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| Africa North | |
| As rebels prepare for push on Tripoli, France grows impatient | |
| 2011-07-12 | |
France expressed impatience over the weekend at the inability to reach a political solution to the crisis after months of static fighting, and stepped up pressure on rebels to negotiate an end to the conflict. But French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Monday the NATO-led alliance still needed to keep up its military pressure on Qaddafi’s army and reiterated that his stepping down was a necessary condition for an end to the conflict. France also denied comments by one of Gadaffi’s sons that it was in direct talks with the Libyan leader’s government. At one of Libya’s two major front lines, Misrata, rebels were dug into defensive positions and conserving ammunition, getting ready to push against pro-Qaddafi forces in the neighboring town of Zlitan. Zlitan is the first in a chain of coastal towns blocking the rebels on a westward march to the capital, Tripoli. “Right now we are just waiting for ammunition and getting ready to go, but in my opinion if we had more ammunition we could already be in Zlitan,” said rebel fighter Ali Bashir Swayeba, a 29-year-old dentist. While a Reuters reporter near the front said fighting was more quiet than on Friday, there were still periodic bursts of fire and an occasional explosion of a Grad rocket. At the nearby field hospital, medical workers said there were nine injuries, a quiet day for a front that regularly sees several deaths and a score of injuries. The rebels have refused to hold talks as long as Qaddafi remains in power, a stance that before now none of NATO’s major powers had publicly challenged. A son of the Libyan leader, Saif Al-Islam, told Algerian newspaper El Khabar in an interview on Monday that Qaddafi’s government was in talks with the French government. Speaking from Tripoli, he was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “The truth is that we are negotiating with France and not with the rebels.” “France said: ‘When we reach an agreement with you (Tripoli), we will force the (rebel) council to cease fire,’” he was quoted as saying. France’s Foreign Ministry denied it was in talks with Qaddafi’s government. With the conflict stalemated, cracks are emerging inside the NATO alliance. Some member states are balking at the burden on their recession-hit finances, and many are frustrated there has been no decisive breakthrough. There was no immediate reaction to the French minister’s comments from the rebel leadership at its headquarters in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Rebel forces trying to march on Tripoli have made modest gains in the past week, but the fighting on Monday underlined it would be a long slog. In the Western Mountains region southwest of Tripoli, rebels again came under fire from Qaddafi’s forces. A rebel spokesman in Nalut, Mohammed, said rebels were able to destroy two houses used as ammunition warehouses near Libya’s border with Tunisia. Qaddafi’s forces launched a heavy artillery bombardment to try to push back rebel fighters who last week seized the village of Al-Qawalish, 100 km south of Tripoli. Al-Qawalish is a strategic battleground because if the rebels manage to advance beyond it, they will reach the main highway leading north into Tripoli. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Gahhhh! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-07-12 09:40 |