The announcement Sunday by the head of the National Transitional Council followed reports of infighting and arguments among bands of fighters stalled outside the town of Bani Walid after encountering stiff resistance during an assault.
Syrian television station Al Rai on Monday, meanwhile, said it would air a message from Gadhafi. The station ran a banner allegedly quoting the ousted Libyan leader as saying, "We cannot surrender Libya to imperialism once like the agents/spies want us to now. So we have no option but to kill until victory and to destroy this attempted overthrow."
Bani Walid, home to a powerful tribe loyal to Gadhafi, is one of three major towns still in the hands of those loyal to the ousted leader.
A large convoy of troops left the front after arguing with another group of fighters from Bani Walid, who insisted they alone take the lead in fighting to take the town, witnesses told CNN's Ben Wedeman.
Pushing and shoving also broke out among the fighters, some of whom wanted the media to leave the area.
"What ensued was pushing, shoving, shouting," said Wedeman, who watched the incident unfold. "Rocks were picked up. There was some rifle butting, and then one of the fighters manning a truck-mounted a 14.5 (mm) anti-aircraft gun and opened fire in the air to restore order."
Similar incidents have been reported during the months-long war, raising concerns about a lack of discipline and leadership among the ragtag group of fighters and the possible threat such issues could pose to the country's stability.
Negotiations are under way with bands of fighters to bring them under the control of the council, said Mahmoud Jibril, chairman of the National Transitional Council.
Jibril called the move a strategic measure that would restate the legitimacy of the NTC, saying it would bring "all the brigades and revolutionaries under the umbrella of the NTC."
But Anees al-Sharif, a spokesman of the new Tripoli military council, said the plan was "unacceptable."
"We will not accept Jibril's authority over us," he told CNN.
Some residents of the town, meanwhile, were fleeing. One man, who identified himself as Abu Farook but did not want to provide his last name for fear of retribution, arrived at a checkpoint about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Bani Walid on Monday, accompanied by his wife and children.
"There are around 700 Gadhafi forces scattered around Bani Walid and another 150 in the center of the city," he said. "Most of them have sniper rifles, and heavy artillery is positioned between houses in residential areas. These forces are the ones who fled from Tripoli the last days of the fall of Tripoli and have blood on their hands."
In addition, Abu Farook said, there are African mercenaries inside Bani Walid. He said there are no communications, no electricity and no running water. Food is running out for residents, he said.
He said NTC fighters are not inside Bani Walid, but on its northwest outskirts in the Manasla and Douwara neighborhoods, still about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the city center.
Abu Farook said firing and explosions have taken place for 10 days but he could not flee until Monday. He said his nephew was killed by a sniper bullet Sunday while standing near him.
The man's 7-year-old son, in the car, said he was scared by all the fighting and loud explosions.
Jibril also announced that a transitional, governing executive committee will be created within 10 days and will include representatives from across Libya, including areas of the country still under siege.
"A transitional government will be formed once all of Libya is liberated," Jibril said.
The creation of the executive committee comes as Jibril said Libya has begun producing oil again.
He said oil production began Saturday, though he would not disclose the location because of security concerns. He said additional production is expected in other areas.
"Soon, we will begin the production of oil and gas in the western area," he said.
There was an explosion Monday on the outskirts of Tripoli at an ammunition storage facility in the Qasser Bin Ghashir area near Tripoli International Airport, said NTC spokesman Jalal El Gallal. People were transporting the ammunition to another location when the blast occurred, he said.
The explosion "was an accident due to the mishandling of some ammunition," said Ihmidan Almagari, a field commander and military spokesman. Some mortars and rockets went off in the blast, he said, and two people suffered minor injures.
Also Monday, forces loyal to Gadhafi attacked an industrial complex housing an oil refinery at Ras Lanouf, according to Gallal. The loyalists did not enter the refinery itself, as a battle ensued and NTC fighters held them back, he said.
There were NTC casualties from the fighting, Gallal said, but he did not immediately know how many. He could not confirm whether there were any pro-Gadhafi casualties.
In Tripoli, U.S. State Department officials allowed some media limited access to the American Embassy, which was vandalized by pro-Gadhafi supporters May 1.
A CNN crew on Monday saw three buildings that had been burned and ransacked. In one building, the ambassador's office was stripped.
The supporters spent 38 hours in the embassy, carrying out a rampage, according to a State Department official.
The embassy was evacuated in February, and no classified or sensitive information was left behind. On the night of the attack on the embassy, only five guards were left to protect the compound, and they fled.
A U.S. diplomatic team is evaluating whether the embassy can be renovated or repaired, or whether a new embassy will have to be built.
News of the pending production of oil and gas in Libya was tempered by word that one of Gadhafi's sons, Saadi, escaped Libya to Niger.
The son was accompanied by eight ex-Libyan officials, "of minor importance compared to Saadi," said Niger Justice Minister Marou Amadou.
"As usual, Niger accepted them on (a) humanitarian basis," he said.
Moammar Gadhafi's wife, two of his sons and other relatives fled recently to Algeria, which also said it had acted on humanitarian grounds by accepting them.
Earlier this month, Saadi Gadhafi told CNN he was "a little bit outside" of Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli, but had been moving around.
He said then that he had not seen his father or brother, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, for two months. He said he is "neutral" and not on his father's side or that of the rebels, but remains "ready to help negotiate a cease-fire."
At least three Libyan convoys have entered Niger recently, carrying generals, family members and low-ranking Gadhafi regime personnel, according to officials in Niger. Initial speculation suggested that Moammar Gadhafi had been in one of those groups, but that does not appear to be the case.
The whereabouts of the ousted Libyan leader are not known.
Asked whether Saif al-Islam Gadhafi was thought to be inside Bani Walid, Abu Farook said, "We don't know for sure." However, he said, Gadhafi spokesman Musa Ibrahim was thought to be in the town, staying in a house near the city center that is surrounded by snipers on top of buildings.
Gadhafi's former spy chief, Bouzaid Dorda, was arrested in Tripoli, Adel al-Zintani, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council, told CNN late Sunday.
China was the latest nation to recognize the NTC as Libya's ruling authority and representative of the Libyan people, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday. Other nations and organizations, including Russia, the United States and the European Union, have already done so.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment