[ 2011-03-30 ]

Gaddafi forces push rebels back
Rebels in Libya are retreating from their former
strongholds along the eastern coast as they come
under fire from Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

The rebels have now lost the key oil port of Ras
Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin Jawad, and are
also in full retreat from Brega.

In the west, the rebel-held town of Misrata is
still coming under attack from pro-Gaddafi troops,
reports say.

Britain's prime minister said arming rebels had
not been ruled out.

David Cameron's remarks echoed those made earlier
by US President Barack Obama.

Dramatic shift

The BBC's Ben Brown, in Ajdabiya, said that the
rebels are essentially now in retreat as they
simply cannot compete with the discipline and
fire-power of Col Gaddafi's forces.

He says the current situation is a dramatic
about-turn for the rebels who, over the weekend,
had seized a string of towns along the coast and
seemed to be making good progress.

France and the US say they are sending envoys to
the rebel-held city of Benghazi in the east to
liaise with the interim administration there.

And British Foreign Secretary William Hague said a
UK diplomat met Libyan rebel leaders in Benghazi
earlier this week.

The UK has also made moves to expel five Libyan
diplomats based in London, Mr Hague told MPs on
Wednesday.

Mr Obama told reporters on Tuesday that Col
Gaddafi had been greatly weakened by the coalition
air strikes and would ultimately step down.

Mr Cameron said that the RAF had flown 24 sorties
over Libya on Tuesday night which had destroyed
artillery and an armoured vehicle near the
strategic city of Sirte.

Sirte is Col Gaddafi's birthplace and lies on
Libya's northern coast, roughly half way between
the capital Tripoli and Benghazi.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration and British
foreign secretary suggested the UN resolution
authorising international action in Libya could
also permit the supply of weapons.

This message was reinforced by Mr Cameron in
parliament on Wednesday.

"UN [Security Council Resolution] 1973 allows all
necessary measures to protect civilians and
civilian-populated areas, and our view is this
would not necessarily rule out the provision of
assistance to those protecting civilians in
certain circumstances," he said.

"We do not rule it out, but we have not taken the
decision to do so."

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied
UN resolution 1973 gave a mandate to arm the
rebels.

"The Nato Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen
declared that the operation in Libya was being
staged to protect the population and not to arm it
- and here, we completely agree with the Nato
secretary general," he said.

In a separate development, an international
conference on Libya in London has agreed to set up
a contact group involving Arab governments to
co-ordinate help for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

Several thousand people have been killed and
thousands wounded since the uprising against Col
Gaddafi's rule began more than six weeks ago.

Source - BBC

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