{"id":8964,"date":"2011-10-20T18:06:43","date_gmt":"2011-10-20T18:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=8964"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:42:41","slug":"rebels-in-waiting-the-children-as-young-as-seven-being-trained-to-fight-on-the-front-lines-against-gaddafi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2011\/10\/rebels-in-waiting-the-children-as-young-as-seven-being-trained-to-fight-on-the-front-lines-against-gaddafi\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebeldes en potencia: Ni\u00f1os de tan solo siete a\u00f1os que est\u00e1n siendo entrenados para luchar en el frente contra Gadafi."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With smiles on their faces, these young boys could be playing soldiers with their friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the youngsters are in fact helping rebel fighters in Libya to overcome Colonel Gaddafi’s troops as the bitter civil war rumbles on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boys as young as seven have been pictured carrying automatic weapons and cleaning rifles in Misrata as rebel forces battle loyalist troops in the outskirts of Zlitan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although they do not appear to have been involved on the front line, the boys are clearly being trained to operate the weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the uprising broke out in February, armed rebels have seized control of much of Libya’s east – where they set up an administration in Benghazi.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also control the coastal city of Misrata and much of the Nafusa mountain range south-west of the capital Tripoli.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After a string of victories in recent months, rebel forces have expanded the area under their control in the mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebel fighters have also begun constructing makeshift weapons to take on the better-equipped loyalist troops.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heavy weapons are in short supply in Misrata, but ingenius fighters have created workshops where impromptu missile launchers and machine guns are being welded from spare parts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sadiq Mubakar Krain, a former oil company foreman, is busy welding some of the weapons using scavenged equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pointing to a 16-tube rocket launcher, he said: ‘This is the first time I make one of these.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘I have learned to make other things and to weld, so God willing, I have got this one right.’<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The workshop is busy manufacturing new housings for heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns that will be mounted on the back of pickup trucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nato air raids on military targets have decreased, leaving rebel forces with a lack of firepower to combat the better-equipped Gaddafi troops.<\/span><\/p>\n

It comes after the Human Rights Watch condemned rebels for looting shops, homes and medical facilities in towns seized in the western mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Homes belonging to Gaddafi supporters are also believed to have been torched.<\/span><\/p>\n

A report by the New-York based group called on rebel commanders to hold their forces responsible for damaging civilian property.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Stork, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa in the group, said: ‘Opposition forces have an obligation to protect civilians and their property in the areas they control so people feel they can return home safely and rebuild their lives.’<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With smiles on their faces, these young boys could be playing soldiers with their friends. But the youngsters are in fact helping rebel fighters in..<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,110],"tags":[197,242,347],"class_list":["post-8964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-youth","tag-imperialism","tag-libya","tag-workers-struggle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/redphoenix.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/article-2014236-0CFC0A2700000578-692_634x422_8964_c53fa.jpg?fit=634%2C422&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39654,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964\/revisions\/39654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}