ZINTAN, Libya – Libyan rebels pushed deeper into government-held territory south of the capital yesterday, but their advance came as strains began to emerge in the western alliance trying to topple Muammar Gadafy.
Fighters in the Western Mountains, a rebel stronghold about 150km (90 miles) southwest of Tripoli, built on gains made in the past few days by taking two villages from which pro-Gadafy forces had for months been shelling rebel-held towns.
But the rebels are still a long way from Gadafy’s main stronghold in Tripoli, while their fellow fighters on the other two fronts – in Misrata and in eastern Libya – have made only halting progress against better-armed government troops.
“The revolutionaries now control Zawiyat al-Babour and al-Awiniyah after pro-Gadafy forces retreated this morning from the two villages,” Abdulrahman, a rebel spokesman in the nearby town of Zintan, said.
The Nato military alliance, which has been pounding Gadafy’s military and command-and-control structures for nearly three months, has failed to dislodge him.
Libyan state TV said yesterday a Nato bombardment had killed 12 people in a convoy in the town of Kikla, 150km (90 miles) southwest of Tripoli. A Nato official denied the report, saying: “There was no strike in Kikla by Nato today.”
The rebels seized the town on Tuesday after government troops fell back.
In a theatrical show of defiance, Libyan state television showed Gadafy at the weekend playing a game of chess with a visiting Russian official.
Ties are becoming strained in the alliance, with some Nato members complaining that others have been reluctant to commit additional resources needed to sustain the bombing mission in the coming months.
Adding to the pressure, Republicans in the US Congress are pressing President Barack Obama to explain the legal grounds on which he was keeping US forces involved in Libya without the authorisation of Congress.
Speaking in London after meeting Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, British prime minister David Cameron reiterated that time was running out for Gen Gadafy and that the alliance was as determined as ever.
“I think there is a very clear pattern emerging which is time is on our side, because we have the support of Nato, the United Nations, the Arab League, a huge number of countries in our coalition and in our contact group,” he said.
Rasmussen echoed those comments despite senior Nato commander Gen Stephane Abrial on Tuesday raising questions about the alliance’s ability to handle a long-term intervention.
“Allies and partners are committed to provide the necessary resources and assets to continue this operation and see it through to a successful conclusion,” Mr Rasmussen said.
Saad Djebbar, a former legal adviser to the Libyan government, said Gen Gadafy would continue to play for time and seek to demoralise and split the coalition.
“Gadafy’s mentality is that as long as my enemies haven’t triumphed, I haven’t lost,” he said.
“The US stance, that the major outside role should be played by the Europeans and Arabs, sends the wrong signal. Gadafy will be very encouraged by it. His line is ‘We are steadfast. We can wait it out.’ The concerns being raised in the British parliament and the US Congress, including questions like ‘why are we spending so much?’, will be of comfort to him,” said Djebbar.
Gen Gadafy has said he has no intention of leaving the country – an outcome which, with the military intervention so far failing to produce results, many western policymakers see as the most realistic way out of the conflict.
The Libyan leader has described the rebels as criminals and al Qaeda militants, and called the Nato intervention an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya’s oil. – (Reuters)