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Anxiety mounts in Tripoli as rebels advance
TRIPOLI: Libyas encircled capital is being painfully squeezed as rebel forces fight their way closer and battles along the coastal highway block the citys chief link to the outside world.The road to Tunisia, for months Tripolis main conduit for smuggled petrol, food and other necessities, has been essentially cut off since Saturday, when rebels entered the coastal city of Zawiyah, just 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli. Rebels have also captured areas to the south, leaving Tripoli hemmed in on three sides on land and by the Mediterranean to the north. The citys growing isolation promises to intensify already severe shortages of petrol and electricity caused in large part by sanctions imposed after Libyas uprising began in February. While some sea commerce continues at ports under Qaddafis control, the road closure is a psychological blow to a city that has been pounded by NATO warplanes for months and had seen the Tunisian border a few hours drive away as an escape valve. Now, Tripoli residents are calling off trips abroad to visit relatives or to undergo medical treatment; even diplomats have been turned back on Tripolis western outskirts.
Posted by: Steve White 2011-08-19 |
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