Gaddafi forces take Brega once again
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Alkindus
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Eventhough foreign forces are involved there seems to be a stalemate, no clear winner whatsoever. What do you think will happen nextt or wat do you think should happen next etc?
Gaddafi forces take Brega
Rebel forces retreat over 20km east towards Ajdabiya, as Gaddafi troops mount fresh offensive to take key oil town.
Last Modified: 05 Apr 2011 18:30
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Rebel forces were forced to retreat from Brega after having made some gains [Reuters]
Libyan rebel forces have abandoned the oil town of Brega and are heading east toward Ajdabiya in the face of a renewed offensive by troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Both sides exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, but just a day after rebels had taken over a residential part of the city, they were forced to retreat.
Opposition forces said they came under rocket and artillery fire while they attempted to fight back with mortars and rockets of their own.
Click here to follow our Libya live blog
"When you see this, the situation is very bad. We cannot match their weapons,'' said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the opposition army. "If the [coalition] planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
Early in the day, a coalition airstrike targeted eight government vehicles that were advancing on opposition positions, rebel officer Abdel-Basset Abibi said.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, in Ajdabiya, reported that opposition forces had been pushed back 20-30km east of Brega towards Ajdabiya by the Gaddafi forces' mid-morning offensive.
"Since this morning we were trying to get as close as possible to Brega. We reached the junction on the road that would lead inside that town, but since mid-morning, opposition forces have been coming under a rolling artillery and mortar barrage," she reported.
Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, said that NATO's new "number one priority" was the western town of Misurata, where residents say they have been besieged for weeks by pro-Gaddafi forces.
"Misurata is a number one priority because of the situation on the ground over there. We have confirmation that in Misurata tanks are being dispersed, being hidden, [and] humans being used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to identify targets," he said.
Van Uhm said that Gaddafi's troops have been adjusting their tactics to deal with the threat from coalition airstrikes, travelling in trucks and light vehicles to the front line and hiding their tanks and armoured vehicles from sight.
He said NATO had so far taken out 30 per cent of Gaddafi's military power, and had struck targets near Misurata on Monday.
Rebel oil export
Meanwhile, the rebels plan to load their first oil shipments on Tuesday.
The tanker Equator, which can carry a million barrels of crude, was due to arrive at the eastern port of Marsa el Hariga, near Tobruk, satellite ship tracking data showed even as a Suezmax tanker docked at the port of Tobruk.
IN VIDEO
Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports on
current state of Libya's oil industry
A full load of oil on either tanker would be worth millions of dollars, helping the rebel leadership to pay salaries and bolster its image as a potential government capable of taking over.
The last oil shipment to leave Libya was on March 18.
It is unclear at the moment who is buying the oil, though the Suezmax tanker is flying under a Liberian flag, and the Equator is operated by a Greek company.
The frontline in the conflict has been bogged down around Brega for nearly a week, with Gaddafi's advantage in tanks and artillery cancelled out by NATO-led air strikes which effectively back the rebels.
After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the pro-democracy fighters had at least held their ground in this oil town for several days, putting their best trained forces into battle for the town and keeping disorganised volunteers away.
Abibi, the rebel officer, said the two sides battled inside the city until nightfall on Monday and then the rebels moved back to the outskirts. The night passed without much incident, until the coalition airstrike on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, columns of opposition fighters drove up the main coastal highway, regaining ground they had given up the day before, but the effective use of artillery and landmines by Gaddafi's troops kept them at bay.
Tuesday's Gaddafi offensive, however, broke the pattern.
"We haven't seen such a push [by Gaddafi forces] for a few days, over the past few days it actually seemed as if the opposition forces were able to hold some sort of position around the town of Brega. Well, today the situation was completely different. The Gaddafi forces were much more aggresive than they had been in the past days, it seem that maybe they had received new supplies, but certainly they have been pounding much more intensely than over the past few days," our correspondent said.
Mustafa Gheirani, a spokesman for the opposition's Transition National Council in Benghazi, said that while "setbacks" had been suffered, the opposition would fight on.
"There is no revolution without setbacks. But the people will win. Gaddafi cannot rule Libya with his machine - his militias and his mercenaries ... We are committed to fighting this tyrant, and either we will drive him out or he will rule a country with no people in it," he said.
Christopher Stevens, the former deputy chief of the US mission in Tripoli, has now arrived in Benghazi to hold talks with members of the opposition's TNC. The US has not formally recognised the TNC as Libya's legitimate government, as several other countries have, and Stevens is in the country to "get to know [its] members", a US official told Reuters.
On Tuesday, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon's spokesman, said the US was still undecided on whether or not to help arm the rebels, but would be discussing providing "non-lethal" assistance in the coming days.
