Friday, April 8, 2011

Gaddafi forces storming the rebel enclave Ajdabiya

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi on Thursday launched a surprise attack against the city of Ajdabiya, which is 160 km west of Benghazi, the stronghold of the rebels, said the Qatari television network Al Jazeera. The correspondent of the chain said the attack was launched from the west and south of the city and forces have bombed Qaddafi with numerous shells and Grad rockets the western part of the city.

The journalist said that forces loyal to Qaddafi seized the confusing situation created by the NATO attacks to move quickly towards Ajdabiya and launch their attack. Allied warplanes attacked by mistake during the morning a rebel position in an area between Brega and Ajdabiya, resulting in 50 deaths among them, according to Al Arabiya and five according to Al Jazeera.

The same sources have indicated that after the air attacks, the rebels have retreated and then open a road that troops have seized gadafistas to start their offense. Four days ago, the rebels launched an offensive to try to control and got Brega be present in the east and the oil port, but a day later had to retreat back to the vicinity of Ajdabiya as a result of a virulent counterattack forces gadafistas.

In the morning, the military wing chief of Libyan Transitional Council, General Abdelfatah Younes El Abidi, told Al Jazeera that the rebels have received substantial human and material reinforcements, so they were preparing to wage a "great battle" to defeat the gadafistas. Meanwhile, several aircraft have flown on Thursday Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and have carried out bombings, as announced by Qatari Al-Jazeera network.

The source does not specify, however, whether the aircraft belonged to NATO forces and what have been the targets of bombings. A resident in the Libyan capital confirmed seeing a device in the air and then heard two explosions. The allies bombed Tripoli for a week, a situation that had angered the rebels, criticism that NATO did not maintain their attacks against military objectives Loyalists.

Last night anti-aircraft guns of the troops had returned fire Gaddafi in Tripoli, as reported by the special envoy to Tripoli WORLD, Rosa Meneses. Other reports said that the Allies had bombed the outskirts of the city of Brega and Ajdabiya, killing dozens of rebels. While chains such as BBC pointed out that the dead were 13, other sources claimed that amounted to 50.

Is not the first time a group of rebels is killed by 'friendly fire' in Libya. The oil port city and its surroundings are Brega after about a week the scene of heavy fighting between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the revolutionary troops. American General Carter Ham, commander of American forces in Africa, says that is unlikely to get Libyan rebels launch an assault on Tripoli to overthrow Gadhafi, reports the AFP news agency.

Asked at a Senate hearing on the possibility for insurgents to leave Gaddafi in Tripoli, the general replied that he believes "there is a low probability" of this happening. The Libyan regime is the victim of a popular revolt since 15 February, which has been transformed into civil war.

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