28 Mart 2011 Pazartesi
Libyan rebels sweep westwards
International air raids targeted Muammer Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte for the first time on Sunday night as rebels made a high-speed advance towards the regime stronghold.
A heavy bombardment of Tripoli also began after nightfall, with at least nine loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire heard.
The rapid push westwards by opposition forces, who just over a week ago had been under siege in Benghazi, underlined how air strikes against Colonel Gaddafi’s forces by US, French, Canadian and British jets have changed the dynamics of the conflict.
The rebels, mostly volunteers with little or no training and light weapons, had been overwhelmed by the better equipped and better trained regime forces. But western intervention in the oil-rich nation has meant that Col Gaddafi’s air superiority has vanished, making it highly risky for his troops to move along open desert highways linking east and west.
The opposition advance appeared only possible because of damage inflicted by western air strikes on pro-Gaddafi troop positions in Ajdabiya, seen as the gateway to the east, over the weekend. The rebel forces had spent several days trying to retake the town last week but they were unable to overcome regime troops at the main entrances to Ajdabiya, where they had dug in T-72 tanks and set up artillery positions. But western jets bombed the regime forces’ armour, with at least 22 wrecked tanks littering main junctions in and around Ajdabiya.
The rebels then moved west, retaking the oil town of Brega and Ras Lanuf, meeting little resistance. The advance means the rebels control the main oil refineries and terminals in the east. They reportedly reached the town of Bin Jawad – the most westerly point they controlled briefly this month before being pushed back to Benghazi.
After rediscovering their swagger, the rebels again boasted of moving on to Sirte and Tripoli. “We will not stop. We will break the siege around Misurata then we will reach Bab al-Azizia [Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli],” said Nouri al-Agori, a rebel fighter.
Nato agreed to take command of all international military operations enforcing the UN resolution in Libya at a meeting of its envoys in Brussels on Sunday night. The decision was taken after Nato’s military committee, comprising the top officers from all 28 delegations, had approved plans unanimously to broaden the mission to include ground attacks, if Col Gaddafi’s forces threaten civilians.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato’s secretary-general, said: “Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas . . . Nato will implement all aspects of the UN resolution. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Nato approval was a diplomatic victory for the US and UK, after struggling to bring Turkey and France under the Nato umbrella.
The UK has convened a special conference on Libya on Tuesday. Italy’s foreign ministry said it was talking to Germany “about a co-ordination of a position on key principles for the future of Libya”, to be discussed at the conference in London.
www.ft.com
Etiketler:
Kaydol:
Kayıt Yorumları (Atom)
0 yorum:
Yorum Gönder