and in 1974, Gaddafi asserted that anyone guilty of founding a political party would be executed. With the establishment of the Jamahiriya ("state of the masses") system in 1977, he established the Revolutionary Committees as conduits for raising political consciousness, with the aim of direct political participation by all Libyans rather than a traditional party-based representative system. In 1979, some of the Revolutionary Committees had eventually evolved into self-appointed, sometimes zealous, enforcers of revolutionary orthodoxy. During the early 1980s, the Revolutionary Committees had considerable power and became a growing source of tension within the Jamihiriya, to the extent that Gaddafi sometimes criticized their effectiveness and excessive repression, until the power of the Revolutionary Committees was eventually restricted in the late 1980s.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: "The Green Book", which Gaddafi authored in the 1970s, was for years the principal text of political education. BBC cited a Libyan who said that teachers who called it "rubbish" could face execution. "The Great Green Document on Human Rights treats the right to life as an individual human right and calls for abolition of the death sentence, except in the case of persons whose lives endanger or corrupt society."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In 1988, Gaddafi criticized the "excesses" he blamed on the Revolutionary Councils, stating that "they deviated, harmed, tortured" and that "the true revolutionary does not practise repression." That same year, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya issued the "Great Green Document on Human Rights", in which Article 5 established laws that allowed greater freedom of expression. Article 8 of The Code on the Promotion of Freedom stated that "each citizen has the right to express his opinions and ideas openly in People's Congresses and in all mass media." A number of restrictions were also allegedly placed on the power of the Revolutionary Committees by the Gaddafi government, leading to a resurgence in the Libyan state's popularity by the early 1990s. In 2004, however, Libya posted a $1 million bounty for journalist and governmental critic Ashur Shamis, under the allegation that he was linked to Al-Qaeda and terror suspect Abu Qatada.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Between 13 and 16 January 2011, upset at delays in the building of housing units and over political corruption, protesters in Bayda, Derna, Benghazi and other cities broke into, and occupied, housing that the government had been building. Protesters also clashed with police in Bayda and attacked government offices. By 27 January, the government had responded to the housing unrest with an over €20 billion investment fund to provide housing and development.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In late January, Jamal al-Hajji, a writer, political commentator and accountant, "call[ed] on the Internet for demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms in Libya" inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. He was arrested on 1 February by plain-clothes police officers, and charged on 3 February with injuring someone with his car. Amnesty International stated that because al-Hajji had previously been imprisoned for his non-violent political opinions, the real reason for the present arrest appeared to be his call for demonstrations. In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of the Jamahiriya, met with political activists, journalists and media figures and warned them that they would be held responsible if they disturbed the peace or created chaos in Libya.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The protests would lead to an uprising and civil war, as part of the wider Arab Spring, which had already resulted in the ousting of long-term presidents of adjacent Tunisia and Egypt. Social media played a central role in organizing the opposition. A social media website declared an alternative government, one that would be an interim national council, was the first to compete with Muammar Gaddafi's political authority. Gaddafi's senior advisor attempted to reject the idea by tweeting his resignation.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The protests, unrest and confrontations began in earnest on 2 February 2011. They were soon nicknamed the Libyan Revolution of Dignity by the protesters and foreign media. Foreign workers and disgruntled minorities protested in the main square of Zawiya, Libya against the local administration. This was succeeded by race riots, which were squashed by the police and pro-Gaddafi loyalists. On the evening of 15 February, between 500 and 600 demonstrators protested in front of Benghazi's police headquarters after the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil. Crowds were armed with petrol bombs and threw stones. Marchers hurled Molotov cocktails in a downtown square in Benghazi, damaging cars, blocking roads, and hurling rocks. Police responded to crowds with tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets. 38 people were injured, including 10 security personnel. The novelist Idris Al-Mesmari was arrested hours after giving an interview with Al Jazeera about the police reaction to protests.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In a statement released after clashes in Benghazi, a Libyan official warned that the Government "will not allow a group of people to move around at night and play with the security of Libya". The statement added: "The clashes last night were between small groups of people – up to 150. Some outsiders infiltrated that group. They were trying to corrupt the local legal process which has long been in place. We will not permit that at all, and we call on Libyans to voice their issues through existing channels, even if it is to call for the downfall of the government."