Libya: Opposition Minister of Finance "We Have Only 1000 Trained Fighters" (Fahim)
Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 7:13
Photo: Scott NelsonUPDATE 0815 GMT: Opposition spokesman Mustafa Gheriani, a former construction worker, has told the BBC that there are 17,000 insurgents in the field, but most of them are not proper soldiers. Many are civilians, such as music teachers, pastry cooks and accountants. Replying to the suggestion that the fighters are chaotic, Gheriani says, "That's not fair. A learning curve is taking place right now."
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After the uprising, the rebels stumbled as they tried to organize. They did a poor job of defining themselves when Libyans and the outside world tried to figure out what they stood for. And now, as they try to defeat Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s armed forces and militias, they will have to rely on allied airstrikes and young men with guns because the army that rebel military leaders bragged about consists of only about 1,000 trained men.