http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=24440
Gaddafi tanks and jets strike deeper into rebel heartland
10/03/2011
Rebel fighters opposing Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi run for cover as they
hear incoming shells near Sidra and a few kms from the north-central Libyan
town of Ras Lanuf on March 10, 2011. (AFP)
A rebel fighter opposing Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi calls on others to
follow him as he heads towards the frontline near Sidra and a few kms from the
north-central Libyan town of Ras Lanuf on March 10, 2011. (AFP)
Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi speaks during an interview with TRT
Turkish television reporter Mehmet Akif Ersoy at the Rixos hotel in Tripoli
March 8, 2011. (Reuters)
RAS LANUF, (Reuters) - Libyan tanks fired on rebel positions in the oil port of
Ras Lanuf and warplanes hit another oil hub further east on Thursday as Muammar
Gaddafi carried counter-attacks deeper into the insurgent heartland.
State television said in late afternoon that the army had driven rebels out of
Ras Lanuf. The insurgents denied it, but said government forces were heavily
bombarding it and thrusting well into the Mediterranean coastal town.
The rebels took an important step towards international legitimacy when France
recognised their national council. But while NATO and the EU discussed what
measures they might take, the U.S. director of national intelligence forecast
that a well-equipped Gaddafi would prevail over the rebels in the end.
European Union foreign ministers could not agree at their Brussels meeting over
whether the 27-member bloc as a whole should recognise the anti-Gaddafi
movement, although they did decide to tighten punitive sanctions on Gaddafi's
government.
The EU ministers also urged Gaddafi to quit immediately.
At parallel talks, NATO foreign ministers discussed imposing a "no-fly" zone
over Libya to stop the government using jets and helicopters against the
outgunned rebels, who seized a string of cities east and west of Tripoli early
in the three-week-old war to end Gaddafi's 41 years of iron-fisted rule.
But NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said this could happen only
with a demonstrable need, a clear legal basis and firm regional support, not
all of which now apply.
EU diplomats explained that a legal basis would require evidence of war crimes
by Gaddafi's forces against civilians, of which there are unconfirmed reports
but no documented evidence.
Rasmussen also saw the risk of Libya becoming a divided, failed state that
could become a haven for terrorists. "We strongly urge the government of Libya
to stop violence and allow a peaceful transition to democracy," he said.
Despite rebel appeals to take the skies away from Gaddafi's forces, no quick
action had been expected as NATO leaders want broader U.N. endorsement for
political cover. Russia and China oppose such intervention and would have a
veto in any U.N. vote.
Establishing a no fly zone would be an act of war as it would require knocking
out Libya's air defence system. It is the second largest in the Middle East,
with 31 major surface-to-air missile sites, the U.S. intelligence chief said on
Thursday.
While oil prices have been kept high by the bombardments in the east of the
Arab North African state, there was no clear sign of deliberate intent by
Gaddafi to ruin oil infrastructure.
GADDAFI PIERCING REBEL HEARTLAND
More than 500 km (300 miles) east of his main bastion in the capital Tripoli,
Gaddafi's warplanes and gunboats off-shore bombarded rebels in Ras Lanuf.
Projectiles crashed near a Libyan Emirates Oil Refinery Company building.
At least two tanks were seen bearing down on ragged rebel lines outside Ras
Lanuf and opening fire.
Rebel fighters said Ras Lanuf's residential district, including the vicinity of
its hospital, came under bombardment and one said government forces were
advancing into the area, backed by rocket fire from sea, air and ground.
Insurgents also reported an air strike on Brega, another oil port 90 km (50
miles) east of Ras Lanuf, indicating that Gaddafi loyalists had not only halted
a westwards insurgent push in its tracks but were making inroads into their
eastern hinterland.
Insurgents fired anti-aircraft guns towards warplanes and rockets out to sea
towards navy ships, without visible effect.
GADDAFI WILL PREVAIL--US SPY CHIEF
Gaddafi is "hunkering down," showing no inclination to cede power, and "we
believe Gaddafi is in this for the long haul," U.S. Director of National
Intelligence James Clapper told a U.S. Senate hearing.
Clapper said he expected Gaddafi's forces, with better equipment and logistics,
would prevail over the long term.
Libyan state television said rebels were ousted on Thursday from the port and
airport of Es Sider, a further oil terminus about 40 km (25 miles) up the coast
west of Ras Lanuf.
OPEC member Libya was turning away tankers from ports as storage depots dried
up because of supply disruptions caused by the fighting. Libya's oil trade has
virtually been paralysed as banks refuse to clear payments in dollars due to
U.S. sanctions, cutting off major importers such as Italy and France.
The intensified fighting near oil installations kept crude prices hovering near
recent 2.5-year highs, with Brent crude trading at $114.55 a barrel.
FADING REBEL FORTUNES?
The rebels, hitherto bursting with confidence that they would soon charge
hundreds of km (miles) up the coast, overwhelming any resistance, to capture
Gaddafi's main bastion Tripoli, now conceded they were struggling to hold
ground against the government's vastly superior firepower.
"(Gaddafi) might take it. With planes, tanks, mortars and rockets, he might
take it," said rebel fighter Basim Khaled.
"A no-fly zone would be great," said rebel fighter Salem al-Burqy, echoing the
view of many beleaguered cohorts.
Gaddafi's counter-offensive has stymied a rebel advance from their eastern
power base of Benghazi. They were forced to withdraw from the front-line town
of Bin Jawad, just west of Ras Lanuf, after coming under heavy shelling earlier
this week.
In the west, Gaddafi's army laid siege to try to starve out insurgents clinging
to parts of the shattered city of Zawiyah, strategically significant because it
is close to his powerbase in the capital Tripoli, after fierce see-saw battles
this week.
One fighter said rebels had retaken the heart of Zawiyah, the closest city --
50 km (30 miles) west -- to Tripoli, from the army overnight. Zawiyah's centre
appeared to change hands twice during the day in a fierce battle.
A doctor in a Tripoli hospital said up to 50 wounded government soldiers had
been brought in from Zawiyah.
Mohamed, a Libyan in exile abroad who got through to a relative on the
outskirts of Zawiyah on Thursday morning, said it was simply not clear who was
winning the battle for the city but the army had it under siege to break the
rebels' will.
"Yesterday (rebel sympathisers) tried to bring food and medicine from Subratha
but failed. Government troops surround Zawiyah from everywhere. It is unclear
who controls the centre. It changes all the time. It's street to street
fighting."
Authorities have kept journalists away from Zawiyah.
FRENCH RECOGNITION
France became the first significant country on Thursday to recognise the rebel
Libyan National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
An aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy said an ambassador would go to Benghazi
and a Libyan envoy would be received in Paris.
Britain's Foreign Office suggested it could make the same opening as France,
saying Libyan National Council members were "valid interlocutors" and Gaddafi
should step down now.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would meet Libyan opposition
figures in the United States and during a trip to Egypt and Tunisia, Libya's
neighbours, next week.
In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Libya had
descended into civil war with increasing numbers of wounded civilians arriving
in hospitals in the east.
ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger called on Libyan authorities to grant the
humanitarian agency access to western areas including the capital Tripoli and
reminded both sides that civilians and medical facilities must not be targeted.
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