Reports: Foreign Mercenaries Fighting in Libya

As opposition forces in Libya gain ground, there are reports that Col. Gadhafi has hired foreign mercenaries to help bolster his fight to stay in power. Mohamed Yehia, online editor for the BBC Arabic service in London explains that although the mercenaries don’t get paid very much, it is easier for Gadhafi to hire them than to ask his Libyan’s to fire on their own people. The origins of this force can be traced back to the 1980’s, when Col. Gadhafi argued that, as part of the Arab and Islamic world, Libya was open to anyone who was a Muslim. At that time he began to recruit a new movement, called the Islamic Legion from countries in the region.