TRIPOLI – Libyan rebels trying to overthrow Muammar Gadafy have pushed to within about 80km of the capital, according to a rebel spokesman, in the biggest rebel breakthrough in weeks.
In neighbouring Tunisia, three Libyan ministers, including the foreign minister, were holding talks with “foreign parties”, the Tunisian state news agency reported.
The rebels, based in the Western Mountains region southwest of Tripoli, are fighting pro-Gadafy forces for control of the town of Bir al-Ghanem, an advance of about 30km north from their previous position, their spokesman says.
“We are on the southern and western outskirts of Bir al-Ghanem,” Juma Ibrahim, a rebel spokesman in the nearby town of Zintan, said yesterday.
“There were battles there most of yesterday. Some of our fighters were martyred and they [government forces] also suffered casualties and we captured equipment and vehicles,” he added.
A reporter in the centre of Tripoli heard at least two loud explosions on Sunday. The location of the blasts was not clear, but a plume of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of Col Gadafy’s Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
The rebels – backed by Nato air support – have been fighting Gadafy forces since late February, when thousands of people rose up against his 41-year-rule, prompting a fierce crackdown by the security forces.
For weeks now, rebels in their stronghold in the east and enclaves in western Libya have been unable to make significant advances, while Nato air strikes have failed to dislodge Col Gadafy, straining the Western alliance.
Analysts say if rebels outside the capital start gaining momentum, that could inspire anti-Gadafy groups inside the capital to rise up, a development many believe is the most effective way of forcing him out.
Tunisia’s state news agency reported late on Sunday that Libyan foreign minister Abdelati Obeidi was on the island of Djerba, in southern Tunisia, where he was “negotiating with several foreign parties”. It gave no details on the talks.
Libya’s rebel leadership, in the eastern city of Benghazi, said last week it was in indirect contact with Col Gadafy’s government, via foreign intermediaries, about a possible peace settlement. Mr Obeidi was joined at the Djerba talks by two other ministers.
Libyan officials frequently use Djerba, which is near the border with Libya, as a stopover on foreign trips because flights from Tripoli have ceased. – (Reuters)