Gaddafi in desperate power struggle, fears int intervention

Rania & Lalit K Jha
Cairo/Washington, Mar 1 (PTI) Libyan strongman Muammar
Gaddafi on Tuesday unleashed bombing raids, special forces and
heavy armour in a desperate bid to break the siege of his
capital Tripoli, fearing a US and NATO military intervention.
As US warships and fighters massed off the Libyan
coastline and the threat of a 'no-fly zone' appeared imminent,
Gaddafi threw in his ultra loyal elite Khamis brigade and
mercenary militiamen, to retake the towns closest to the
capital.
Apparently wary of threats held out by western
nations, including British Prime Minister David Cameron who
warned him of military action, Gaddafi launched a six-pronged
attack to break encirclement of his capital, but the rebels
bolstered by defections from the army repelled his attacks.
The rebels used newly acquired tanks, mortars and
machine guns to push back the attack on al-Zawiya town, 50 kms
west of Tripoli and six other outlying cities, giving a new
dimension to the rebellion, in which atleast 1,000 people have
been killed, al Jazeera reported.
Tens of thousands of defections from the ranks of the
military and militiamen were reported by the channel which
said that reports of US and Nato warships and fighters massing
in the Mediterranean Sea could trigger a further switchover
from the army.
The battle for al-Zawiya town was intense and went on
for six hours, but there was no word on casualties, the Arab
channel reported.
Reports also said that Gaddafi's air force jets bombed
ammunition depots in the eastern part of the country which has
totally switched sides to his opposition.
"We repulsed the attack. We damaged tanks and the
mercenaries and the army troops fled after that," al Jazeera
quoted local fighters as saying.
The opposition forces, now labelling themselves as the
'New Libyan Army', are growing by hours due to defections.
But opposition commanders said it was impossible to
say how many of Libya's 76,000 strong army has defected. They
said they have now access to large stores of weapons from
looted military stockpiles or smuggled across the border.
The channel said rebel soldiers had become much more
organised and had set up a unified military council in the
East.
"Small groups of rebel soldiers have volunteered to
infiltrate into Tripoli to cause havoc and bolster
pro-democracy groups," the channel said.
While his 41-year-old regime appeared to be crumbling
on all sides, the Libyan ruler was still steadfast in denial.
Speaking to three western media groups, including BBC
and ABC, Gaddafi laughed off suggestions that he would leave
strife-torn Libya, insisting that "all my people love me".
But the stiffening of attitude by the US and Nato
became clear as Cameron, speaking in the House of Commons,
said "a no-fly zone" can be imposed anytime and his troops
could be involved in peacekeeping in the country.
The British prime minister told the Commons that the
UK and its allies were considering using fighter jets to
impose a 'no-fly zone' over Libya to patrol and shoot down
Libyan aircrafts ordered to attack protesters.