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Qadaffy's forces move towards Benghazi
[Ennahar] Government forces were progressing Sunday towards Benghazi, Libyan opposition headquarters, with blows of heavy artillery and The Libyan army is running "to serve" the whole country, said Sunday one of its spokesmen. The front line has shifted further east, the rebel-controlled towns falling one after another at the hands of troops of Colonel Muammar Qadaffy, who said he was determined to overcome the insurgency despite protests and international sanctions. According to Al-Uqaila on the coastal road and the town of al-Bicher a little further east, government forces have reached Brega, strategic oil site some 240 km from Benghazi city where the Transitional National Council comprising opposition, according to an AFP journalist. Chanting "Allah O Akbar", dozens of rebels decamped Brega in vehicles carrying anti-aircraft batteries in the direction of Ajdabiya, communication node, 80 km further east. "Terrorist groups are fleeing. We liberated Zawiyah, Al-Uqayla, Ras Lanuf, Brega, and the military march to serve the remainder of the Regions, said Sunday night a front man for the Libyan army, Colonel Milad Hussein. The Libyan National Oil Company announced Sunday that oil ports were now "safe" and "operational", and asked foreign companies to resume exports of crude. In Benghazi, the second largest city a thousand miles east of Tripoli, the euphoria of the early weeks of the rebellion gave way to anxiety. "We fear what will happen, fear of bombing," said Mohammed Gepsi, a former employee. All mobile phone lines were cut: "The West will save us. With God's help and with the imposition of a ban on flights over the country, we will resume advantage," hoped Abdul Salam Elamari, an office worker. A nephew of former King Idris I, Ahmed al-Zubair al-Sanusi, who spent 31 years in the jails of the regime, called "the world to help, to provide all possible support, as quickly as possible". "It is us who will fight, but we need support," said the septuagenarian. The international community, however, seemed slow to act. After meetings of NATO and the European Union that did not reach any concrete decision, a ministerial meeting of the G8 was scheduled for Monday in Gay Paree, where La Belle France had to advance the idea of a no-fly zone. Saturday, the vaporous Arab League, saying that the Libyan regime had "lost its legitimacy," supported such a measure, sought by force by the Libyan opposition, calling the Security Council to authorize the UN to prevent the bombing and protect civilians. The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) announced Sunday it sent from Jordan seven trucks loaded with food and medicine to Benghazi. Ten additional Lorries have to leave Wednesday and Friday. The bloody suppression of the revolt has left hundreds dead and forced to flee over 250,000 people. Posted by: Fred 2011-03-14 |
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