--- title: Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order | TIME description: Abigail Hauslohner reports from eastern Libya, where she meets civilians turned rebel soldiers who battle the much-better-armed forces of the Gaddafi regime canonical: https://time.com/video/CaUxAZNo/ og:title: Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order og:description: Abigail Hauslohner reports from eastern Libya, where she meets civilians turned rebel soldiers who battle the much-better-armed forces of the Gaddafi regime og:url: https://time.com/video/CaUxAZNo/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/CaUxAZNo/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order twitter:description: Abigail Hauslohner reports from eastern Libya, where she meets civilians turned rebel soldiers who battle the much-better-armed forces of the Gaddafi regime twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/CaUxAZNo/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order [Watch (HLS stream): Libyan Rebels Have Passion, Lack Order](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CaUxAZNo.m3u8) (4:35)  _Published 2011-03-11. Abigail Hauslohner reports from eastern Libya, where she meets civilians turned rebel soldiers who battle the much-better-armed forces of the Gaddafi regime_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:10 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Chechen Rebel](/video/TbUK5XMa/) ### Chechen Rebel [Purging Libya's Schools of Gaddafi's Propaganda](/video/xmXKZXli/) ### Purging Libya's Schools of Gaddafi's Propaganda [Command Post: Was it Right For the U.S. to Formally Recognize the Libyan Rebels?](/video/7v1xSdX1/) ### Command Post: Was it Right For the U.S. to Formally Recognize the Libyan Rebels? --- ## Transcript >> This is Abigail Hauslohner reporting for TIME from eastern Libya. I've been out on the coastal road here between the towns of Ajdabiya and Ras Lanuf for the past couple of days. And this is where Libyan rebel forces are now in the middle of a major battle against forces royalty, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The rebels have been in control of the eastern section of this country. That's from Benghazi to the Egyptian border since around February 20th, but over the past week, they've been pushing west. On March 5th, they gained control of the oil town of Ras Lanuf, which is about 250 miles southwest of Benghazi. Then, a few days later, when the rebels tried to advance to the town of Bin Jawad, government forces launched a counter attack with war planes, helicopters, tanks and rocket- propelled grenades. -[ Foreign Language ] >> How long ago? >> I think [ unk ] but I think we need just some time. We need time, just the time because we are surrounding them. You see? >> What are we hearing right now? What are these sounds? >> Those are the heavy artilleries. They are shooting us. >> They are shooting us? >> Yeah, but we have all these RPG and we are [ unk ]. We are trying to [ unk ] the sites. We are trying to surround them in sites. >> Okay. >> They will shoot, shoot, and they will finish. >> Right now, the only thing that's clear is that Libyan uprising is devolving into a civil war. And it's far less clear whether the rebels are prepared for that. >> They asked us to go mostly because they needed the Jews to talk to [ unk ]. We thought that it's time for attack. And after that, we got another order to come to Brega because they're under attack, too. And when we got towards Brega, they gave me an anti- aircraft machine gun. >> Most of the fighters here are volunteers and it's largely a mishmash of former low- ranking soldiers and teachers, bankers, and oil workers with little to no previous fighting experience. >> I am a bankerman and I come to fight here. I am from Tobruk. >> Just want to volunteer and I just didn't wanna stay home. >> You want to help? >> Yeah. >> What do you do normally? What's your job? >> I'm a student. I'm a writer / player. >> That reality, that unpreparedness, has so far translated into a situation on the front lines that is extremely chaotic. We're in sort of a mud max landscape. The checkpoint about 5 kilometers south of Ajdabiya and so people here over the last few days have been firing their guns a lot to the air and setting off anti- aircraft guns. We saw biological RPG into the sky. >> Well, actually, I don't have any background about weapons, but it's like the first time I fired, it was like firing on cars with big weapons like 12. 5 and 14. 5, and that was the first time I shoot. The next time was an airplane shooting. >> You shot at an airplane? >> But I didn't shoot it, but I was firing on it. >> The next big city on the map is Sirte, and that's a major regime's stronghold. There is also no clear leadership in the rebel ranks, which makes capturing Sirte all the more daunting. But we're still seeing trucks of fighters pouring in from across the east. -[ unk ] get them now. Most of Benghazi, you know, almost all of these people are coming from Benghazi. >> And even with the mounting casualties, the scene at these checkpoints still resembles something more like a party at times. The rebels say they're doing it to celebrate the gains they've made so far. A lot of people still can't believe that they've pushed Gaddafi's regime out of eastern Libya. 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