Gaddafi forces push forward as U.S. mulls air strikes

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Gaddafi forces push forward as U.S. mulls air strikes

By Golovnina Golovnina – 24 mins ago

TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI (Reuters) – Libyan troops pushed forward toward the insurgent

stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday and launched air raids on its outskirts as

Washington raised the possibility of air strikes to stop Muammar Gaddafi's

forces.

But the international debate on what action to take may have dragged on too long

to help the anti-Gaddafi uprising, now struggling to hold its ground one month

after it started.

Libyan state television said government troops had taken Zueitina, an oil port

on the coastal highway 130 km (80 miles) from Benghazi, but the rebels said they

had surrounded the pro-Gaddafi units on the approaches to the town.

Similarly, a rebel spokesman denied a state television report that government

troops were on the outskirts of Benghazi itself, the city where the revolution

started.

However, residents of the city and a rebel spokesman reported air strikes on the

outskirts, including at the airport. Libyan state television had said earlier

that gunfire and explosions could be heard at the airport.

Clashes around Ajdabiyah, a strategic town on the coast road, killed around 30

people, Al Arabiya television reported.

On the approaches to Ajdabiyah, burned-out cars lay by the roadside while Libyan

government forces showed the foreign media artillery, tanks and mobile rocket

launchers -- much heavier weapons than those used by the rebels.

In Libya's third city, Misrata, about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, rebels

and residents said they were preparing for a new attack by Libyan troops, who

had shelled the coastal city overnight. A government spokesman said Gaddafi's

forces expected to be in control of Misrata by Friday morning.

The United States, previously cool on the idea of a foreign military

intervention, said the U.N. Security Council should consider tougher action than

a no-fly zone over Libya.

" We are discussing very seriously and leading efforts in the Council around a

range of actions that we believe could be effective in protecting civilians, "

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Rice said in New York late on

Wednesday.

" The U.S. view is that we need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include,

but perhaps go beyond, a no-fly zone. "

Washington had initially reacted cautiously to Arab League and European calls

for a no-fly zone over Libya, with some officials concerned it could be

militarily ineffective or politically damaging.

Diplomats at the United Nations told Reuters that the United States, Britain and

France now supported the idea of the council authorizing military action such as

air strikes to protect civilian areas.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped the Security Council would

vote " no later than Thursday. "

She said Gaddafi seemed determined to kill as many as Libyans as possible, and

that " many different actions " were being considered.

Russia, China, Germany, India and other council members are either undecided or

have voiced doubts about the proposal for a no-fly zone. Italy, a potential base

for military action, ruled out military intervention in the oil-exporting

country.

A U.S. official said he could not confirm any discussion of a plan to attack

Libyan forces. In theory, he said, military action could be directed not only at

Gaddafi's air force, but at artillery and communications systems too.

The U.S. change appeared to be driven by the worsening plight of the rebels, who

are fighting to end 41 years of rule by Gaddafi and have set up a provisional

national council in Benghazi.

Their ill-equipped forces have been routed by troops backed by tanks, artillery

and war planes from towns they had seized in the early days of the uprising.

ARMY ADVANCES

Gaddafi, in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro, said his troops' aim

was to liberate the people from " the armed gangs " that occupy Benghazi.

" If we used force, it would take just a day. But our aim is to progressively

dismantle the armed groups, through various means, such as encircling cities or

sending negotiators. "

Asked if dialogue with the rebels was possible, he repeated his assertion that

they were linked to the al Qaeda Islamic militant group.

" These are not people with whom we aim to talk, as al Qaeda does not talk with

anybody. "

On the fate of the rebel leadership, he said: " It is quite possible they will

flee. Anyway, it's not really a structure. It has no value. "

A statement on Al-Libya state television told people in Benghazi that the army

was on its way.

" It urges you to keep out by midnight of areas where the armed men and weapon

storage areas are located, " it said.

One civilian reached by phone from Tobruk, Hisham Mohammed, said: " People are

okay here. There is a bit of tension, a little fear of air strikes, but most

people are fine. "

Two aid agencies -- the International Committee of the Red Cross and Medecins

Sans Frontieres -- have withdrawn their workers from Benghazi due to safety

concerns.

BENGHAZI AND TOBRUK ROADS

The exact state of affairs in Ajdabiyah, 150 km (90 miles) south of Benghazi on

the Gulf of Sirte, was unclear on Thursday morning. Parts of it appeared to have

changed hands several times in the past 48 hours, a recurring feature of the war

for control of the towns strung along the North African coast.

Osama Jazwi, a Benghazi doctor, said that when he left Ajdabiyah late on

Wednesday, rebels had controlled the city and fighting was still going on.

At one point, Gaddafi's forces had cut the road from Adjabiyah to Tobruk, but

then rebels cleared them from it.

But another civilian in Benghazi, who asked not to be named, said Ajdabiyah had

fallen.

" I know people there. There are many people leaving Ajdabiyah, coming through

Benghazi and heading for the border. "

(Additional reporting by a Reuters reporter in Benghazi, Georgy in

Tripoli, m Karouny and Tarek Amara in Tunisia, Louis Charbonneau and

Worsnip at the United Nations; Editing by Giles Elgood and Liffey)