Qaddafi continues attacking Rebels

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Libyan Forces Advance on Benghazi, Fight for Control of Rebel-Held Cities

By Ola Galal and Massoud A. Derhally - Mar 16, 2011 8:39 AM ET

A family fleeing the the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya look over at rebels filling up their gas tank at a station on the edge of town on March 15. Photographer: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi^[1] set his sights on Benghazi as government forces fought rebels for control of the cities of Ajdabiya and Misrata and prospects faded for an internationally imposed no-fly zone.
Libya’s state-run television ran an appeal to the people of Benghazi, the center of the rebellion in the east of the country, urging them to join Qaddafi’s troops. The army “is coming to secure you and to lift the injustice and horror off you and to protect your pure souls and precious blood,” said the broadcast, which has been airing since yesterday.
Pro-Qaddafi forces attacked Ajdabiya, a city 100 miles (160 kilometres) from the rebel capital, using airstrikes and artillery late yesterday although rebels remained in control, Ahmed Omar, a military spokesman for the opposition, said today by telephone. Misrata, the largest rebel stronghold in western Libya^[2], was shelled by government tanks from three directions early today, Reda Almountasser, a resident, said by phone.
Libya’s crude oil exports may be halted for “many months” because of damage to facilities and international sanctions, the International Energy Agency^[3] said yesterday. Daily supply from Africa^[4]’s third-largest producer has dropped to a “trickle” by this week from 1.58 million barrels in January, the Paris-based agency said in its monthly Oil Market Report.

Oil Markets

Oil rose from the lowest in two weeks in New York as escalating violence in Libya and Bahrain stoked concern about disruptions to Middle East crude supplies. Crude for April delivery rose as much as $1.66 to $98.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York^[5] Mercantile Exchange and was at $98.59 at 11:03 a.m. London time. Yesterday, prices fell to $97.18, the lowest since Feb. 28.
Libyan rebels yesterday seized a vessel carrying 25,000 metric tons of fuel that was heading to Tripoli and reversed its course to Benghazi, Mustafa Gheriani, a media coordinator for the rebels, said today by telephone from the city. The fuel would be used in power plants^[6] and other facilities in rebel-held areas, he said.
The death toll from the fighting could reach as high as 15,000, Gheriani said, adding that it’s “very difficult” to confirm given the lack of information on ongoing fighting in Misrata and other cities. Dozens were killed and hundreds wounded in air strikes on Zwara, west of Tripoli, although Qaddafi’s bombardment of such towns doesn’t necessarily mean that government forces control them, he said.
In Benghazi, three fighter jets from Qaddafi’s fleet carried out air strikes on the airport that is currently being used by the rebels as an airbase, but they missed their target after anti-aircraft missiles were fired at them, Omar said.

Troop Defection

A group of soldiers, who were fighting with Qaddafi’s forces in Ajdabiya, surrendered to opposition troops in Tobruk, a city close to the Egyptian border, Omar said.
Foreign Ministers from the Group of Eight nations failed to agree yesterday on imposing a no-fly zone. In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe of France^[7], which along with the U.K. has pressed for aggressive action against Qaddafi, said he couldn’t persuade Russia^[8] to agree to a no-fly zone as other allies, includingGermany^[9], raised objections to military intervention. Juppe hosted a meeting of his G-8 counterparts yesterday in Paris.
“One has to ask the question whether military intervention would hurt more than it helps,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle^[10] told reporters at the meeting. “We do not want to get sucked into a war in North Africa and we would not like to step on a slippery slope.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Ola Galal in Cairo at ogalal@bloomberg.net^[11].
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net^[12].

References

1. ^{^} Muammar Qaddafi (topics.bloomberg.com)
2. ^{^} Libya (topics.bloomberg.com)
3. ^{^} International Energy Agency (topics.bloomberg.com)
4. ^{^} Africa (topics.bloomberg.com)
5. ^{^} New York (topics.bloomberg.com)
6. ^{^} power plants (topics.bloomberg.com)
7. ^{^} France (topics.bloomberg.com)
8. ^{^} Russia (topics.bloomberg.com)
9. ^{^} Germany (topics.bloomberg.com)
10. ^{^} Guido Westerwelle (topics.bloomberg.com)
11. ^{^} Send E-mail (www.bloomberg.com)
12. ^{^} Send E-mail (www.bloomberg.com)