蜡笔小新第一:Showdown eve in Libya's Benghazi
来源：百度文库 编辑：九乡新闻网 时间：2024/04/30 15:54:00
Showdown eve in Libya's Benghazi
2011-3-16 08:58
Muammar Gaddafi's forces pushed relentlessly eastwards towards Libyan rebels' stronghold of Benghazi on Tuesday, while world powers wrangled over a draft resolution to impose a no-fly zone.
Gaddafi appeared at an evening rally in a huge tent in Tripoli, condemning the rebels as rats, dogs, hypocrites and traitors. As he spoke, thousands gathered in a Benghazi square denouncing him as a tyrant and throwing shoes and other objects at his image projected upside down on a wall.
The rebels' eastern capital looked highly vulnerable after government troops took control of the junction at Ajdabiyah, opening the way to Benghazi.
"The town of Ajdabiyah has been cleansed of mercenaries and terrorists linked to the al Qaeda organisation," state TV said, referring to the rebels fighting to end Gaddafi's 41 years of absolute power.
Foreign powers condemn his crackdown, but show little appetite for action to support an uprising that was inspired by pro-democracy rebellions that toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents. Many in the Arab world may fear a Gaddafi victory and a crackdown on protests in Bahrain could turn the tide in the region.
Looking ahead with confidence to future business deals in a Gaddafi-led Libya, deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said Libya will honour existing contracts with Western oil companies and that the crisis may influence future cooperation with them.
2011-3-16 08:58
Kaim also told Reuters that the government hoped to regain control over all rebel-held territory within days.
A U.N. Security Council draft resolution on a no-fly zone, seen by Reuters, authorises "all necessary measures to enforce" a ban on all flights, to protect civilians.
Earlier on Tuesday, jets fired rockets at a rebel checkpoint at the western entrance to Ajdabiyah, then unleashed a rolling artillery barrage on the town and a nearby arms dump, following the same pattern of attack that has pushed back rebels more than 100 miles (160 km) in a week-long counter-offensive.
As well as the coastal road to Benghazi, there is also a 400 km (250 mile) desert road straight to Tobruk, near the Egyptian border, that would cut off Benghazi. But it was not clear whether Gaddafi's forces were strong enough to open a second front and if they could operate with such long supply lines.
Libyan League for Human Rights chief Soliman Bouchuiguir, said in Geneva if Gaddafi attacked Benghazi, a city with 670,000 people and the rebels' provisional National Council, there would be "a real bloodbath, a massacre like we saw in Rwanda."
The mood in the city was defiant but shaky.
2011-3-16 08:58
At Gaddafi's evening rally, supporters chanted praise of the leader, who spoke for about half an hour in what appeared to be a preparation for a final reckoning with the rebellion. He said the rebels had brought shame upon themselves.
Gaddafi's planes, tanks and artillery have had few problems picking off lightly armed insurgents in the open desert, but have faced tougher resistance in towns that offer more cover.
The small oil town of Brega, with a population of just 4,300, 75 km (50 miles) southwest of Ajdabiyah, changed hands several times in three days of heavy fighting, but also succumbed to superior government firepower on Tuesday.
Benghazi, about 1000km east of the capital Tripoli, has been the stronghold of the rebellion against Gaddafi that erupted a month ago.
At the same time, fireworks were seen exploding overhead amid rumours, later denied, that Libyan strongman Gaddafi's residence in Tripoli had been bombed.
Libyans often fire weapons into the air as an expression of joy.
2011-3-16 08:58
Earlier in the evening, forces loyal to Gaddafi said they would soon move against Benghazi, state television quoted the army as saying.
Addressing residents of the country's second city, the statement said: "The armed forces are arriving to ensure your security, undo the injustice done to you, protect you, restore calm and bring life back to normal.''
Benghazi’s population of one million are holding out for the world’s major power to impose a no-fly zone over Libya as their best chance of surviving.
However, the outlook for a no-fly zone is gloomy, with France saying there has been no agreement among the Group of 8 countries for the motion.
"There are 1,200 Gaddafi’s men in Benghazi. They arrived last week,” says Khalifa Elfaituri from the opposition Media Centre in Benghazi in a phone interview.
The Gaddafi’s loyalists are well-armed and entered the city in plainclothes, blending in with the local population, making detection difficult.
2011-3-16 08:58
"They have shot dead three people. They are in plainclothes and it is difficult for us to find them but we managed to catch 16 of them yesterday,” says Elfaituri.
The 16 were arrested in regular homes and had guns and other weapons found on them.
"The people here are scared and worried, some have started leaving the city.
"We have a shortage of medicine. I worry food supply may soon become a problem,” adds Elfaituri.
Meanwhile, the opposition forces are suffering heavy casualties as well as the loss of Ras Lanuf, an oil-rich town which helped supply fuel for their battle to oust Gaddafi.
"We need Gaddafi’s air raids to come to an end,” Yousef Feituri, a rebel commander, told The Star.
"They are attacking Brega today with more air raids.”
Control of Brega have gone back and forth between the rebels and Gaddafi’s forces in the past few days. It was unclear who currently held control of the town.
Time is running out for the rebels but getting a concession on a no-fly zone in the UN Security Council looks increasingly difficult as China and Russia reportedly expressed opposition to the proposal.
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