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: On the night of 16 February in Beyida, Zawiya and Zintan, hundreds of protesters in each town calling for an end to the Gaddafi government set fire to police and security buildings.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: A "Day of Rage" in Libya and by Libyans in exile was planned for 17 February. The National Conference for the Libyan Opposition asked that all groups opposed to the Gaddafi government protest on 17 February in memory of demonstrations in Benghazi five years earlier. The plans to protest were inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolution. Protests took place in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Derna, Zintan, and Bayda. Libyan security forces fired live ammunition into the armed protests. Protesters torched a number of government buildings, including a police station. In Tripoli, television and public radio stations had been sacked, and protesters set fire to security buildings, Revolutionary Committee offices, the interior ministry building, and the People's Hall.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: On 18 February, police and army personnel later withdrew from Benghazi after being overwhelmed by protesters. Some army personnel also joined the protesters; they then seized the local radio station. In Bayda, unconfirmed reports indicated that the local police force and riot-control units had joined the protesters. On 19 February, witnesses in Libya reported helicopters firing into crowds of anti-government protesters. The army withdrew from the city of Bayda.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Rap, hip hop and traditional music, alongside other genres, played a big role in encouraging dissent against Gaddafi's government. Music has been controlled and dissenting cultural figures have been arrested or tortured in Arab Spring countries, including Libya. Music provided an important platform for communication among demonstrators. It helped to create moral support and encouraged a spirit of revolt against the governments.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: An anonymous hip hop artist called Ibn Thabit gave a voice to "disenfranchised Libyans looking for a non-violent way to express their political will". On his website, Ibn Thabit said that he "has been attacking Gaddafi with his music since 2008" when he posted his first song on the internet, titled "Moammar – the coward". Lyrics of a song 'Al-Soo'al' released by Ibn Thabit on YouTube on 27 January 2011, weeks before the riots began in Libya were indicative of the rebel sentiment.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Some groups, such as a rock band from Benghazi called the "Guys Underground", used metaphors to cloak the censure of the authorities. The group released a song just before the uprising entitled "Like My Father Always Says" to ridicule an autocratic fictional male head of a family which was a veiled reference to Colonel Gaddafi.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Many opposition participants called for a return to the 1952 constitution and a transition to multi-party democracy. Military units who joined the rebellion and many volunteers formed fighting units to defend against Jamahiriya attacks and to work to bring Tripoli under the influence of Jalil. In Tobruk, volunteers turned a former headquarters of the government into a centre for helping protesters. Volunteers reportedly guarded the port, local banks and oil terminals to keep the oil flowing. Teachers and engineers set up a committee to collect weapons. Likewise, supply lines were run by volunteers. For example, in Misrata people organised a pizza service which delivered up to 8,000 pizzas a day to fighters.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The National Transitional Council () was established on 27 February to consolidate efforts for change in the rule of Libya. The main objectives of the group was to co-ordinate resistance between towns held in rebel control, and represent the opposition to the world, but did not include forming an interim government. The Benghazi-based opposition government had called for a no-fly zone and airstrikes against the Jamahiriya. The council began to refer to itself as the "Libyan Republic" and by March had a website. Former Jamahiriya Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in February that the new government would prepare for elections and they could be held in three months. On 29 March, the political and international affairs committee of the Council presented its eight-point plan for Libya in "The Guardian" newspaper, stating they would hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: An independent newspaper called "Libya" appeared in Benghazi, as well as rebel-controlled radio stations. Some of the rebels opposed tribalism and wore vests bearing slogans such as "No to tribalism, no to factionalism". Some Libyans said that they had found abandoned torture chambers and devices that had been used in the past.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The rebels primarily included civilians, such as teachers, students, lawyers, and oil workers, but also defected police officers and professional soldiers. Many Islamists were part of the rebel movement in both eastern and western Libya. Rebel group primarily initiated from Misrati, Zentan and Derna. In Benghazi "the February 17 Brigade" was a powerful Islamist group composed of 12 different brigades. The Libya Shield was based out of Mistrata and Zaria. There was also the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade which has been held responsible for the assassination of top rebel commander General Abdul Fatah Younis.