Gaddafi's army press ahead, 'rebels retreat from Brega'

Cairo, Mar 13 (PTI) Libyan rebels on Sunday retreated
from the eastern oil town of Brega amid relentless pounding by
troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi who came under mounting
pressure from the Arab League which backed a 'no-fly' zone to
halt air strikes against his opponents.
The army loyal to Gaddafi has cleared "armed gangs"
from Brega, Libyan state TV was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera
channel. "Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs," it said.
After a series of counter-offensives, Gaddafi's forces
advanced to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, 240 km east
Brega.
The recapture of Brega came amid a string of setbacks
for the rebels who lost several cities in the east to
pro-Gaddafi forces, Al Jazeera channel said.
"Dozens of rebel fighters are pulling out of Brega
amid heavy shelling," BBC quoted witnesses as saying.
It said Gaddafi's troops are on the outskirts of the
Misrata, last major rebel base in western Libya, with tank
fire being heard.
It quoted rebels as saying that they were heading
towards Ajdabiya, 150 km south of Benghazi.
Troops loyal to Gaddafi on Saturday had pushed the
front line miles deeper into rebel territory to just 40 km
outside Brega, Al Jazeera said.
As the Gaddafi regime wrested back momentum against a
month-long uprising, the rebels received morale-boosting
support from the Arab League who approved the proposal mooted
by the west for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and
establishing contacts with oppositions' provisional National
Council based in Benghazi.
"The Arab League asks the United Nations to shoulder
its responsibility... to impose a no-fly zone over the
movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in
the places vulnerable to air strikes," said the 22-member
organisation in a statement here.
The Arab bloc said the Gaddafi regime had "lost its
sovereignty," piling up pressure on the US and other Western
nations to move fast on the plan to protect civilians from air
attacks by forces loyal to the embattled leader.
It also appeared to confer legitimacy on the rebels'
National Council, saying it would establish contacts with the
group.
The Arab League's approval for a 'no-fly' zone is
likely to encourage the US and its European allies to move
ahead with enforcing the zone, which will effectively
neutralise Gaddafi's air power.
The UK and France have come out openly in support of
the idea, but firm backing from the EU or Nato has been
lacking so far.
Gaddafi's forces have already reclaimed the rebel-held
Zawahiya town and strategic oil port of Ras Lanuf, 40 km west
of Brega, Al Jazeera said.
"We have to remember that this is not an organised
army. This is a group of teachers, engineers, street cleaners
- people who have had no association with weapons whatsoever,"
it said.
Even as the US has let its EU and Nato allies take the
initiative for a 'no fly' zone, American President Barack
Obama has warned that "the noose" around the Libyan ruler was
tightening.
Speaking in Washington Obama said the international
community had an obligation to prevent a Rawanda-style
civilian massacre in the northern African nation.
"Across the board, we are slowly tightening the noose
on Gaddafi," Obama said.
In his first indication of a US tilt towards Libyan
rebels, Obama said he would appoint an envoy to the Libyan
opposition forces as part of efforts to "change" the balance
of the military situation in the strife-torn country.
As forces loyal to Gaddafi recaptured some lost
territory, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday
embarks an overseas tour to build consensus on the
international action against the Libyan dictator.
She is expected to visit Paris and Egypt to discuss
ways to help the Libyan opposition and hold talks with Mahmud
Jibril, a member of the National Council.
Top US Senators have asked the Obama administration to
take "meaningful actions" to oust Gadhafi from power before it
is too late, including through imposition of a no-fly zone
and recognition of the opposition National Council.
The US should take actions like "the imposition of a
no fly zone, recognition of the Transitional National Council
as the legitimate government of Libya, and provide assistance
to them that will help them prevail in their fight against
Gaddafi," Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, said in
Washington.
The counter offensive by the Gaddafi forces comes amid
media speculation of a mutiny among government troops with a
top commander defecting to the rebels. The report suggested
that the troops were uneasy with the idea of killing civilians
in the military onslaught.
Amid the looming crisis, Rashid Khalikov, the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, reached Tripoli on Sunday
to discuss access for aid workers throughout the restive
country.
"Our most immediate challenge is humanitarian,"
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this week. "With each day,
the death toll mounts and the situation of the Libyan people
grow more desperate," he said at the UN.
According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people have been
killed since the uprising against Gaddafi's 41 years rule
began on Febrary 14. More than 200,000 people have fled the
country, most of them foreign workers.