The Libyan army told people in Benghazi to lay down their arms on Wednesday as its troops advanced closer to the rebel stronghold for what could be the decisive battle in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
The town of Ajbadiyah, 150 km (90 miles) south of Benghazi on the Gulf of Sirte, was firmly in government hands after most of its rebel defenders retreated under fire from a withering artillery barrage on Tuesday. Those who stayed had now handed over their guns, a rebel officer said.
In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents’ provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory against the government offensive.
Forces loyal to Gaddafi have retaken a string of coastal towns in the past 11 days, reversing gains made by the rebel army early in the uprising against his 41-year-rule of the North African country. Important oil industry facilities are now mostly back under government control.
An armed forces statement read on state television described the offensive as a humanitarian operation to save the people of “beloved Benhgazi” and said troops would not take revenge on them if they surrendered.
“Advise your duped sons to hand over their weapons to the armed forces or the People’s Leadership and they will be covered by an amnesty requested by the Commander (Gaddafi), which will be valid for any person who hands over his weapon to the armed forces and refrains from resistance and subversion,” it said.
Benghazi residents said they had found leaflets scatttered in the streets also telling them they would not be punished if they gave up the fight. Repeating assertions by Gaddafi, the leaflets said the rebels were linked to al Qaeda militants or high on drugs.
A former government official who lives in Benghazi, Salah Ben-Saud, said that life in the port city was normal.
“The streets are busy and the shops are full. There have been some demonstrations in favour of the revolution … and pro-Gaddafi people have not really shown their face.”
“There were rumours that he (Gaddafi) would try to take back Benghazi and that made people a bit nervous, but he didn’t and people here don’t think he would succeed anyway if he tried.”
However, he was under the impression that rebels had retaken Ajdabiyah, although sources there said that was not so.
Adel Yahya, former rebel fighter, speaking by telephone from Ajdabiyah, said the army was in control.
“I went out and told them I had a rifle and gave to them. We gave our guns to them, and they said you should come out and celebrate for Gaddafi. We lost, we lost,” he said, breaking into tears.
The capture of the junction town of Ajdabiyah gives Gaddafi’s army several options in a desert region where British forces led by Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery battled German soldiers commanded by General Erwin Rommel in World War 2.
They could head north up the coastal highway to Benghazi, or strike east to Tobruk 400 km (250 km) to isolate the rebel capital.
Elite army units forces led by two of Gaddafi’s sons were reported to be moving up to the front on Tuesday. The rebel army, made up largely of young volunteers with little training and defectors from the government military, have been overwhelmed by the artillery, tanks and warplanes of Gaddafi’s troops.
[Reuters]
Africans die but people do nothing to stop it.
Your president will invite this killer to dinner with All Bashir,Mugabe,Mswiti and others.
They will party like they are untouchables.
so now LT is being hosted in German
What is RB;s stand on Gaddafi? those are questions CBU students and churches should be asking instead of concentratrating on who is gay and who is not. Sata should give his view and so should HH
Wina azalila uku. Lets wait and see.
Rb style.viva sata.
What a galant soldier in Gaddafi?
If u want Sata expect the same.**==
Libyans thought they will do it Egyptian way but are mistaken, so shall be a few zambians who want to copy this uncivilised way of doing things.
But ii Fi LT a re ****in bias,st continue with yo ****in propaganda, we shall see who will win in libiya
if you dont lay low benghazi then here come your fate
Sarkozy election campaign was funded by Libya, claims Gaddafi’s son
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and “everything will be over in 48 hours”, Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam told France-based TV channel Euronews on Wednesday.
He also attacked French President Nicolas Sarkozy for having backed opposition rebels and accused him of having accepted Libyan funds for his election campaign.
Asked about talks among world powers to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, Saif al-Islam said: “The military operations are finished. In 48 hours everthing will be over. Our forces are close to Benghazi. Whatever decision is taken, it will be too late.”
