Libya rebels controlling city closest to capital ready to repel attack by pro-Ga

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Libya rebels controlling city closest to capital ready to repel attack by

pro-Gadhafi forces

By Maggie , The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 1 hour 4 minutes

ago

ZAWIYA, Libya - Hundreds of armed anti-government forces backed by rebel troops

who control the city closest to the capital Tripoli prepared Sunday to repel an

expected offensive by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi surrounding Zawiya.

The Gadhafi regime, eager to show foreign reporters that the country is calm and

under their control, took visiting journalists to Zawiya, 30 miles (50

kilometres) west of Tripoli. But an Associated Press reporter on the tour

confirmed the anti-government rebels are in control of the centre of the city of

200,000. They have army tanks and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks

deployed.

On the outskirts of the city, however, they are surrounded by pro-Gadhafi

forces, also backed by tanks and anti-aircraft guns.

There were at least six checkpoints controlled by troops loyal to Gadhafi on the

road from Tripoli to Zawiya. Each checkpoint was reinforced by at least one

tank, and the troops concealed their faces with scarves.

" To us, Gadhafi is the Dracula of Libya, " said Wael al-Oraibi, an army officer

at Zawiya who joined the rebels. He said his decision to defect was prompted in

large part by the Libyan leader's use of mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa

against the people of Zawiya.

Gadhafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-regime

uprising sweeping the Arab world. The United States, Britain and the U.N.

Security Council all imposed sanctions on Libya over the weekend. And President

Barack Obama said it is time for Gadhafi to go. Human rights groups and European

officials have put the death toll at hundreds, or perhaps even thousands though

it has been virtually impossible to verify the numbers.

Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, denied in a TV interview that his father's regime

used force or airstrikes against its own people.

" Show me a single attack. Show me a single bomb, " he told ABC's " This Week, "

according to a transcript. " The Libyan air force destroyed just the ammunition

sites. That's it. "

Seif al-Islam is the most visible of Gadhafi's children and has since the

anti-government protests broke out nearly two weeks ago been acting as a

spokesman for the regime.

" The whole south is calm. The west is calm. The middle is calm. Even part of the

east, " he said.

Asked about Obama's call for his father to step down, he said: " It's not an

American business, that's No. 1. Second, do they think this is a solution? Of

course not. "

As for the U.S. freeze of Libyan assets, he said: " First of all, we don't have

money outside. We are a very modest family and everybody knows that. "

Zawiya, a key city close to an oil port and refineries, is the nearest

population centre to Tripoli to fall into the opposition hands. Police stations

and government offices inside the city have been torched and anti-Gadhafi

graffiti was everywhere. Many buildings are pockmarked by bullets.

The mood in the city was generally upbeat, but the anticipation of a renewed

attempt to retake the city was causing some anxiety among the rebels.

" Gadhafi Out, " chanted hundreds in the city centre. The charred skeletons of

many cars littered the city and most streets were blocked by palm tree trunks or

metal barricades. " Free, Free Libya, " chanted members of the anti-government

forces at the city centre.

" Down with Gadhafi, the mass murderer, " read graffiti scrawled in the city. An

effigy of Gadhafi hung from a light pole in the city's main square. On its chest

the words " Execute Gadhafi " were emblazoned.

The square has now become the burial place of six of 11 rebels killed by

pro-Gadhafi forces Thursday when they attacked the area to try and dislodge

them. Residents reported several skirmishes between the two sides since

Thursday.

" We are all wanted, " said one rebel at the square who did not want to give his

name for fear of reprisals. " Zawiya in our hands is a direct threat to Tripoli. "

Rebels from the town and army forces who defected from the regime to join them

largely consolidated control of the town on Feb. 24, after an army unit that

remained loyal to Gadhafi opened fire on a mosque where residents — some armed

with hunting rifles for protection — had been holding a sit-in.

About 20 miles (30 Kilometers) west of Zawiya, some 3,000 pro-Gadhafi

demonstrators gathered on the coastal highway, chanting slogans in support of

the Libyan leader.

Before Zawiya fell to rebel forces, Gadhafi scolded the city residents on

Thursday.

" Shame on you, people of Zawiya. Control your children, " he said. " They are

loyal to bin Laden, " he said of those involved in the uprising. " What do you

have to do with bin Laden, people of Zawiya? They are exploiting young people

.... I insist it is bin Laden. "

On Feb. 24, local forces repelled an attempt by militiamen and pro-Gadhafi

troops to take back the town.

Later, Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, acknowledged to foreign journalists in

Tripoli that there were " two minor problems " in Misrata and Zawiya. There, he

said, " we are dealing with terrorist people, " but he hoped to reach a peaceful

settlement with them.

Gadhafi loyalists remain in control of nearby Tripoli, which was reported to be

quiet Sunday, with most stores closed and long lines outside the few banks open

for business.

City residents thronged the banks after state TV and SMS messages announced in

the past few days that each family would receive 500 Libyan dinars (about $400),

plus the equivalent of about $100 credit for phone service. State TV said

families also will be entitled to 60,000 Libyan dinars (about $49,000) in

interest-free loans to buy apartments.

But one resident said Tripoli's calm may be deceptive.

" The situation is being constructed to look natural, but it is not, " said a

40-year-old Tripoli businessman who did not want to be named for fear of

reprisals. " People are scared and they are waiting for the fall of the regime.

People are scared to go out or to gather because some areas have been taken over

by armed groups loyal to the regime. "

Another Tripoli resident, a 21-year-old Libyan-American who only wanted to be

identified by her first name, Rahma, said the city was deserted on Sunday. " No

one is driving around, no one is out in the streets. "

Her aunt, she said, went to a funeral Sunday and came back to tell the rest of

the family that there were checkpoints run by pro-regime forces across the city.

A doctor in Libya's third-largest city Misrata, 125 miles (200 kilometres) east

of Tripoli, said residents retrieved two more bodies of those killed during

fighting with pro-Gadhafi forces near the city's air base on Friday.

The two bodies raise to 27 the death toll from the fighting. About 30 residents

who took part in the battle remain unaccounted for, said the doctor who spoke on

condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals.

___

Associated Press reporters Ben Hubbard and Bassem Mroue contributed to this

report from Cairo.