Libya's interim leaders failed to agree a new cabinet on
Sunday and the forces that forced Muammar Gaddafi from power remained bogged
down in fighting with troops loyal to the former ruler.
Interim government forces fled
in chaos from the town of Bani Walid and pulled back from Sirte after yet more
failed attempts to storm Gaddafi's final bastions and take control of the
entire country.
The political and military
problems underscored how hard it would be to restore stability to Libya after
Gaddafi was driven out of Tripoli last month.
The former rebels' executive
committee, or cabinet, was dissolved last month. A new committee, to include
officials responsible for defense and interior affairs, was supposed to be
appointed by interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril on Sunday.
But the talks broke down when
his proposals did not receive full backing from all current members.
"We had an advisory
meeting with the NTC in order to form a new cabinet. We have agreed on a number
of portfolios. We still have more portfolios to be discussed," Jibril told
reporters through a translator at a news conference on Sunday.
A list of the approved
ministries was not available, though sources familiar with the negotiations
said that the position of Jibril himself was a sticking point during the talks.
There was also disagreement
about whether it is necessary to form a transitional government before the
declaration of "liberation" - a concept that appears to include the
capture of Gaddafi and the defeat of his loyalists who still hold three key
towns.
The NTC has drawn up a road
map setting out plans for a new constitution and elections over a 20-month
period, which should start once that declaration is made.
With political negotiations
bogged down, Sunday's failed attempt to take Bani Walid set off angry
recriminations among the attackers, who must capture the town and Gaddafi's
birthplace Sirte before they can declare Libya "liberated".
RECRIMINATIONS
Since taking Tripoli last
month, National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters have tried several times to
storm Bani Walid, 150 km (90 miles) southeast of the capital, only to retreat
under heavy fire and in disorder.
NTC fighters said they had
planned for tanks and pickup trucks with anti-aircraft guns and rocket
launchers to lead Sunday's attack, but foot soldiers had piled in first.
"There is a lack of
organization so far. Infantry men are running in all directions," said
Zakaria Tuham, a senior fighter with a Tripoli-based unit.
"Our commanders had been
told that heavy artillery units had already gone ahead, but when we advanced
into Bani Walid they were nowhere to be seen.
"Gaddafi forces were
hitting us heavily with rockets and mortars, so we have pulled out."
A Reuters reporter saw
fighters withdraw around two km (more than a mile) after they had stormed into
the town.
NATO planes circled above the
town later on Sunday and loud explosions were heard from the center, though it
was not clear whether the planes had attacked.
Anti-Gaddafi fighters from
Bani Walid blamed comrades from elsewhere in Libya for being unwilling to
coordinate. Those from elsewhere accused some local fighters of being traitors
and passing information to Gaddafi loyalists.
"Commanders who are from
the Warfalla tribe, they tell us one thing and then commanders from the other
cities say something else. We do not understand anything," said pro-NTC
fighter Mohamed Saleh.
Some fighters openly disobeyed
orders. In one incident, an officer from Bani Walid was heckled by troops from
Tripoli after he tried to order them to stop randomly shooting in the air as
they celebrated seizing a mortar from Gaddafi forces.
"You are not my boss.
Don't tell me what to do," one of the Tripoli fighters snapped back at
him.
Shells whistled above
anti-Gaddafi positions and exploded across the desert valley as invisible
snipers sprayed bullets from Bani Walid's rooftops and smoke rose above the
town.
NTC fighters helped some
families leave the town, driving them out in military trucks.
"The past two weeks have
been awful but last night was particularly bad," said Zamzam al-Taher, a
38-year-old mother of four. "We have been trapped here without a car and
with no food. Snipers are everywhere."
BATTLE FOR SIRTE
NTC forces and NATO warplanes
also attacked Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace. Fighters launched rockets from the
city's southern entrance and traded fire with Gaddafi loyalists holed up in a
conference center.
"The situation is very
dangerous. There are so many snipers and all the types of weapons you can
imagine," said fighter Mohamed Abdullah as rockets whooshed through the
air and black smoke rose above the city.
As in many episodes during
Libya's conflict, the front lines at Sirte and Bani Walid have moved back and
forth, with shows of bravado crumbling in the reality of battle.
An incoming shell landed
within 200 meters of NTC-held lines, only to be met with return fire from NTC
fighters shouting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greatest).
Speaking against the roar of
NATO jets overhead, one anti-Gaddafi fighter at Sirte, Mahmoud Othman, said his
men were helping families who had fled ahead of the next assault.
"We don't want any more
bloodshed between us. But if the Gaddafa want more blood, we are ready,"
he said, referring to the deposed leader's tribe. "In the end we want
Gaddafi."
A spokesman for Gaddafi told
Syrian-based Arrai TV on Sunday that 17 "mercenaries", including what
he called French and British "technical experts" had been captured in
Bani Walid.
It was not immediately
possible to verify the report. NATO, French and British officials had on
Saturday denied a report by Arrai TV that NATO troops had been captured by
Gaddafi loyalists.
(Additional reporting by
William MacLean and Joseph Logan in Tripoli, Sherine El Madany in Herawa,
Alexander Dziadosz in Benghazi, Barry Malone and Sylvia
Westall in Tunis;
Editing byMyra
MacDonald)
Casino Classic
Source : Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment