LIBYAN REBELS began to retreat from another key town yesterday as government forces continued their advance towards Benghazi, the city that has acted as a nucleus for the uprising against Muammar Gadafy.
Scores of fighters fled Brega, which is home to an oil terminal, under heavy shelling from regime forces and headed towards Ajdabiya, the last rebel-held town before Benghazi just 170km away. A report on Libyan state television later crowed that Brega was “purged of the armed gangs”.
Just eight days ago, after routing pro-Gadafy forces in Brega and Ras Lanuf, another important oil town further west, the rebels had boasted of advancing toward Sirte, Gadafy’s home town, and on to the capital Tripoli. But the regime’s steady gains in recent days have unnerved many in Benghazi, where the uprising began last month.
Last night the mood in the city was ominous. Security was stepped up around the seafront courthouse that serves as headquarters for the opposition. On the ground outside, activists had painted in large, white letters: “Where is the United Nations?”
Telephone lines were cut for several hours in the morning. There were far fewer people on the streets of Benghazi, though several hundred medical staff gathered for a demonstration yesterday afternoon to repeat calls for a no-fly zone to be enforced. Many shops and businesses did not open. An announcement on the rebel-controlled Radio Free Libya urged people to remain calm and patient.
“The situation seems to have turned,” said one resident. “We didn’t expect this to happen and now we are fearful about what might come next.”
Opposition officials remained upbeat, however, their mood jarring with the sense of foreboding on the streets. “Yes, Gadafy has the upper hand with the air force, but we have been getting military aid including weapons,” said Iman Bugaighis, a spokeswoman for the rebel Libyan National Council, though she declined to say from where the military assistance was coming. “There is no return point. This land can’t bear both Gadafy and us.” She said the council had been organising “military defensive capabilities” to protect Benghazi and outlying towns.
Gadafy’s son, Saif al-Islam, has warned that pro-regime elements lying low in Benghazi are ready to act. “You will see the Benghazi people rising up and defeating this rebel militia,” he said in Tripoli. “You will see thousands in the streets, and I tell you, we will win.”
Ms Bugaighis acknowledged such elements exist. “We know that Gadafy has sleeper cells in Benghazi. We know where they are and they are constantly under surveillance,” she said.
Opposition morale had been boosted by an Arab League decision on Saturday to support a no-fly zone over Libya and make contact with the Libyan National Council. The Arab League declared Gadafy had lost all legitimacy and it urged the UN Security Council “to assume its responsibilities” and “take the necessary measures to impose an air exclusion zone for Libyan warplanes”.
But the fear among the populace in Benghazi is that diplomatic efforts will not progress quickly enough given the speed at which the ragtag and poorly armed rebels, who are virtually powerless against aerial attack, have been pushed back.
In Tripoli, state television said foreign companies are being asked to resume oil exports, claiming Libya’s ports are safe despite the continuing fighting.
Many journalists began leaving Benghazi yesterday. Hotels frequented by reporters have increased security, including posting armed guards at entrances. On Saturday, a cameraman for the Qatar-based Arabic language satellite channel Al Jazeera died after he was shot by gunmen near Benghazi.