AJDABIYA, Libya - Libyan rebels clinched their hold on the east and seized back a key city on Saturday after decisive international airstrikes sent Moammar Gadhafi's forces into retreat, shedding their uniforms and ammunition as they fled.
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Ajdabiya's initial loss to Gadhafi may have ultimately been what saved the rebels from imminent defeat, propelling the U.S. and its allies to swiftly pull together the air campaign now crippling Gadhafi's military. Its recapture gives President Barack Obama a tangible victory just as he faces criticism for bringing the United States into yet another war.
In Ajdabiya, drivers honked in celebration and flew the tricolor rebel flag. Others in the city fired guns into the air and danced on burned-out tanks that littered the road.
Their hold on the east secure again, the rebels promised to resume their march westward that had been reversed by Gadhafi's overwhelming firepower.
"Without the planes we couldn't have done this. Gadhafi's weapons are at a different level than ours," said Ahmed Faraj, 38, a rebel fighter from Ajdabiya. "With the help of the planes we are going to push onward to Tripoli, God willing."
The Gadhafi regime acknowledged the airstrikes had forced its troops to retreat and accused international forces of choosing sides.
"This is the objective of the coalition now, it is not to protect civilians because now they are directly fighting against the armed forces," Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, said in Tripoli. "They are trying to push the country to the brink of a civil war."
Ajdabiya's sudden capture by Gadhafi's troops on March 15 -- and their move toward the rebel capital of Benghazi -- gave impetus to the U.N. resolution authorizing international action in Libya, and its return to rebel hands on Saturday came after a week of airstrikes and missiles against the Libyan leader's military.
Airstrikes Friday on the city's eastern and western gates forced Gadhafi's troops into hasty retreat. Inside a building that had served as their makeshift barracks and storage, hastily discarded uniforms were piled in the bathroom and books on Islamic and Greek history and fake pink flowers were scattered on the floor.
Saif Sadawi, a 20-year-old rebel fighter with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in his hands, said the city's eastern gate fell late Friday and the western gate fell at dawn Saturday after airstrikes on both locations.
"All of Ajdabiya is free," he said.
Rebels swept into the city and hauled away a captured rocket launcher and a dozen boxes of anti-aircraft ammunition, adding to their limited firepower. Later in the day, other rebels drove around and around a traffic circle, jubilantly firing an assortment of weapons in the air -- anti-aircraft weapons, AK-47s, RPGs.
Outside the city, Muftah el-Zewi was driving away, his back seat loaded with plastic bags filled with blankets and clothes that he picked up after going to his home in Ajdabiya for the first time in days.
"We went and checked it out, drove around the neighborhood and it looked OK. Hopefully we'll come back to stay tomorrow," he said.
The turnaround is a boost for Obama, who has faced complaints from lawmakers from both parties that he has not sought their input about the U.S. role in the conflict or explained with enough clarity about the American goals and exit strategy. Obama was expected to give a speech to the nation Monday.
"We're succeeding in our mission," Obama said in a radio and Internet address. "So make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians -- innocent men, women and children -- have been saved."
The U.N. Security Council authorized the operation to protect Libyan civilians after Gadhafi launched attacks against anti-government protesters who demanded that he step down after 42 years in power. The airstrikes have crippled Gadhafi's forces, but rebel advances have also foundered, and the two sides have been at stalemate in key cities.
Ajdabiya, the gateway to the opposition's eastern stronghold, and the western city of Misrata have suffered under sieges of more than a week because the rebels lack the heavy weapons to push out Gadhafi's troops. Residents lack electricity, phone lines and water.
A doctor in Misrata said airstrikes there on Saturday put an end to two days of shelling and sniper fire from Gadhafi's forces. The city was quiet Saturday afternoon, said the doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety if the city should fall. For now, he said, rebels control the city center, just as they have throughout in Ajdabiya.
A resident of Zwara, a former rebel stronghold in the west, said the regime has the town firmly in its grip again. He said pro-Gadhafi forces are dragging away people there and in the town of Zawiya who participated in protests that began Feb. 15.
"They have lists of demonstrators and videos and so on and they are seeking them out. We are all staying home and waiting for this to be over," said the resident, who did not want to be named because he feared for his safety if discovered. He said a friend who helped coordinate checkpoints when the opposition held the city was taken away Friday.
"They came with four or five cars with four people in each one, all of them armed to the teeth with Kalashnikovs. They surrounded the house and took him out," he said, adding that the whole thing was seen by a common friend.
He said neighbors now fear each other.
"During the demonstrations, many people contributed to the community, doing anything they could. This shows that the regime has collaborators to give them names. It's a Big Brother type of show, so they can come in and take whomever they want."
The government's grip has even tightened in Tripoli, its seat of power, where almost nightly airstrikes have hammered military bases, missile storage and even Gadhafi's residential compound.
Rahma, a Libyan-American in the capital, said only about one in 20 stores was open and food supplies were dwindling by the day.
