BENGHAZI/MISRATA: Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar
Qaddafi on Friday surrounded Zlitan, one of only three towns separating the
opposition-held city of Misrata from the capital Tripoli, an opposition
military spokesman said.
“Large numbers of troops are surrounding Zlitan from all
directions and are threatening its residents with having their women raped by
mercenaries if they do not surrender,” Ahmed Bani, military spokesman, told
Reuters by phone from Benghazi.
Zlitan could act as a stepping stone to allow the
anti-Qaddafi uprising to spread from Misrata, the biggest opposition outpost in
western Libya, to Qaddafi’s stronghold in Tripoli.
Bani said the troops around Zlitan were equipped with
artillery and Grad rockets. Meanwhile, Libyan government forces pounded the
outskirts of Misrata on Friday, killing at least 22 people, a hospital
physician said.
The doctor at Hikma Hospital, who would only give his first
name, Ayman, said Qaddafi’s forces used tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets
in the bombardment of Dafniya, about 30 km west of Misrata.
He said at least 61 people were wounded in the attacks which
began about 10 a.m. local time.
The doctor said residents had reported no sign of NATO
aircraft in the Misrata region. There also were no reports NATO strikes in
Tripoli, the capital. NATO had been pounding Tripoli and environs in recent
days, stepping up backing for the four-month-old uprising that seeks to oust
Qaddafi from power after four decades.
Rebels have taken control of swaths of eastern Libya,
although fighting has since come to a stalemate even with NATO support. Misrata
remained one of the most important opposition footholds in the Qaddafi
controlled west.
Government forces are surrounding Misrata on all sides but
the north, where the city has access to the Mediterranean Sea for supplies and
food through Libya’s major port.
Opposition fighters have beaten back several government
attempts to retake the city.
The Qaddafi forces are pushing back on opposition forces
trying to break out of Misrata to the west toward Tripoli, where Qaddafi is
increasingly cornered under NATO bombardment in the capital.
An opposition fighter in Misrata who identifies himself only
as Abdel-Salem said Qaddafi’s sons, Khamis and Al-Moatassem, and top aid
Abdullah Al-Senoussi are in command of the operation in Zlitan, about 15 km
from Dafinya. They are dug in trying to stop the opposition advance out of
Misrata.
“The situation is very bad there. Qaddafi sent huge forces
to Zlitan to fortify the city because he knows that if Zlitan falls in the
hands of the opposition fighters, the way to Tripoli will be wide open,”
Abdel-Salam said. “Now the ball is in the court of NATO, but we have not seen
any NATO planes flying over despite the fierce battle.” According to
Abdel-Salam, a bulk of Zlitan residents are Qaddafi loyalists.
US Sen. Carl Levin spoke of the degredation of Qaddafi’s
forces Friday after a classified briefing by senior Pentagon officials in
Washington. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Qaddafi’s
military and political standing had been weakened by NATO air attacks.
Levin said administration officials offered no predictions
on how long the war would last or when Qaddafi might go. He said NATO
helicopters, likely British and French, have been taking out tanks without
collateral damage.
In Norway, meanwhile, military officials said on Friday the
country would scale down its fighter jet contribution the NATO force flying
above Libya from six to four planes and withdraw completely from the NATO-led
operation by Aug. 1.
The Dutch government, however, has continue its forces’ role
in the NATO campaign through the end of the three month extension the alliance
announced last week. It also plans to contribute a handful of new staff.
