Escapee VanDyke Said to be Fighting Alongside Libyan Rebels

Matthew VanDyke, the UMBC graduate and freelance writer who , has joined rebel forces fighting troops loyal to former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, according to a report in Arabic media that was confirmed by his mother, Sharon VanDyke.

Radio Sawa, an Arabic-language network funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the U.S. Congress, reported on Oct. 3 that VanDyke has become a participant in the battle that is raging at Sirte, hometown of Gadhafi and one of the last strongholds of armed loyalists.

VanDyke "learned the art of fighting" since his Aug. 24 release from the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli and has recently been seen driving a Jeep mounted with a 12.7 mm machine gun, Radio Sawa reported.

"The rebels have put him on a little pedestal," said Sharon VanDyke, who last spoke with Matthew at around 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 1. "They gave him a Jeep to ride around. He's right in the midst of it with the rebels."

When told that the Jeep is reportedly equipped with a machine gun, VanDyke replied, "Oh my lord."

Matthew VanDyke has no previous military experience. "He's not even a hunter," his mother said.

He traveled to Libya to witness historic events unfold, meeting with friends he knew from a previous trip through the country. In March he was arrested in Brega and held in solitary confinement in Abu Salim, a top security prison in Tripoli regarded as the worst in Libya.

Three friends with whom VanDyke was traveling when they were arrested in Brega have not been heard from since and may be imprisoned in Sirte, according to Sharon VanDyke.

For weeks, Sirte has been torn by small arms fire and mortar shelling as rebels fight troops loyal to Gadhafi in one of the last remaining areas where the former leader retains power.

Sharon VanDyke said that Matthew intends to stay in Libya until Sirte is liberated and he learns whether his friends were held there.

"He does realize that if they aren't in Sirte, they're dead," she said.

Sharon VanDyke said that her concerns aside, she respects her son's sense of commitment.

"I wish he wasn't in the midst of it," she said. "I worry a little bit more than I did before [when Matthew was in prison]. But he says that when he makes a commitment he has to honor it. That's how I raised him.

"If he doesn't finsh this out, it will haunt him forever," she said.

Reports suggest that the battle for Sirte will not likely be over soon but is turning into a drawn out and violent clash.

"The war [in Sirte] is very difficult," said Fadel Lamen, president of the American Libyan Council. "The rebels have shown a lot of courage."

VanDyke "is putting himself in harm's way," said Lamen. "It's a very dangerous situation."

Now he may be in Libya without a lifeline to power in Washington.

During his captivity in Abu Salim prison, Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-MD, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, had worked to locate VanDyke in the hopes that he would be released--a task complicated by the lack of diplomatic relations between the United States and Libya.

After his Aug. 24 escape from Abu Salim prison, VanDyke had an opportunity to leave Libya--a ride home that he declined.

"Matthew’s mother asked for my help finding him and bringing him back to the United States," Ruppersberger told Patch. "I am concerned and surprised that he didn’t take advantage of it."

"He's really on his own now," Sharon VanDyke said. "He's in a more dangerous situation now."

In the meantime, VanDyke doesn't know when she will speak with her son again. Tripoli has been without power since August. Matthew can only call home every 5-7 days, when he is able to borrow a satellite phone.

"Communication has become more sporadic since most of the journalists have left Tripoli," she said. "Libya isn't news anymore."