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Gaddafi's administration repeatedly asserted that the rebels included al-Qaeda fighters. Rebels denied this. NATO's Supreme Allied Commander James G. Stavridis stated that intelligence reports suggested there were "flickers" of al-Qaeda activity among rebels, but that there was insufficient information to confirm a significant presence of terrorist groups. Gaddafi's claims are supported by a 2008 secret cable from the US embassy in Tripoli to the US State Department, and an analysis by the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point of a set of documents called the Sinjar Records, purporting to show a statistical study of the al-Qaeda personnel records. The West Point analysis of these documents concluded that Libya provided "far more" foreign fighters in per capita terms than any other country. A disclosed file from 2005 on WikiLeaks found that rebel leader Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu was a former Guantanamo Bay detainee alleged to be a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, to have joined the Taliban in 1998, and that he was a "probable member of Al Qaida and a member of the African Extremist Network".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In the days leading up to the conflict, Gaddafi called for a rally against the government that was to be held on 17 February. The International Crisis Group believes this to have been a political manoeuvre to divert attention away from himself and the Jamahiriya political system towards government officials currently in power.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Later in February, Gaddafi stated that the rebels were influenced by Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and hallucinogenic drugs put in drinks and pills. He specifically referred to substances in milk, coffee, and Nescafé, and said that Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were distributing these hallucinogenic drugs. He also blamed alcohol. Gaddafi later also stated that the revolt against his rule was the result of a colonialist plot by foreign states, particularly blaming France, the US and the UK, to control oil and enslave the Libyan people. He referred to the rebels as "cockroaches" and "rats", and vowed not to step down and to cleanse Libya house by house until the insurrection was crushed. He said that if the rebels laid down their arms, they would not be harmed. He also said that he had been receiving "thousands" of phone calls from Benghazi, from residents who were being held hostage and who wanted to be rescued. Gaddafi said in a speech addressed to Benghazi on 17 March 2011 that the rebels"… can run away, they can go to Egypt…Those who would surrender their weapons and would join our side, we are the people of Libya. Those who surrender their weapons and would come without their arms, we would forgive them, and would have amnesty for those who put down their weapons. Anyone who throws his arms away and stays at home would be protected."Libya's ambassador in Malta addressed that "many people instigating unrest were arrested. Libya will show that these belonged to Al Qaeda. Some young protestors were also misled. The government is ready to dialogue with them." He cited reports from the Libyan Foreign Ministry that up to 2,500 al-Qaeda foreign operatives have been working in eastern Libya and were mostly responsible for "stirring up trouble." He concluded, "What we saw in Tahrir Square, and in Tunisia, was a clear situation. But in Libya, there is something different."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: He called himself a "warrior", and vowed to fight on and die a "martyr", and urged his supporters to leave their homes and attack rebels "in their lairs". Gaddafi said that he had not yet ordered the use of force, and threatened that "everything will burn" when he did. Responding to demands that he step down, he stated that he could not step down, as he held a purely symbolic position like Queen Elizabeth, and that the people were in power.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The Swedish peace research institute SIPRI reported flights between Tripoli and a dedicated military base in Belarus which only handles stockpiled weaponry and military equipment.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in an interview with ABC on 17 March, stated that the rebels in Benghazi engaged in terror against the population. He stated, "You know, the armoured militia yesterday, they killed four young boys in Benghazi. Why? Because they were against them. Everybody is terrified because of the armed militia. They live in terror. Nightmare. Armed people are everywhere. They have their own courts. They execute the people who are against them. No school. No hospital. No money. No banks."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The Libyan government were reported to have employed snipers, artillery, helicopter gunships, warplanes, anti-aircraft weaponry, and warships against demonstrations and funeral processions. It was also reported that security forces and foreign mercenaries repeatedly used firearms, including assault rifles and machine guns, as well as knives against protesters. Amnesty International initially reported that writers, intellectuals and other prominent opposition sympathizers disappeared during the early days of the conflict in Gaddafi-controlled cities, and that they may have been subjected to torture or execution.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In a 17 March 2011 interview, shortly before the military intervention, Muammar Gaddafi's son and "heir apparent" Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said that "armed militia" fighters in Benghazi were killing children and terrorizing the population.