General Carter Hamm, the US general in charge of Africa Command, under whom US military operations in Libya fell, was to testify before US lawmakers in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Stalemate
In the Libyan capital,Tripoli, meanwhile, angered by fuel shortages and long queues for basic goods caused by sanctions and air strikes, some residents began openly predicting Gaddafi's imminent downfall.
Mussa Ibrahim, a Gaddafi spokesman, said Libya was ready for a "political solution" with world powers and offered a "constitution, election, anything. But the leader has to lead this forward".
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi ended a trip to Greece, Turkey and Malta to set out the government position.
Turkey is expecting an envoy to visit from the opposition in the coming days and is listening to both sides.
"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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Gaddafi forces take Brega
Rebel forces retreat over 20km east towards Ajdabiya, as Gaddafi troops mount fresh offensive to take key oil town.
Last Modified: 05 Apr 2011 18:30
Email ArticlePrint ArticleShare ArticleSend Feedback
Rebel forces were forced to retreat from Brega after having made some gains [Reuters]
Libyan rebel forces have abandoned the oil town of Brega and are heading east toward Ajdabiya in the face of a renewed offensive by troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Both sides exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, but just a day after rebels had taken over a residential part of the city, they were forced to retreat.
Opposition forces said they came under rocket and artillery fire while they attempted to fight back with mortars and rockets of their own.
Click here to follow our Libya live blog
"When you see this, the situation is very bad. We cannot match their weapons,'' said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the opposition army. "If the [coalition] planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
Early in the day, a coalition airstrike targeted eight government vehicles that were advancing on opposition positions, rebel officer Abdel-Basset Abibi said.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, in Ajdabiya, reported that opposition forces had been pushed back 20-30km east of Brega towards Ajdabiya by the Gaddafi forces' mid-morning offensive.
"Since this morning we were trying to get as close as possible to Brega. We reached the junction on the road that would lead inside that town, but since mid-morning, opposition forces have been coming under a rolling artillery and mortar barrage," she reported.
Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, said that NATO's new "number one priority" was the western town of Misurata, where residents say they have been besieged for weeks by pro-Gaddafi forces.
"Misurata is a number one priority because of the situation on the ground over there. We have confirmation that in Misurata tanks are being dispersed, being hidden, [and] humans being used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to identify targets," he said.
Van Uhm said that Gaddafi's troops have been adjusting their tactics to deal with the threat from coalition airstrikes, travelling in trucks and light vehicles to the front line and hiding their tanks and armoured vehicles from sight.
He said NATO had so far taken out 30 per cent of Gaddafi's military power, and had struck targets near Misurata on Monday.
Rebel oil export
Meanwhile, the rebels plan to load their first oil shipments on Tuesday.
The tanker Equator, which can carry a million barrels of crude, was due to arrive at the eastern port of Marsa el Hariga, near Tobruk, satellite ship tracking data showed even as a Suezmax tanker docked at the port of Tobruk.
IN VIDEO
Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports on
current state of Libya's oil industry
A full load of oil on either tanker would be worth millions of dollars, helping the rebel leadership to pay salaries and bolster its image as a potential government capable of taking over.
The last oil shipment to leave Libya was on March 18.
It is unclear at the moment who is buying the oil, though the Suezmax tanker is flying under a Liberian flag, and the Equator is operated by a Greek company.
The frontline in the conflict has been bogged down around Brega for nearly a week, with Gaddafi's advantage in tanks and artillery cancelled out by NATO-led air strikes which effectively back the rebels.
After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the pro-democracy fighters had at least held their ground in this oil town for several days, putting their best trained forces into battle for the town and keeping disorganised volunteers away.
Abibi, the rebel officer, said the two sides battled inside the city until nightfall on Monday and then the rebels moved back to the outskirts. The night passed without much incident, until the coalition airstrike on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, columns of opposition fighters drove up the main coastal highway, regaining ground they had given up the day before, but the effective use of artillery and landmines by Gaddafi's troops kept them at bay.
Tuesday's Gaddafi offensive, however, broke the pattern.
"We haven't seen such a push [by Gaddafi forces] for a few days, over the past few days it actually seemed as if the opposition forces were able to hold some sort of position around the town of Brega. Well, today the situation was completely different. The Gaddafi forces were much more aggresive than they had been in the past days, it seem that maybe they had received new supplies, but certainly they have been pounding much more intensely than over the past few days," our correspondent said.
Mustafa Gheirani, a spokesman for the opposition's Transition National Council in Benghazi, said that while "setbacks" had been suffered, the opposition would fight on.
"There is no revolution without setbacks. But the people will win. Gaddafi cannot rule Libya with his machine - his militias and his mercenaries ... We are committed to fighting this tyrant, and either we will drive him out or he will rule a country with no people in it," he said.
Christopher Stevens, the former deputy chief of the US mission in Tripoli, has now arrived in Benghazi to hold talks with members of the opposition's TNC. The US has not formally recognised the TNC as Libya's legitimate government, as several other countries have, and Stevens is in the country to "get to know [its] members", a US official told Reuters.
