No united stand on  no-fly zone yet

US tightening noose on Gaddafi: Obama

News Desk

Rebels fighting to oust Moammar Gadhafi conceded Saturday that the regime had retaken a key oil port city and refinery and pushed the front line farther east, but they defiantly vowed to fight back as government forces gain strength.

The defeat at Ras Lanouf, which had been captured by rebels a week ago and only fell after days of fierce fighting and shelling, was a major setback for opposition forces who just a week ago held the entire eastern half of the country and were charging toward the capital.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Younis, who was the country’s interior minister before he defected to the rebel side, acknowledged that Gadhafi’s forces regime had driven out pockets of rebel fighters and now control both the town and the oil refinery in Ras Lanouf, 380 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

He also said government forces had advanced to 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Brega, the site of a major oil terminal, suggesting the pro-Gadhafi troops were moving more aggressively because they needed gasoline.

Younis vowed a comeback, saying “we should be back today or at the latest tomorrow.”

But fewer rebel supporters were seen by an Associated Press reporter in the area, suggesting morale had taken a hit as the momentum shifted in favor of the regime.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the opposition’s interim governing council based in Benghazi, pleaded with the international community to approve a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Gadhafi’s forces from launching air attacks and to impose restrictions that would bar the longtime Libya leader from bringing in more weapons and foreign fighters.

The rebels also sent a delegation to Cairo to lobby for a no-fly zone as the Arab League held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue. The Arab League’s member states are divided over how to deal with the Libyan crisis, signaling it would be a tough debate. Rebel spokeswoman Tahani Suleiman said the group had met with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and he had promised to support the idea. That could not be confirmed, but Moussa was quoted in the German weekly Der Spiegel as advocating a no-fly zone, though he conceded it wasn’t clear who would impose it and how.

“The Arab League also can play a role in this - I would favor that,” he said.

Asked if he supports an international intervention in an Arab country, Moussa replied: “you are talking about … a military intervention. I am talking about a humanitarian action. It is about standing by the Libyan people with a no-fly zone in their fight for freedom against an increasingly inhumane regime.”

The Arab League doesn’t have executive powers to impose a no-fly zone, but its approval would offer regional support for such a move by the West. The 22-member organization represents most Arab countries in the region, including many led by autocratic rulers who so far have hesitated to condemn Gadhafi’s harsh crackdown on the rebels.

The European Union, which has said any such decision would need sufficient diplomatic backing from the Arab League and other regional organizations, sent its foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to Cairo for the meeting.

President Barack Obama said Washington and its allies were “tightening the noose” on Muammar Gaddafi.

The Arab League will examine a no-fly zone and extending recognition to rebels at Cairo talks Saturday, but experts said splits were likely to prevent agreement, disappointing the EU that is looking to the group to help guide its next steps.

“The chances of a clear position to be issued with consensus from the meeting tomorrow saying ‘yes’ to a no-fly zone and recognition of the (rebel) council is very weak,” said Wahid Abdel-Meguid, an analyst at a Cairo-based political think tank.

On the eastern battlefield, Gaddafi forces, with air power and a big advantage in tanks, have pressed their advantage in the oil port of Ras Lanuf and the strategic town on Bin Jawad. The revolt in Zawiyah, west of Tripoli and held by rebels for days against fierce attacks, appeared to have been crushed.

“Across the board we are slowly tightening the noose on Gaddafi. He is more and more isolated internationally,” Obama said. “I have not taken any options off the table.”

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels said they would consider all options to force the Libyan leader to step down.

However, the 27 leaders meeting in Brussels stopped short of endorsing air strikes, a no-fly zone or other military-backed means to achieve that goal. Libyan rebels said their three-week-old insurrection could fail without a no-fly zone.

The summit sidestepped a British and French initiative for a U.N. Security Council resolution to authorize a no-fly zone.

They also would not back French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s call to follow his lead and recognize the National Libyan Council as the country’s legitimate authority, or his call for “defensive” air strikes against Gaddafi forces if they used chemical weapons or warplanes against civilians.

Libya suspended diplomatic relations with France.

Obama, accused by critics of reacting too slowly, told a news conference he believed international sanctions, an arms embargo and other measures already in place were having an impact but also said a no-fly zone remained an option.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it had extended a freeze on assets to Gaddafi’s wife, four of his sons and four senior officials in his government.

On the diplomatic front, the African Union said the leaders of South Africa, Uganda, Mauritania, Congo and Mali will form a panel that will travel to Libya shortly.

“The ad hoc committee was set up … to engage with all parties in Libya, facilitate in an inclusive dialogue among them, and engage AU partners … for the speedy resolution of the crisis in Libya,” the bloc said.

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Source: The New Nation - Independent Daily