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Amnesty International also reported that security forces targeted paramedics helping injured protesters. In multiple incidents, Gaddafi's forces were documented using ambulances in their attacks. Injured demonstrators were sometimes denied access to hospitals and ambulance transport. The government also banned giving blood transfusions to people who had taken part in the demonstrations. Security forces, including members of Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees, stormed hospitals and removed the dead. Injured protesters were either summarily executed or had their oxygen masks, IV drips, and wires connected to the monitors removed. The dead and injured were piled into vehicles and taken away, possibly for cremation. Doctors were prevented from documenting the numbers of dead and wounded, but an orderly in a Tripoli hospital morgue estimated to the BBC that 600–700 protesters were killed in Green Square in Tripoli on 20 February. The orderly said that ambulances brought in three or four corpses at a time, and that after the ice lockers were filled to capacity, bodies were placed on stretchers or the floor, and that "it was in the same at the other hospitals".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In the eastern city of Bayda, anti-government forces hanged two policemen who were involved in trying to disperse demonstrations. In downtown Benghazi, anti-government forces killed the managing director of al-Galaa hospital. The victim's body showed signs of torture.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: On 19 February, several days after the conflict began, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi announced the creation of a commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by a Libyan judge, as reported on state television. He stated that the commission was intended to be "for members of Libyan and foreign organizations of human rights" and that it will "investigate the circumstances and events that have caused many victims."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Towards the end of February, it was reported that the Gaddafi government had suppressed protests in Tripoli by distributing automobiles, money and weapons for hired followers to drive around Tripoli and attack people showing signs of dissent. In Tripoli, "death squads" of mercenaries and Revolutionary Committees members reportedly patrolled the streets and shot people who tried to take the dead off the streets or gather in groups. The International Federation for Human Rights concluded on 24 February that Gaddafi was implementing a scorched earth strategy. The organization stated that "It is reasonable to fear that he has, in fact, decided to largely eliminate, wherever he still can, Libyan citizens who stood up against his regime and furthermore, to systematically and indiscriminately repress civilians. These acts can be characterized as crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In May 2011, International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo estimated that 500–700 people were killed by security forces in February 2011, before the rebels took up arms. According to Moreno-Ocampo, "shooting at protesters was systematic".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: During the siege of Misrata in May 2011, Amnesty International reported "horrifying" tactics such as "indiscriminate attacks that have led to massive civilian casualties, including use of heavy artillery, rockets and cluster bombs in civilian areas and sniper fire against residents." Gaddafi's military commanders also reportedly executed soldiers who refused to fire on protesters. The International Federation for Human Rights reported a case where 130 soldiers were executed. Some of the soldiers executed by their commanders were reportedly burned alive.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In June 2011, a more detailed investigation by Amnesty International found that many of the allegations against Gaddafi and the Libyan state turned out to be false or to lack any credible evidence, saying that rebels at times appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In July 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had an interview with Russia Today in which he denied the ICC's allegations that he or his father Muammar Gaddafi ordered the killing of civilian protesters. He said that he was not a member of the government or the military and therefore had no authority to give such orders. He also said that his father made recorded calls to General Abdul Fatah Younis, who later defected to the rebel forces, in order to request not to use force against protesters, to which he said Fatah Younis responded that protesters were attacking a military site and soldiers were acting in self-defense.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Gaddafi reportedly imprisoned thousands or tens of thousands of residents in Tripoli, with Red Cross denied access to these hidden prisons. One of the most notorious is a prison which was set up in a tobacco factory in Tripoli where inmates are reported to have been fed just half a loaf of bread and a bottle of water a day.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In late April, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice alleged that soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were given Viagra and encouraged to commit rapes in rebel-held or disputed areas. The allegations surfaced in an "Al Jazeera" report the previous month from Libya-based doctors, who claimed to have found Viagra in the pockets of government soldiers. Human rights groups and aid workers had previously documented rapes by loyalist fighters during the war. The British aid agency "Save the children" said it got reports that children were raped by unknown perpetrators, but warned that these reports could not be confirmed.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: In a questionnaire 259 refugee women reported that they had been raped by Gaddafi's soldiers, however the accounts of these women could not be independently verified as the psychologist who conducted the questionnaire said that "she had lost contact with them".


