SULTAN,
assault on the eastern rebel stronghold since a revolt by inexperienced
fighters with outdated weapons began one month ago to topple the Libyan
dictator.
The airport attack came as government troops
attempted to tighten their grip on Ajdabiya, 95 miles southwest of
Benghazi, while rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades and
traveling in speedboats fired on Libyan ships off the Mediterranean
coast.
The day spun into a succession of pitched battles
and fleeing refugees as government soldiers pushed to crush the
uprising and Gadhafi scoffed at international criticism and the threat
of a Western-backed no-fly zone over the country. The Libyan leader has
gained momentum in recent days against an often erratic and confused
insurgent force.
A siege of Benghazi would test the nerves, firepower
and tenacity of a rebel force that has many times fled under heavy
bombardments by better-armed government troops.
Guards at the military airport said two bombs struck
outside the base and three exploded inside shortly after dawn. There
were no reports of casualties. A crater along the complex’s outside
wall was quickly filled in by rebels, who have been loath to
acknowledge their setbacks. One insurgent raised his rifle to force
journalists from the airport’s entrance.
The most intense fighting unfolded in Ajdabiya, the last rebel bastion before Benghazi and a key weapons depot.
Government troops attacked the city on Tuesday,
holding it for hours before withdrawing to the outskirts as rebels
launched a counteroffensive. By Wednesday morning, with war planes
circling high overhead and rebel pickups racing down desert highways,
Gadhafi’s forces surged on the city again as smoke plumes rose on the
horizon and civilians gathered their belongings and fled.
“The shelling went on until
who was escaping in a truck with his wife, two children, five sheep and
cartons of diapers. “When it stopped, we saw people dead in the street
and cars destroyed. There were snipers on rooftops with red lasers on
their guns and they show teenage boys who raised their arms.”
A rebel helicopter skimmed low from Benghazi and
flew toward Ajdabiya. Bursts of gunfire were heard closer to the coast,
and it appeared that Gadhafi’s army was attempting to ring perimeters
and gradually squeeze in opposition fighters. The rebels claimed to
have captured from 300 to 700 Libyan solders and eight tanks.
Insurgents said their forces had at least two
warplanes that had attacked key targets, including the city of Surt,
Gadhafi’s hometown, and commercial ships the government has armed to
indiscriminately shell cities. Those reports could not be independently
confirmed, but the battle has spread to the air and along the coast.
The government’s strategy has been to wage intense
bombardments during the day and retreat at night while rebels
counter-attack. But each day, Gadhafi’s forces have edged closer to
Benghazi, where many of the city’s residents were defiant but also
seemingly oblivious to an impending onslaught.
Hundreds of men, women and children marched along the city’s
chanting anti-Gadhafi slogans, firing guns into the air and berating
the international community for not imposing a no-fly zone to keep
Gadhafi’s air force grounded. Thumping revolutionary anthems blared
from a loudspeaker just hours after the airport was bombed.
“Nobody is afraid,” said
Budarra, 28, a construction company safety officer. “Look, even the
women are out demonstrating. Gadhafi can’t even take Ajdabiya, so how
can he even come close to Benghazi?”
Rebels at a checkpoint in Sultan, about 20 miles
north of Ajdabiya, said younger, inexperienced fighters had been
replaced at the front by about 1,000 professionally trained soldiers
who had defected from Gadhafi’s army. The fighters refused to let
journalists drive closer to Ajdabiya.
The rebels claimed other victories too. They said
they added special commandos and several armored personnel carriers to
the fight in Ajdabiya.
national council, said a rebel frigate intercepted an oil tanker late
Tuesday carrying 25,000 tons of fuel bound for government use in
Tripoli. He said rebels escorted the tanker, from
to the rebel-held port in Tobruk and captured 30 government sailors.
The opposition says it has deployed three Russian-made frigates —
outdated military ships that have limited firepower but are relatively
nimble and swift.
Gheriani also said he believed it was a
ground-launched rebel missile, not an airstrike, that hit the Gadhafi
stronghold at Surt.
Mafta Mousa, a retired navy officer attending the
opposition rally, said, “Nobody fears this madman. He tries to
intimidate the people, but no one is afraid of him.”
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(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.
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