LIBYA CRISIS

LIBYA CRISIS

             Libya's government says more civilians have been killed in a third night of air and missile strikes by coalition forces enforcing a no-fly zone. Explosions and anti-aircraft fire have been heard near Col Muammar Gaddafi's compound in the capital, Tripoli. Fighting between the forces loyal to the Libyan leader and the rebels has also continued, despite the declaration of a ceasefire by the government. In the east, troops beat back a rebel advance outside the town of Ajdabiya.And rebels in Libya's third city, Misrata, told the BBC that they had come under attack from Col Gaddafi's forces during the day. Meanwhile, President Barrack Obama said the US would transfer its leading role on Libya "within days" to ensure the burden of enforcing the no-fly zone was shared.

       Benghazi that has been heavily fought over for days. The road is littered with the charred and smoking remains of Col Gaddafi's military. There were reports that his forces had been repelled by the rebels but then there was the whistle of a tank round, fired past our car by government troops at the opposition fighters. It's a sound that sparked panic, as the militias turned and fled at high speed.

       A number of people were injured, some killed. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, government forces are still attacking the rebels in the east and trying to hold on to the territory they have taken. Even so, the people of Benghazi have been celebrating, believing that the balance of power has now swung in their favour. The rebels' strategy is to push west but this has got off to a halting start, and without further concerted air strikes it is difficult to see how this rag-tag army will ever achieve its aim of unseating Col Gaddafi. He also said the US wanted to see Col Gaddafi removed from power but insisted the current campaign was focused on protecting civilians.  Libyan state television reported that the capital was "under crusader enemy aerial bombardment" and that several sites had been attacked.

     Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told a news conference that the southern town of Sebha had been attacked on Monday. He said the coalition also attacked a "little fishing port" near Tripoli.  The town of Zintan, near the Tunisian border, was also shelled by Col Gaddafi's forces on Monday, destroying houses and a mosque, witnesses told the Reuters news agency. One said there were 40 tanks on the outskirts.

Prof. John Kurakar

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