Published: 02 April, 2011, 11:15
Edited: 02 April, 2011, 14:37
Libya's embattled government has flatly rejected rebel calls for a ceasefire, describing their terms as “mad”.
Opposition leaders are demanding the regime withdraws its troops from western cities, stops its offensive in the east and grants freedoms to citizens, while insisting Colonel Gaddafi steps down. They say that if he does not do this, they will fight on and “liberate the country”.
Analysts believe Gaddafi will not back down. His troops outnumber the rebels by 10 to 1, and after two weeks of the coalition air strikes, the rebel fighters have been pushed all the way back to the oil town of Brega, and at this stage that is where the fight is centered.
According to the latest reports, the rebels are now better organized. They are stopping inexperienced young fighters from reaching the front line, as they have shown themselves to flee in the face of chaos. Also, the rebels reportedly have new communication devices with them in the form of satellite phones and radios, which are believed to have arrived from abroad. They have enough supplies of water and the necessary equipment to continue their fight.
At the same time, the fighting seems to have reached a stalemate in the past few days, with neither side having been able to move forwards or backwards. As a result, people in Libya are now increasingly thinking that a political settlement could, possibly, become a solution, RT’s Paula Slier reported from Tripoli.
As far as the defections go, the Gaddafi government is making light of the fact that the Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa defected to the United Kingdom. They say that he is an old man who is very sick, and he asked for leave which was granted to him.
Moreover, media sources suggest that at least ten top-ranking Libyan officials may flee the country.
Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, also visited London for secret talks, apparently on the future of Gaddafi and his family and, perhaps, an exit deal. However, Gaddafi and his representatives have been tight-lipped so far about all of that. Those officials RT managed to talk to denied the rumors.
Posted By:
Saturday, April 2nd 2011 at 10:11AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