On Tuesday, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon's spokesman, said the US was still undecided on whether or not to help arm the rebels, but would be discussing providing "non-lethal" assistance in the coming days.
General Carter Hamm, the US general in charge of Africa Command, under whom US military operations in Libya fell, was to testify before US lawmakers in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Stalemate
In the Libyan capital,Tripoli, meanwhile, angered by fuel shortages and long queues for basic goods caused by sanctions and air strikes, some residents began openly predicting Gaddafi's imminent downfall.
Mussa Ibrahim, a Gaddafi spokesman, said Libya was ready for a "political solution" with world powers and offered a "constitution, election, anything. But the leader has to lead this forward".
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi ended a trip to Greece, Turkey and Malta to set out the government position.
Turkey is expecting an envoy to visit from the opposition in the coming days and is listening to both sides.
"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Email ArticlePrint ArticleShare ArticleSend Feedback
Comments
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"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet."
Wonders how much longer before America gets sucked into another Muslim country & it's civil war (s)?
I dont know, thelibyan revolution has been highjacked by the un(read french), there are many critical options stressed by those that oppose the war because a; there is no clear plan and B; instead of actually stopping the fighting the UN is participating in battle/takin cities/losing cities and already have killed civilians etc, so I would not be suprised if the western coalition would come with 'supportive' ground troops for the still faceless opposition.
next to war mongering mofos that highjacked the revolution for their own interest(securing/reordering the fuell/oil connections etc) there are also ? 's (like the turkish government) that do to billion euro contracts cannot pick sides between the current and opposition regimes, they actually directly endorse the stalemates and will only start to pick a side when there is a clear winner etc. -
Libya is going to the wolves if Gadfaffi leaves.
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NO America doesn't belong in the middle of Civil wars.....this country is on the verge of imploding....how in the ? can we as a nation solve other countries problems?
Because it is not you as a nation participating, but grand corporations ranging from the weapon and arms industries to transport and logistics and everything in between from banks to real estate ? 's who think they can benefit from it. -
Yeah! and we all know what happens to our weak soldiers who fight with one hand behind their back....because them wolves hide behind civilians while shooting our troops....watches as the signs of death to America start popping up as usual....every damn time we go into the ME. OR America is only here for the oil.....on and on and on.
I just hope Obama tells France and England to ? off if they ask us to send in ground troops. -
How is that gonna happen? when this President is all about the collective salvation for the entire world.....your just seeing what this President is really about. Can you tell me how you transform something if you don't tear it down first? I'm asking you a serious question.?
You can't, but if you are a talking about people then they have to be willing to be transformed. -
If the US plans on being dragged into this...smartest thing to do is send weapons.
Every time the US has sent weapons to another regime, they usually win. -
YEAH! America sends weapons to Mexico......how's that war on drugs doing? how many lives have been saved in Mexico? how many lives been saved in Iraq and Afghanistan? FYI Knives Amilli
There is a war going on in North America. Over 30,000 people have been killed in the Mexican drug war in the last four years—300 of them American citizens.
The issues in Mexico are far deeper than mere drug trafficking, and as the conflict has escalated, it is not an unheard of proclamation that Mexico teeters on the verge of collapse. The cartels, which have infiltrated literally every aspect of Mexican government, are virtual tribes which vie for power and control over drug supply routes.
These are not petty street gangs. They are well-organized and well-armed, with the major supply of weapons and ammunition coming from within the United States.
Mexico will never get invaded IMO. Them mothers ? is too close to home. -
yeah, the bolded is kind of ? and kind of an exaggeration meant to draw sympathy/political backingThese are not petty street gangs. They are well-organized and well-armed, with the major supply of weapons and ammunition coming from within the United States. -
So I guess you leaving out the meat of my point is a exaggeration also? There is a war going on in North America. Over 30,000 people have been killed in the Mexican drug war in the last four years—300 of them American citizens. with the major supply of weapons and ammunition coming from within the United States. I just don't follow your logic
you bolded two things in that post:
-"Over 30,000 people have been killed in the Mexican"
-"with the major supply of weapons and ammunition coming from within the United States"
...which leads me to believe that this is the main point you want to talk about. and the second one, like i said, is either ? or exaggeration. two quick points regarding it:
--commonly quoted numbers are stated as "x% of guns are traced to the US" ... but the numbers actually refer to "x% of guns submitted to the US to be traced are traced to the US." the vast majority are not submitted to the US;
--weapons can be and are easily smuggled in from Central/South America and include weapons you CAN'T buy in America gun shops
anyway, if you want to talk about Mexico, let's talk about Mexico. if you want to talk about the claim that "the major supply of weapons and ammunition [is] coming from within the United States," we can talk about that too, but i think you know what my position is going to be.
