Rebels form military council in Libya's Benghazi

AFP and AP, Tuesday 1 Mar 2011

Anti-Gaddafi forces form military council in the East and defend city in the West. Int'l pressure steps up as Gaddafi plans more attacks, using elite squad

Libya
Defected Libyan soldiers stand guard with their weapons outside an army base in the eastern town of Ajdabiya, Libya, (AP).

Anti-regime leaders in Benghazi said Tuesday they have formed a military council in the eastern Libyan city which has become the hub of efforts to topple Moammar Gaddafi.


The council, comprising officers who joined protesters against Gaddafi's rule, will liaise with similar groups in other freed cities in the east but it was not immediately clear if there were plans for a regional command.


"A military council was formed last night," said Salwa Bughaighi, a member of a coalition of organisers who earlier this week set up a civilian council to run the city's municipal affairs.


She said the list of members of the military committee had not yet been finalised but it did not include General Abdel Fatah Yunis, a former interior minister who sided with protesters in Benghazi.


The former minister gained respect among any protesters after he defected to their side during the fighting in Benghazi.


The council would liaise with similar organisations in other freed cities in the east, Bughaighi said.
Fathi Terbeel, a prominent lawyer who is also a member of the coalition, said there were still disputes over the membership of the council and added it was still unclear when a regional command would be established.


"There are still reservations over the names. The people are favouring officers who joined the revolution from the start and did not hesitate," he said.


Gaddafi faces growing pressure both at home and from the West following a show of defiance by the veteran leader the US dubbed "delusional."


Pro-Gaddafi loyalists tried to retake a key city near the capital overnight.


Government opponents in rebel-held Zawiya repelled an attempt by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi to retake the city closest to the capital in six hours of fighting overnight, witnesses said Tuesday.


The rebels, who include mutinous army forces, are armed with tanks, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. They fought back pro-Gaddafi troops, armed with the same weapons, who attacked from six directions. There was no word on casualties in Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli.


A similar attempt was made by pro-Gadhafi forces Monday night to retake the city of Misrata, Libya's third-largest city 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli. Rebel forces there repelled the attackers.


"We will not give up Zawiya at any price," said one witness. "We know it is significant strategically. They will fight to get it, but we will not give up. We managed to defeat them because our spirits are high and their spirits are zero."


Gaddafi, Libya's ruler of 41 years, has already lost control of the eastern half of the country since protests demanding his ouster began two weeks ago. He still holds the capital Tripoli and nearby cities.


The witnesses said youths from Zawiya were stationed on the rooftops of high-rise buildings in the city to monitor the movements of the pro-Gaddafi forces and sound the warning if they though an attack was imminent. They also spoke about generous offers of cash by the regime for the rebels to hand control of the city back to authorities.


Gaddafi has launched the most brutal crackdown of any Arab regime facing a wave of anti-government uprisings spreading quickly around the Middle East. International pressure to end the crackdown has escalated dramatically in the past few days.


The US moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open, including patrols of the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.


France said it would fly aid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country. The European Union imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions, following the lead of the US and the UN. The EU was also considering the creation of a no-fly zone over Libya. And the US and Europe were freezing billions in Libya's foreign assets.


"Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to govern, and it is time for him to go without further violence or delay," US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. "No option is off the table. That of course includes a no-fly zone," she added. British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers: "We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets" to deal with Gaddafi's regime.


Gaddafi laughed off a question from ABC News about whether he would step down, as the Obama administration is demanding.


"My people love me. They would die for me," he said. ABC reported that Gaddafi invited the United Nations or any other organisation to Libya on a fact-finding mission.


Gaddafi's remarks were met with derision in Washington.


"It sounds, just frankly, delusional," said US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice. She added that Gaddafi's behavior, including laughing on camera in TV interviews amid the chaos, "underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality."


On Monday night, an Associated Press reporter saw a large, pro-Gaddafi force massed on the western edge of Zawiya, with about a dozen armored vehicles along with tanks and jeeps mounted with anti-aircraft guns.


An officer said they were from the elite Khamis Brigade, named after one of Gaddafi's sons who commands it. US diplomats have said the brigade is the best-equipped force in Libya.


"We were able to repulse the attack. We damaged a tank with an RPG. The mercenaries fled after that," said a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals.


He said Gaddafi called Zawiya's influential tribal leader Mohammed al-Maktouf and warned him that if the rebels don't leave the city's main square by early Tuesday, they will be hit by warplanes. "We are expecting a major battle," the resident said, adding that the rebels killed eight soldiers and mercenaries Monday.


Another resident of Zawiya said he heard gunfire well into the night on the outskirts of town.


In Misrata, pro-Gadhafi troops who control part of an air base on the city's outskirts tried to advance Monday. But they were repulsed by opposition forces, who included residents with automatic weapons and defected army units allied with them, one of the opposition fighters said.


No casualties were reported and the fighter claimed that his side had captured eight soldiers, including a senior officer.


The opposition controls most of the air base, and the fighter said dozens of anti-Gaddafi gunmen have arrived from farther east in recent days as reinforcements.

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