Posted on 03/02/2011 1:05:21 PM PST by mojito
AJDABIYA, LIBYA - Rebel forces repelled powerful ground and air assaults on the key oil port of Brega on Wednesday as forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi attempted to creep back into the eastern part of the country and reassert control.
The fight for Brega, a vital facility for Libyan oil exports, came as Gaddafi told supporters in the capital, Tripoli, that he would "fight to the last drop of Libyan blood" to defeat a revolt that he denounced as instigated by Islamic extremists.
The loyalist attack on the oil port about 50 miles southwest of the rebel-held town of Ajdabiya initially sent panic through the eastern part of the country, where the opposition has seized control of many cities.
The attacking Gaddafi loyalists arrived in more than 60 armed vehicles and shelled the area. Rebel forces then counterattacked.
As the battle raged, Libyan warplanes dropped bombs near a munitions storage area in Ajdabiya and struck the port and center of Brega. Rebel fighters, determined to hold the port, flowed into the area armed with machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and bazookas.
In the desert sand dunes of Brega, the rebels prayed before pushing forward to attack Gaddafi's forces, driving them out of the oil facilities and the port. Rebel fighters surrounded the loyalists near a university in the center of Brega as the attackers apparently ran low on ammunition.
After an hours-long battle, the rebels celebrated a victory and vowed to push forward to ensure that Gaddafi's forces did not return. The attackers fled in dozens of army trucks and civilian pickups marked with the word "Army" in red.
Outside Brega, rebel reinforcements arrived from opposition-held eastern cities as far as the border with Egypt.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
One thing to remember from all of this: There are some of government forces, versus unlimited popular rebels.
Who else would be afraid of that? Hm......
Agedabia is a good natural defensive position, as that’s where the Brits stopped twice after clearing Cyrenaica in 1940 and 1941.
What is disturbing is that normally, when there is a coup or uprising against a dictator, for it to be successful it has to sweep like a wildfire through the country and up to the capital. Such a quick revolution doesn’t necessarily need a strong leader. If that doesn’t happen, you need to look long term, as in a Civil War. In that scenario, the opposition needs needs to be cohesive and led by tomorrow’s dictator, who has strong outside support.
I don’t see either one here. The longer Gaddafi stays in power, the more likely he can suppress the revolt by having it implode from it’s own lack of leadership.
They are constantly described as “rebels” or “anti-government forces” but who are they? I thought that these dictatorships pretty much disarmed their own people and what we were allowed to see from Egypt was (largely) peaceful protests. For there to any progress against military/paramilitary forces and airstrikes, there would have to be some firepower and tactical competency. I just kind of assumed they were supplied by Iran but I’d like to know more about these “rebels” that our President seems to side with.
Astutely put. I think Khaddafi will win this thing, because he’s willing to do what is necessary to win it - and, as you pointed out, the opposition is (apparently) leaderless. But then, I didn’t expect Mubarak to fold so quickly...
At least they're not calling them "protesters" any more.
“I don’t see either one here. The longer Gaddafi stays in power, the more likely he can suppress the revolt by having it implode from it’s own lack of leadership.”
LACK OF LEADERSHIP ... huh ... Gaddafi would be gone in 48 hours if ONLY there was some LEADERSHIP shown by our President to make clear that we would stop him from conducting war on his own people.
Gaddafi can only cling to power if the rest of the world stands back and lets him violently suppress the revolt.
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