Muammar Gaddafi’s son calls for ‘full scale’ military action as rebel fighters fall back from key eastern oil towns after being attacked by air, land, and sea.
Opposition fighters have been forced to withdraw from the port city of Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad during intense clashes along the east coast and deep into rebel-held territory.
Rebels in Bin Jawad, 60 miles from Gaddafi’s prized home town of Sirte, were pushed back on Thursday morning following a bombardment by warships and armed oil tankers in the Meditteranean. It’s not known how many people were killed by the attack which also used land and air forces.
Later on Thursday counter-revolutionaries reportedly broke rebel lines at the nearby oil installation of Ras Lanuf. Rebels were said to have retreated east after coming under intense mortar and rocket fire, as well as aerial bombardment.
The rebel leadership denied that the port had been taken, insisting that their troops were staying put despite a heavy assault from government forces.
Fighting extended fifty miles east of Ras Lanuf to Brega, the first time the town has been attacked in several days.
By nightfall, Channel 4 International Editor Lindsey Hilsum reports that rebel fighters were “streaming down the road from Ras Lanuf towards Brega.”
In a defiant tone Saif Gaddafi vowed to crush the rebellion even if Western forces intervene.
The Libyan people are facing genocide, the annihilation of an entire population through the use of air power and heavy artillery. National Transitional Council of Libya
“We will never ever give up. We will never ever surrender. This is our country. We fight here in Libya. The Libyan people, we will never ever welcome NATO, we will never ever welcome Americans here” he said.
“It is too late” for the rebels to negotiate, he added.
Reacting to Saif Gaddafi’s remarks, Foreign Secretary William Hague told Channel 4 news “if he’s set out on the bombardment on many towns and cities and the world could see what was happening then certainly we would be saying there should be a no-fly zone”
Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the rebel National Libyan Council called on a no-fly zone to imposed to restrict Gaddafi’s warplanes should be installed as quickly possible.
“The Libyan people are facing genocide, the annihilation of an entire population through the use of air power and heavy artillery. This does not just threaten the security of Libya but that of the whole region,” Ghoga said.
“The U.N. is capable of taking the necessary steps to stop such carnage. We demand a bombardment of the camps where he (Gaddafi) keeps his mercenaries and the roads he uses to transport them and his security forces,” he added.
NATO are meeting on Thursday night to look at their options, but previously indicated they’ll only act with a clear legal framework provided by the UN security council.
Zawiyah
In the west, eyewitnesses say Government forces are in control of Zawiyah, 30 miles from Gaddafi’s powerbase of Tripoli, after continued clashes saw the town change hands at least twice on Thursday.
It’s believed the rebels, who took control of the heart of the town on Wednesday night, lost control of it during Thursday after being encircled by government troops who cut off supplies.
A reporter who reached the town today saw pro-Gaddafi forces in control of Zawiyah’s main square where a massive clean up operation was being carried out. Deborah Haynes described seeing “massive holes” in the buildings around the square – apparently caused by tank rounds, “bits of tanks” lying around and the top of the minaret blown off.
This is a disaster for us. As adults we can bear it without food but babies do not understand and they are crying. Ibrahim, rebel fighter
But Mohamed, a Libyan in exile abroad who got through to a relative on the phone on the outskirts of Zawiya early on Thursday, said the situation in the town is continually changing.
“Yesterday they (rebel sympathisers) tried to bring food and medicine from Subratha but they failed. Government troops surround Zawiyah from everywhere,” he said.
“It is unclear who controls the centre. It changes all the time. It’s street to street fighting.”
Government forces are now thought to be surrounding the town in an effort to starve the fighters out.
One rebel fighter named Ibrahim told Reuters: “This is a death or life battle for us, we have nothing to do now but to fight him (Gaddafi),”
“We are running out of food and baby milk. This is a disaster for us. As adults we can bear it without food but babies do not understand and they are crying” he added.
In Misrata, rebel forces are also said to be under pressure.
“Gaddafi forces are around the outside of the city. They suffered a big defeat in Misrata. But they have heavy weapons,” one unnamed rebel fighter told AFP.
“We are ready to defend any attack they launch even if we know it’s going to be at a heavy price” he said.
Plans have been announced for more NATO ships to be moved to the Mediterranean in response to the Libyan crisis.
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has given a news conference to explain that “maritime assets” would be put in locations to “monitor” the situation and to ensure the arms embargo is upheld.
But he said more planning would be needed on a possible “no-fly” zone. He said: “We considered… initial options regarding a possible no-fly zone in case Nato were to receive a clear UN mandate; ministers agreed that further planning will be required.”
He added that there was a risk Libya could be divided and become a failed state that could be a haven for terrorists.
“There is… the risk of division within the country and the risk of seeing a failed state in the future that could be breeding ground of extremism and terrorism, so obviously this is a matter of concern.”
Jakob Kellenberger, the president of the International Red Cross – one of the few international aid agencies in Libya – said he had no overall casualty figures for the country or reports about Zawiyah.
But he said that fighting had intensified and local doctors had seen a sharp rise in casualties, with at least 22 bodies and 40 wounded in Misrata after recent air strikes. Some 55 wounded were treated in Ajdabiyah hospital in the east this week.
Dr Gebril Hewadi of the Benghazi medical management committee told Reuters that at least 400 people were killed in eastern Libya alone since clashes began there on 17 February, with many bodies yet to be recovered from bomb sites.