Monday, June 13, 2011

Libya: the regime refuses to negotiate a departure from Gaddafi

The spokesman for the Libyan government, Musa Ibrahim, said Sunday evening June 12 that the regime rejected any discussion of a departure of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, cutting off the supply of Turkey, which had guaranteed to his eventual exile. "Nobody has the right to ask the leader to leave. No one can come here with a plan that includes a departure from the leader," he repeated.

According to Mr Ibrahim, that suggestion was "immoral, illegal and had" no sense ". Fighting erupted Sunday for the second consecutive day the rebel forces Gaddafi in Libyan city of Zaouïa, only 50 km west of Tripoli. A representative of the insurgents in the city said the battles of yesterday were thirteen dead - rebels and civilians.


The main coastal road linking Tripoli to Tunisia is off. It serves as a major supply line for the Libyan capital, despite the sanctions. Zaouïa was the scene of fierce battles in February and March. Gaddafi's forces have crushed the insurgency and used bulldozers to raze the central mosque.

The Libyan government has indicated that Rebels tried to enter the city but were repulsed after several hours of fighting. "This is further proof of their weakness and their unpopularity," said spokesman Ibrahim Moussa. The rebels' fail to record progress against the Libyan government. " Three months after the fighting began, the situation in the country seems to have shifted in favor of the insurrection and the grip of the Libyan colonel has been weakened by a wave of defections, the impact of international sanctions and strikes the OTAB conducted since late March at his headquarters in Tripoli.

The new fighting Zaouïa, site of a major oil refinery, are closest to the capital for months. "The situation is very bad," said a spokesman for the rebels reached by telephone. Intense fighting is taking place right now. Brigades (government) have received reinforcements, their numbers are growing.

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