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The validity of the rape allegations is questioned by Amnesty International, which has not found evidence to back up the claims and said that there are indications that on several occasions the rebels in Benghazi appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The Libyan government alleged that the armed rebellion was composed of "criminal gangs and mercenaries." A Libyan official reported to Libyan television that security forces arrested Tunisians and Egyptians that were "trained to sow chaos." According to the Libyan Government authorities, mercenaries from Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia entered Libya to fight on the side of the rebels. Dozens of them were arrested. Libya's Jamahiriya News Agency reported that the detained men were part of a "foreign network (and were) trained to damage Libya's stability, the safety of its citizens and national unity."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Military advisors from Qatar participated on the side of the rebels, and were sometimes labelled as "mercenaries" by the media. However, Qatar's role was certainly much greater than that. Initially, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani declared that the country was supporting the rebels by sending "defensive weaponry" only. A report by Sam Dagher, Charles Levinson, and Margaret Coker published by "The Wall Street Journal" on 17 October 2011 challenged those statements, and posited that "Qatar provided anti-Gadhafi rebels with what Libyan officials now estimate are tens of millions of dollars in aid, military training and more than 20,000 tons of weapons."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: The three columnists reported anonymous sources described as "people familiar with the shipments" who confirmed that 18 weapons shipments were delivered to rebel forces between spring and summer 2011, mostly independently from the mediation of the National Transitional Council. In fact, most shipments for which Qatar paid went directly to the rebels.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: According to NTC-allied officials interviewed by "The Wall Street Journal", a few key figures facilitated Qatar's weapons and aid to flow directly to the rebels. Cleric Ali al-Sallabi allegedly served as a primary "conduit for Qatari humanitarian aid, money and arms" and helped to direct more than a dozen of the Qatari shipments. His brother Ismail al-Salabi, leader of the Islamist "February 17 Katiba" rebel faction, was believed to be financially backed from Qatar.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the leader of Tripoli Military Council who had previously served as the leader of the 2004 U.S. terrorist-designated Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), was among the privileged recipients of shipments from Qatar. Jalal al-Dugheily, the NTC Defence Minister, was a Libyan army veteran who reportedly favoured Islamist militia leaders. According to David Roberts' analysis published by "Foreign Policy", Belhaj – a "politically radioactive personality" – met with NATO officials at the end of August 2011 "under Qatar auspices."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Over ten ammunition shipments sponsored by Qatar were allegedly delivered to anti-Gaddhafi forces via Sudan. Dagher, Levinson, and Coker also wrote that some government officials in Tripoli claimed that Ghaddafi's fall did not cause those shipments to be suspended. Weapons allegedly continued to be delivered to Islamist groups also in September 2011, after the removal of Libya's government.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Reuters had reported in May 2011 that rebels from eastern Libya – where Ghaddafi's rule had ended in early February – were negotiating with Qatari banks to "facilitate international money transfers in rebel-held areas, a move aimed at recapitalising banks and boosting the economy through trade." The Qatari banks involved in talks with delegates from the National Transitional Council were Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar National Bank. According to the Reuters report, Qatar was already marketing crude petroleum from oil fields in the territories controlled by the rebels and had sent "gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas" in the same areas.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: Qatar also provided training to fighters based both in eastern Libya and in the Nafusa Mountains, in the Tripoli area. David Roberts reported that Libyan fighters were even brought back to Doha for special training. Finally, on 24 August 2011, "Qatari special forces" were involved in the final assault on Bab al-Azizia compound.


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: After clashes between Government and anti-government forces, allegations arose of the Libyan Gaddafi using foreign mercenaries. The Libyan Government's ambassador to India Ali al-Essawi said that the defections of military units had indeed led to such a decision. Video footage purporting to show this started to leak out of the country. Gaddafi's former Chief of Protocol Nouri Al Mesmari said in an interview with the Al Jazeera that Nigerien, Malian, Chadian and Kenyan mercenaries were among foreign soldiers helping fight the uprising on behalf of Gaddafi. Chadian sources repudiated allegations that mercenaries from Chad were involved in the fighting in Libya. The Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that "Chadians are not sent or recruited in Chad to serve as mercenaries in Libya," and that allegations about Chadian mercenaries were "likely to cause serious physical and material harm to Chadians residing in Libya."


title: First Libyan Civil War

text: According to African Union chairman Jean Ping, the "NTC seems to confuse black people with mercenaries". Ping said that for the rebels, "All blacks are mercenaries. If you do that, it means (that the) one-third of the population of Libya, which is black, is also mercenaries. They are killing people, normal workers, mistreating them."