Gaddafi’s forces pushed towards Benghazi, in eastern Libya, on Wednesday as diplomatic…
Kadhafi’s son tells Sarkozy to return ‘campaign financing’
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s son on Wednesday told “this clown” French President Nicolas Sarkozy to “give us back our money” allegedly used to finance his 2007 election victory.
Seif al-Islam told Euronews that “we have all the details and are ready to reveal everything” as forces loyal to Kadhafi closed in on rebels in the east of the country who France recognised as Libya’s legitimate representatives.
“Sarkozy must first give back the money he took from Libya to finance his electoral campaign,” Kadhafi’s son said when asked about France, which has along with Britain been leading calls for military intervention in Libya.
“We funded it and we have all the details and are ready to reveal everything. The first thing we want this clown to do is to give the money back to the Libyan people.
“He was given assistance so that he could help them. But he’s disappointed us: give us back our money. We have all the bank details and documents for the transfer operations and we will make everything public soon.”
The French presidency denied the allegation.
Libya’s state-run news agency Jana reported recently that it would soon publish a “grave secret” that would lead to Sarkozy’s downfall.
Kadhafi himself said on Tuesday that his “good friend” Sarkozy had “gone mad.”
“He is my friend but I think he has gone mad. He is suffering from a psychological illness,” Kadhafi told German television.
# 3 I
f you watched HH interview on Muvi TV, he did touch that issue of Leaders clinging on to power for more than 40 years. He is totally against it. Sata and RB will definately be for it. They are the Leaders who do not want to give up leadership and allow the young generations to take over.
well they are rebels what do you do with them,shoot them dead.
There is no cause for alarm in Lybia. The people of Lybia MUST be thankful for what Gaddaffi has done for them. He fought wars for them, built them houses, which no government has done in Africa, and has maintained Lybia’s economy to its highiest levels. Lybia is one of the few countries in africa with national investments all over the world when Zambia cant even manage its one and only zamtel! The poverty levels in Lybia connot be compared to those in Sundan, Congo, Zimbabwe or Zambia, why are u not demonstrating! even after the unlawful killing of Mongu residents and the Mazabuka youths! Let us not allow demonstrations for the sake of demonstrating without cause!!!! Gaddaffi please be strong and remember that God will see you through as we continue to pray for you. Long live Gaddaffi…
Gaddaffi is far much better than Sata
Withering of the jasmine
The jasmine revolution began as a romance and is now ending in tragedy.
As the world dithers on intervention, Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi is rapidly rolling up the rebellion that a week ago had seemed on the verge of toppling him.
Bahrain’s Sunni rulers have violently turned on pro-democracy protestors, backed by troops provided by fellow Persian Gulf monarchies.
A similar story of protests being slowly but surely ground to silence is being repeated in many of the other Arab countries, ranging from Yemen to Algeria, where there had been an expectation of regime change.
Africans Africans… Gaddafi is a dictator full stop. The people do not want him any more. If Libya was a free democracy, the people would have voted him out. But it is not a democracy and so the people have a right to fight for democracy. This is going to be another Rwanda. Many will die for no reason while the world just watches. I hope the people of Benghazi will have the courage to fight and regain their former gains. And I do hope the EU and the USA will impose the no fly zone over Libya.
# 20 too late, Benghanzi has been taken by Gaddafi. so those leaders that thought the brother man was going and decided to freeze his assets are now in trouble.
The french and british governments hate their own white poor people,
but they hate black people more.
their hatred for black people is racist and genocidal. they can’t control their urges to rape, torture and mass murder Africans.
so they are pretending to protect the lives of Libyans.
they are pretending to attack gaddaffi, in fact they are attacking all libyans to steal their oil and gas
destabalzing the country, inciting civil war,
so their oil multinationals get more and cheaper contracts –
This is the start of the imperialist invasion of africa
The british and french and US goverments bribed the entire UN security council to support their war crimes
they told China Russia and Germany that they would steal Libya’s oil -but they would share the oil with them if…