Rebels awaited a counter-attack by Moammar Gadaffi’s forces on Monday, after the Libyan leader defied calls for him to quit in the hardest-fought of the Arab world’s wave of uprisings.
Rebels holding Zawiyah, only 50km west of Tripoli, said about 2 000 troops loyal to Gadaffi had surrounded the city.
“We will do our best to fight them off. They will attack soon,” said a former police major who switched sides and joined the rebellion. “If we are fighting for freedom, we are ready to die for it.”
Residents, even in parts of the capital Tripoli, have thrown up barricades against government forces. A general in the east of the country, where Gadaffi’s power has evaporated, told Reuters his forces were ready to help rebels in the west.
“Our brothers in Tripoli say: ‘We are fine so far, we do not need help’. If they ask for help we are ready to move,” said General Ahmed el-Gatrani, one of most senior figures in the mutinous army in Benghazi.
Analysts say they expect rebels to eventually take the capital and kill or capture Gadaffi, but add that he has the firepower to foment chaos or civil war — a prospect he and his sons have warned of.
Monday looked likely to see nervousness in oil markets. NYMEX crude for April delivery was up $1,12 at $99 barrel in Globex electronic trading by 11.08pm GMT on Sunday. Libya pumps only 2% of world oil and Saudi Arabia has boosted output, but traders fear turmoil intensifying in the Arab world.
Serbian television quoted Gadaffi as blaming foreigners and al-Qaeda for the unrest and condemning the United Nations Security Council for imposing sanctions and ordering a war-crimes inquiry.
“The people of Libya support me. Small groups of rebels are surrounded and will be dealt with,” he said.
Stand-down calls
European powers said it was time for Gadaffi to stand down, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was “reaching out” to opposition groups.
Residents of Zawiyah told of fierce fighting against pro-Gadaffi paramilitaries armed with heavy weapons.
“Gadaffi is crazy. His people shot at us using rocket-propelled grenades,” said a man who gave his name as Mustafa. Another man called Chawki said: “We need justice. People are being killed. Gadaffi’s people shot my nephew.”
There were queues outside banks in Tripoli on Sunday for the 500 Libyan dinars ($400) the government had promised it would start distributing to each family.
From Misrata, a city 200km east of Tripoli, residents said by phone a thrust by forces loyal to Gadaffi, operating from the airport, had been rebuffed with bloodshed.
But Libyan exile groups said later aircraft were firing on the city’s radio station.
In the eastern city of Benghazi, opponents of the 68-year-old leader said they had formed a National Libyan Council to be the “face” of the revolution, but it was unclear who they represented.
They said they wanted no foreign intervention and had not made contact with foreign governments.
The “Network of Free Ulema,” claiming to represent “some of Libya’s most senior and most respected Muslim scholars”, issued a statement urging “total rebellion” against Gadaffi and endorsing the formation of an “interim government” announced two days ago.
Foreign workers
Western leaders, emboldened by evacuations that have brought home many of their citizens from the vast desert state, spoke out more clearly than before against Gadaffi.
“We have reached, I believe, a point of no return,” Italy’s Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, said, adding it was “inevitable” for Gadaffi to leave power.
Britain revoked Gadaffi’s diplomatic immunity and said it was freezing his family’s assets. “It is time for Colonel Gadaffi to go,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
Three British military planes evacuated 150 civilians from Libya’s desert on Sunday, after a similar operation on Saturday.
Wealthy states have sent planes and ships to bring home expatriate workers but many more, from poorer countries, are stranded. Thousands of Egyptians streamed into Tunisia on Sunday, complaining Cairo had done nothing to help them.
Malta said it had refused a Libyan request to return two warplanes brought to the island by defecting pilots last Monday.
Gadaffi, once branded a “mad dog” by Washington for his support of militant groups worldwide, had been embraced by the West in recent years in return for renouncing some weapons programmes and, critically, for opening up Libya’s oilfields.
While money has flowed into Libya, many people, especially in the long-restive and oil-rich east, have seen little benefit and, inspired by the popular overthrow of veteran strongmen in Tunisia and Egypt, on either side of their country, they rose up to demand better conditions and political freedoms. — Reuters