"My own family, we've just been staying inside, but we had a friend who went to Friday prayers and they could see people ready to shoot them hiding behind the bushes," she said. She did not want her surname used, for fear of retaliation. "This is at every mosque, so if they start to protest, they'll get shot right away."
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Hubbard contributed from Cairo. Associated Press writer Hadeel al-Shalchi contributed to this report from Tripoli, Libya.
Reuters reported yesterday that, according to officials and hospital workers, civilians were killed in Western air strikes on Tripoli.
On Thursday night, journalists were shown 15 bodies at Tripoli Central Hospital. It was impossible to independently verify the information, but morgue worker Ahmed Hussein claims, "Those bodies were from (attacks) air strikes today and yesterday where they attacked civilian and military sites."
More here.
The Washington Post reports that the State Department helped arrange for Khamis al-Gaddafi, Moammar Gaddafi?s youngest son, to visit the U.S. this year.
While the State Department acknowledges that U.S. officials greeted Khamis, they state that the government did not officially sponsor the visit.
At the time of the January visit, State officials held a mild view of Khamis al-Gaddafi, calling him a reformer who should be exposed to American customs and business practices, a spokesman for the company said.?They said it would be beneficial if he came away from the visit with a positive view of the U.S.,? said Paul Gennaro, spokesman for AECOM, an engineering and architectural design firm based in California that had business contracts with the Libyan government.
More here.
Al Jazeera provides the following report from pro-democracy activist Ahmed Al Misrati, describing the scene in Misurata. Misrati reports that Gaddafi's troops are spreading out across the city:
As a matter of fact, the city of Misurata since morning has been under heavy gunfire and heavy bombardment ... by tanks or mortar shells. This bombardment is indiscriminate and arbitrary, sometimes targeting residential plots and one entire family was killed - the father and his children.They are also stationed in other rooftops, especially the high buildings ... Anybody in the street comes under heavy gunfire and now the situation is exacerbating and is very, very dire.
Read more here.
Reuters provides an analysis of President Obama's attempts to reassure Americans about the situation in Libya. On his weekly radio and Web address, he spoke about his policy in Libya, stating, "We're succeeding in our mission."
He defended his choice as an act that prevented disaster. "Because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians -- innocent men, women and children -- have been saved."
More here.
The New York Times reports that in Tripoli, residents are too afraid to lead another uprising, due to intimidation by Gaddafi forces.
Two men, speaking anonymously for their safety, said that during Friday Prayer last week about 200 armed militiamen entered the mosque and prayed alongside them, a clear and intimidating message not to join protests after the services.?Lots of people have been detained, including some of our relatives,? one of the men said. ?They tell people, ?We will only release your relatives if you don?t protest next Friday.? ?
?People are very scared these days,? he continued. ?They are watching from everywhere. They have people on the rooftops.?
Read the full story here.
HuffPost Blogger James Zogby writes:
For weeks now President Barack Obama has faced a barrage of criticism from Republicans over his administration's failure to intervene in Libya's ongoing conflict. The GOP's assault accused the president of "weakness", "dithering", and "a lack of leadership". But, coming from the same cast of characters who recklessly led us into Iraq, the attacks could be dismissed as partisan rhetoric.Then, in what appeared to be a sudden about face, the administration moved quickly to press for a United Nations' Security Council Resolution calling for a "no fly-zone plus" intervention in Libya. Citing "imminent humanitarian concern", a U.S.-led effort launched attacks hitting Libyan air defenses and ground forces that were advancing on rebel-held cities.
More here.
BBC News offers commentary from an unnamed Tripoli resident who remarks on the situation in the capital:
Who ever thought that an oil-rich country like Libya could face fuel shortages?That is exactly what is happening as I write these words. People - including myself - have been scrambling to fill up the tanks of their cars in anticipation of what appears to be a looming threat of fuel shortage - or even worse - no fuel at all.
It is one of the few reports on state television you can take at face value. It is also physically visible in the long queues at petrol stations across the capital.
More here.
Reuters reports that the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in eastern Libya, currently held in large part by anti-Gaddafi rebels, has suffered from neglect due to lack of tourism.
Goats and cows graze among the towering Greek and Roman columns of the ruined city, a UNESCO world heritage site perched on a mountain side with stunning views over verdant plains and the Mediterranean sea beyond.Founded in the 4th century BC by ancient Greeks and later ruled by Rome, the souvenir kiosks, restaurants and protective barriers usually found at such sites are absent, and surrounding it instead is the dilapidated, ugly village of Shahaat.
While there have been oil investments, there has been no focus on tourism, which local people report they need. According to Shahaat tourism policeman Hamdy Hamed, "I hope to God we concentrate on tourism after the troubles. Oil runs out, but tourism will remain."
More here.
