Tribe loyal to Gadhafi poised to surrender
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2011, Monday
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LIBYAN rebels said yesterday that tribal leaders in a besieged pro-Moammar Gadhafi stronghold are divided over what to do and will likely surrender rather than see their followers fight one another.
Rebel forces control most of the oil-rich North African nation and are moving forward with setting up a new government, but Gadhafi and his staunchest allies remain on the run and enjoy support in several central and southern areas.
The rebels have surrounded Bani Walid, some 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, after giving loyalists entrenched there and several other towns until Saturday to surrender peacefully or face an assault.
Colonel Ahmed Bani, the rebel's military spokesman based in Benghazi, said he expects members of Libya's largest tribe, the Warfala, which dominates Bani Walid, to give up rather than turn against each other.
"They will give up at the end because they are cousins and they don't want to spill each other's blood," he said.
Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, who is representing the rebels' transitional council in the Bani Walid talks, has said negotiators were holding face-to-face talks with tribal members from both camps - those who want to join the opposition and senior officials who remain loyal to Gadhafi.
Rebel officials have given conflicting statements about the situation in Bani Walid and other loyalist areas, and many opposition fighters stationed outside the hilltop town are eager to move in.
On Saturday, rebels from Misrata, a western port that played a central role in the war, reported they faced no resistance when they took over two military camps on the outskirts of Bani Walid.
"Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders" to attack, said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander at a staging area about 70 kilometers from the stronghold. "We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves."
Al-Fassi said more Gadhafi loyalists had moved into Bani Walid from the south, but did not know how many.
The 1-million-strong Warfala make up a sixth of Libya's population. Gadhafi said last week that the Warfala would be among the tribes defending him to the death.
A rebel spokesman said residents had said one of Gadhafi's sons, Seif al-Islam, had fled to Bani Walid soon after Tripoli fell, but left recently for fear townspeople would hand him over.
NATO, meanwhile, reported bombing a military barracks, a police camp and several other targets near Sirte overnight, as well as targets near Hun, a possible staging ground in the desert halfway between Sirte and Sabha. It also reported bombing an ammunition storage facility near Bani Walid.
Rebel forces control most of the oil-rich North African nation and are moving forward with setting up a new government, but Gadhafi and his staunchest allies remain on the run and enjoy support in several central and southern areas.
The rebels have surrounded Bani Walid, some 140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, after giving loyalists entrenched there and several other towns until Saturday to surrender peacefully or face an assault.
Colonel Ahmed Bani, the rebel's military spokesman based in Benghazi, said he expects members of Libya's largest tribe, the Warfala, which dominates Bani Walid, to give up rather than turn against each other.
"They will give up at the end because they are cousins and they don't want to spill each other's blood," he said.
Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, who is representing the rebels' transitional council in the Bani Walid talks, has said negotiators were holding face-to-face talks with tribal members from both camps - those who want to join the opposition and senior officials who remain loyal to Gadhafi.
Rebel officials have given conflicting statements about the situation in Bani Walid and other loyalist areas, and many opposition fighters stationed outside the hilltop town are eager to move in.
On Saturday, rebels from Misrata, a western port that played a central role in the war, reported they faced no resistance when they took over two military camps on the outskirts of Bani Walid.
"Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders" to attack, said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander at a staging area about 70 kilometers from the stronghold. "We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves."
Al-Fassi said more Gadhafi loyalists had moved into Bani Walid from the south, but did not know how many.
The 1-million-strong Warfala make up a sixth of Libya's population. Gadhafi said last week that the Warfala would be among the tribes defending him to the death.
A rebel spokesman said residents had said one of Gadhafi's sons, Seif al-Islam, had fled to Bani Walid soon after Tripoli fell, but left recently for fear townspeople would hand him over.
NATO, meanwhile, reported bombing a military barracks, a police camp and several other targets near Sirte overnight, as well as targets near Hun, a possible staging ground in the desert halfway between Sirte and Sabha. It also reported bombing an ammunition storage facility near Bani Walid.
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