Libya’s tribes urged Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday to cede power, as rebels backed by Nato air strikes said they forced the strongman’s missiles out of range of the lifeline port of Misrata.
Chiefs or representatives of 61 tribes from across the North African country called for an end to Gaddafi’s four-decade rule, in a joint statement released by French writer Bernard-Henri Levy.
“Faced with the threats weighing on the unity of our country, faced with the manoeuvres and propaganda of the dictator and his family, we solemnly declare: Nothing will divide us,” said the statement, released on Wednesday in Benghazi.
“We share the same ideal of a free, democratic and united Libya.
“The Libya of tomorrow, once the dictator has gone, will be a united Libya, with Tripoli as its capital and where we will at last be free to build a civil society according to our own wishes,” it said.
Levy has become an unofficial spokesperson in Paris for the revolt and is credited with pressing President Nicolas Sarkozy to mobilise international political and military support for it.
“Each of the tribes in Libya is represented by at least a representative. In this list of 61 signatures, some tribes are represented 100%, others are still divided,” he said.
Under sustained fire
Their call came as rebels said they had managed to push back Gaddafi’s forces and secure the port of besieged Misrata, a day after it came under sustained rocket fire.
The insurgents said Nato raids overnight enabled them to force Gaddafi’s troops 40km from the port of Misrata, which is encircled by regime forces to the east, west and south.
That put Gaddafi’s Grad rockets out of range of the port, an aid conduit for rebels in the western city of half-a-million people under siege for more than seven weeks.
“Gaddafi’s men are dead. There are still vehicles and burned bodies, and we seized many weapons,” said a rebel leader.
On Tuesday, Gaddafi loyalists fired a volley of Grads at the port, killing at least three African refugees and forcing an aid ship to stay out to sea.
Farther west, pro-Gaddafi forces were massed in force on Wednesday in an apparent bid to recapture the Dehiba border post with Tunisia, a Western military source said.
Witnesses said the area was rocked by artillery and mortar fire.
“There is a lot of fire in the area at the foot of the mountains,” said a taxi driver at the border, 200km south of Ras Jdir, the main crossing point into Tunisia that the rebels seized on Thursday.
Gaining ground
Loyalists also again blasted the western rebel-held town of Zintan with rockets, medics and a witness said.
They have been pounding the town with Grad rockets and gunfire since Sunday, when four people were killed and nine wounded.
British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the rebels appeared to be gaining ground against Gaddafi, despite Tuesday’s deadly attack on Misrata’s port.
“We’ve seen some momentum gained in the last few days. We’ve seen some progress made in Misrata, and it’s very clear that the regime is on the back foot,” Fox said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the African Union urged an end to military actions targeting senior Libyan officials and key infrastructure, after Washington and London had said it was legitimate to strike Gaddafi’s compound, as Nato did two days ago.
“Council urges all involved to refrain from actions, including military operations targeting Libyan senior officials and socio-economic infrastructure, that would further compound the situation and make it more difficult to achieve international consensus on the best way forward,” the AU said.
Gaddafi’s chief ally in Latin America, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, accused Nato of trying to kill his “friend”. — AFP