Libyan opposition meeting with British diplomats
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 4, 2011 -- Updated 0633 GMT (1433 HKT)
Jones: Goal in Libya is regime change
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Rebel fighters, retreating east of al-Brega, report an ambush and
mines
* One person died and 15 were injured in two mortar blasts Sunday, a
hospital doctor says
* NATO says it is investigating a report that rebel fighters were killed in
an airstrike
* Rebel spokesman: Rebel forces went to assess airstrike damage when they
were hit
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- British diplomats were on the ground in Libya meeting
with key figures of the opposition, but no decision has been made by Western
allies on whether to arm them, the UK Foreign Office said Sunday.
"What we are engaged in is protecting the civilian population in Libya, which
we have done with a lot of success ... when people look at what we're doing in
Libya they do have to look at what would be happening if we didn't do what we'd
done over the last few weeks and it would have been a catastrophic situation,"
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
A spokesperson for the office said the goal of the British diplomatic team is
to build on the work of a previous team and to "establish further information
about (the opposition), its aims, and more broadly, what is happening in Libya."
Meanwhile, the United States agreed to extend until Monday the use of its
strike aircraft over Libya due to poor weather conditions over the past few
days, NATO spokesman Oana Lungescu said.
"These aircraft will continue to conduct and support alliance air-to-ground
missions throughout this weekend," he said.
The deadly battles in Libya forged ahead Sunday as pro-government forces
shelled a medical clinic in the city of Misrata, killing one person and
wounding 15 others, a hospital source said.
The source, a doctor who was not identified for security reasons, told CNN two
people were injured by an initial mortar blast. The rest of the injured were
wounded by a second mortar blast when they went to the scene of the first
attack to help victims.
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One of the injured is a 14-year-old child who suffered a fractured skull and is
in a coma, the doctor said Sunday.
The clinic that was attacked had evacuated patients because of recent attacks,
said another doctor at a Misrata hospital that received the patients. But it
was being guarded by opposition "fighters and young people" who were injured.
Elsewhere in the city, the sound of heavy shelling was heard coming from the
port area, a resident said.
He said troops supporting Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi surrounded the city,
with snipers perched on rooftops of buildings.
Misrata's port is under the control of the rebels and is considered the main
site of aid for the people in the embattled city. A bombing in the port area
could prevent aid ships from reaching Misrata.
Sunday's events are the latest in the struggle between forces loyal to Gadhafi
and opposition members seeking an end to his nearly 42-year rule.
Rebel fighters retreated east of the oil town al-Brega on Sunday. Fighters said
there was some sort of ambush, they saw roadside mines and they needed to get
more ammunition. They regrouped about 30 to 35 kilometers (18 1/2 to 22 miles)
east of al-Brega.
NATO is leading international military operations in the country following a
U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing force and the enforcement of a
no-fly zone to protect civilians.
NATO airstrikes hit several rebel vehicles and killed at least 13 rebel
fighters, spokesmen for the Libyan opposition said Saturday. Seven others were
wounded.
"Based on the information we have, they (the opposition forces who were hit)
heard the airstrikes and went ahead to see what the damage was, and that's when
they got hit," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said. "They were told to
stay back, but they jumped the gun."
NATO was investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
"NATO takes any reports of civilian casualties very seriously, but exact
details are hard to verify, as we have no reliable sources on the ground,"
NATO's Lungescu said.
On Saturday, notions of a cease-fire in the country quickly faded as a battle
for control continued in al-Brega. It was not immediately clear who had control
of the coastal city, which has changed hands six times in as many weeks under
the dramatically shifting circumstances of the Libyan war.
A former Obama national security adviser said Sunday that the international
coalition in Libya cannot leave the country until Gadhafi leaves power.
"The problem is that while everybody wants to see Gadhafi leave, either be
removed or leave on his own, that end state is not yet clear," Ret. Gen. Jim
Jones said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "Unfortunately most people
want perfect clarity in a situation where clarity doesn't really exist yet."
Last week, Libyan opposition leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil laid out cease-fire
conditions that included freedom of expression for the Libyan people and the
removal of snipers, mercenaries and militias from western cities. Ultimately,
he said, the opposition's goal remains regime change in Libya.
But government officials spurned the opposition cease-fire proposal.
Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters in Tripoli on Friday the offer
included "silly conditions."
"They are asking us to withdraw from our own cities and open our cities to
people, who are holding up arms, who are tribal, violent, no unified
leadership, al Qaeda links, and no one knows who they are," he said. "If this
is not mad, then I don't know what it is."
Rebel spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga sought to clarify the opposition's position
Saturday.
"There is no, and was no, negotiation on a cease-fire with Colonel Gadhafi's
dictatorship," he said at a news conference.
He repeated the opposition demands that Gadhafi halt all military action, end
the sieges laid on cities like Misrata and allow free speech and assembly.
Sources close to Gadhafi have told CNN that political solutions are still
possible but that the Libyan leader would relinquish power only to others
within his inner circle.
The rebels have been hampered by a lack of organization and training on heavy
weaponry when confronting the better-trained, better-armed forces of Gadhafi,
who is under investigation for alleged crimes against humanity by the
International Criminal Court.
CNN's Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson, Reza Sayah, Eve Bower and Yousuf Basil
contributed to this report
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