[Sky News 2011.10.27]恐惧和厌恶-利比亚通往地狱的公路

Jigong

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16096817

Fear And Loathing On Libya's Highway To Hell
            

7:13am UK, Thursday October 27, 2011

            

            Andy Gales, senior foreign news editor

The 600-mile road from Benghazi to Tripoli bears the scars of Nato bombs

Driving from Benghazi to Tripoli is a long way. A very long way. It feels even longer when you are limping on only three decent tyres and a dodgy spare.It has only been possible to drive that journey uninterrupted recently and a Sky News team travelled the route in a single day - from the birthplace of this revolution, past Colonel Gaddafi's last stand in Sirte to the capital.
The 600-mile route snakes along Libya's northern coastline and, barring the scars from Nato bombs which have taken out pro-Gaddafi vehicles, the roads were remarkably smooth - putting some in the UK to shame.
It was, however, one of these vicious potholes in the road caused by a bomb dropped from the skies that caused tyre problem number one.

Our driver, Hakeem, had successfully slalomed his way through until now but this one near Ras Lanuf caught him out and we hit the hole with an almighty crack which shuddered through the whole vehicle.


Nato air strikes hit vehicles along Libya's main routes
It left one of the rear tyres with a tennis ball-sized lump sticking out of the side.
A tyre just waiting to pop and we had not even arrived at Sirte and its roads littered with the debris of war, just waiting to slice through that rubber.

We were a couple of hours from Sirte but what chance of a tyre repair in a city where not much was still standing?
Tyre problem number two was our spare. It had developed a slow puncture since leaving Benghazi. Not good.
We nursed our van into Sirte to film around the shattered District 2 neighbourhood. We followed in Col Gaddafi's final footsteps, with some of the National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters who were in a fierce firefight, which ended in his capture.


Libya's main route links cities in the north of the country
We were now half way through our journey and the tension was rising inside the van each time we drove over holes in the road or the thick ropes stretched across the Tarmac at checkpoints. Groans and choice language accompanied every little bump.

Our local fixer Mat was constantly asked to pass on messages to the driver but they all amounted to the same thing: "Hakeem, go steady!"

So far the journey, which was to total about 12 hours from start to finish, had taken us through Ajdabiyah, Brega, Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad.

All repeatedly won and lost by the NTC since this revolution began in February. Tanks and pick-up trucks still lay burned out in the desert by the roadside, illustrating the key role Nato played here.


War debris in Sirte was not suitable to domestic car tyres
About 30 minutes outside Sirte we spotted some NTC trucks parked outside a tiny hut... which had a pile of tyres outside. Amazing.

Using the most basic of tools, two guys were carrying out running repairs and soon turned to help us.
Unsurprisingly there was nothing they could do for our bulging rear wheel but they found a new valve for our spare and pumped it up.

We put it straight on the van but it was still leaking a little.
Would it carry seven people, all our kit and the damaged wheel the remaining 350 miles to Tripoli?


Bodies of executed Libyans were found in this warehouse
The driver obviously thought so. He put his foot down and we flew through the desert, past Misratah, Zlitan and then Tejoura - on the capital's outskirts.

Finally we pulled up at our hotel. Everyone was amazed and relieved that the van made it.
Hakeem, though, just shrugged. After everything he and his country had been through, he set a higher bar for problems than we did.

After all, he had to drive all the way back to Benghazi with those tyres.
        

Jigong

Jigong

看看北约那“保护”利比亚老百姓的炸弹和导弹的威力！