According to Reuters, Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin believes that NATO may be pulled into a full-scale war in Libya. Rogozin told Interfax news agency, "Just as we forecast, NATO is being drawn deeper and deeper into war in North Africa."
Russia's ambassador to the military alliance went on:
"The statements we are hearing today from NATO members and the alliance on the whole could draw this bloc into a full-scale operation on Libyan territory, which means essentially the U.S. and its closest allies could be drawn into a third war in addition to those in Iraq and Afghanistan."
More here.
HuffPost Blogger Nathan Gardels writes:
The French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and Bernard Kouchner, founder of Doctors Without Borders and until last year President Sarkozy's foreign minister, have long been champions of "the right to protect" -- that is, the right of the international community to intervene if a sovereign is committing crimes against his own people.
It is thus no surprise that BHL (as he is known in France) was involved behind the scenes in moving President Sarkozy to take the lead in Libya. Here is my conversation with him about the lead up to the strikes against Gaddafi's forces, the aims of the military campaign and the nature of the Libyan rebels France has recognized.
More here.
Reuters reports on claims that Libyan rebel fighters have reached the outskirts Brega, an oil-exporting town.
"They are now, as we speak, on the outskirts of the city of Brega," Colonel Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman, said at a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Brega is 70 km to the west of Ajdabiyah.Bani said the recapture by rebels of Ajdabiyah, a gateway from western Libya to Benghazi, meant "the winds of change have now started to blow."
More here.
CNN's Nic Robertson reports that a middle-aged woman who "appeared to be a very respectable lady" entered the hotel to tell journalists that she had been held for two days and raped by 15 of Gaddafi's men.
Robertson states, "It was an absolutely brutal handling of a situation where one woman dared to come into the hotel and...speak out against the raping and she was brutally overwhelmed, and the journalists were beaten in the process."
WATCH:BBC News reports:
Libyan rebels claim to have taken Brega - AFP.
More here.
AP reports:
WASHINGTON -- The Republicans looking to succeed President Barack Obama all say he's bungling Libya.
What most haven't spelled out: how they would address the latest international crisis if they were in the White House.
"You have a spectator in chief, not a commander in chief," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich groused Thursday in Greenville, S.C., trying to make clear his position on the subject after a series of conflicting statements.
Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi called Obama's response to the situation "dithering." Ex-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts said Obama has been "tentative, indecisive, timid and nuanced." Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota said Obama erred by not forcing a no-fly zone more quickly.
More here.
Reuters describes the celebration that followed the Libyan rebels taking over Ajdabiyah.
While decomposing bodies of Gaddafi fighters were found at the town entrances, the town center appeared relatively unharmed.
Inhabitants began to emerge from buildings, as rebels drove through deserted streets.
One rebel shouted: "Thank you Britain, thank you France, thank you America," referring to air strikes carried out by allied countries under a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone.Fighter Sarhag Agouri said the fighting had lasted all night. "Ajdabiyah is a ghost town. Now there are only dead bodies and families who don't know what to do," he said.
More here.
BBC News offers an in-depth report on the life of Gaddafi.
Back in the early 1970's, Gaddafi was considered a handsome and charismatic army officer. He tried to tackle the unfair economics of oil.
He aimed to be a political philosopher, developing "the third universal theory," outlined in his "Green Book."
Unchecked by any of the normal restraints of governance, Col Gaddafi was able to take his anti-imperialist campaign around the world, funding and supporting militant groups and resistance movements wherever he found them.He also targeted Libyan exiles, dozens of whom were killed by assassins believed to belong to a global Libyan intelligence network.
After the Lockerbie case was resolved, Gaddafi's relations improved with the West. Read the full story here.
HuffPost Blogger Jason Linkins writes:
It's been just about a week since the United States started doing some, you know, shooting hundreds of cruise missiles at Libya -- no biggie -- and you might be wondering why we haven't had that moment where President Barack Obama sits in the Oval Office and explains at length about what we're up to and what the plan is and what we hope to achieve.
Well, per Glenn Thrush and Carrie Budoff Brown comes the answer: the president doesn't want to do something that makes anyone worry that there's a war on or anything. This is just some light "kinetic military action," people! That is barely like getting to second base with a war in Libya.
More here.
More details emerge from AFP reporter Sara Hussein's story on the aftermath of airstrikes near Ajdabiyah:
The body lies on its back, the charred head staring upwards, the right arm bent and the hand reaching out, everything below the upper torso gone - the remains of a soldier from Gaddafi's forces. The man's curly hair is still visible atop his scorched face. Standing over him, locals from the town of Ajdabiya take pictures and stare wide-eyed.The body is one of dozens strewn on the road outside of Ajdabiya, a key eastern town that sits at the junction of roads leading to the oil town of Tobruk and the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi. Ajdabiyah was the scene of fierce fighting, and what locals describe as a brutal siege by Kadhafi's forces, which ended in the early hours of Saturday morning, after two days of heavy coalition airstrikes.
More from The Telegraph here.
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