Libyan army to withdraw from Misurata

Tripoli, Apr 23 (PTI) Pro-Gaddafi troops will withdraw
from the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata and leave it to
local tribes to resolve the conflict either through "force or
negotiations", the Libyan government has said, as NATO
carried out more air strikes on Tripoli killing three people.
"The situation in Misurata will be dealt with by the
tribes around Misurata and Misurata's residents and not by the
Libyan army," Khaled Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister,
told reporters late last night.
"We will leave the tribes around Misurata and Misurata's
people to deal with the situation, either using force or
negotiations," he said.
Kaim said the Libyan army had been given an "ultimatum"
to stop the rebellion in the western port city, 200 km east of
the capital Tripoli.
"There was an ultimatum to the Libyan army: if they
cannot solve the problem in Misurata, then the people from
(the neighbouring towns of) Zliten, Tarhuna, Bani Walid and
Tawargha will move in and they will talk to the rebels. If
they don't surrender, then they will engage them in a fight,"
he was quoted as saying by Al-Jazeera.
Hours after the announcement of a shift in tactics in
Misurata by forces of Muammar Gaddafi, NATO bombs struck what
appeared to be a bunker near his compound in central Tripoli.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said three people were
killed by the "very powerful explosion" in a car park near
Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
The popular revolt against 68-year-old Gaddafi - inspired
by similar uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia - began in February
and a UN mandate later sanctioned air strikes against Libyan
forces to protect civilians. NATO took control of the
operations on March 31.
Powerful US Senator John McCain, who visited the rebel
stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, sought international
recognition for the Libyan opposition, saying "these brave
fighters" needed "every appropriate" means of assistance to
increase pressure on Gaddafi and his loyalists.
"I would encourage every nation, especially the United
States, to recognise the Transitional National Council as the
legitimate voice of the Libyan people. They've earned this
right, and Gaddafi has forfeited it by waging war on his own
people," McCain told a news conference in Benghazi.
The visiting US Senator said the governments that have
frozen assets of the Gaddafi regime should release some of
that money to the Council so that they can sustain, improve,
and expand their capacity to govern justly.
"We need to urgently step up the NATO air campaign to
protect Libyan civilians, especially in Misurata. We
desperately need more close air-support and precision strike
assets – such as A-10s and AC-130s," he said, applauding US
Defence Secretary Robert Gates's decision to use Predator
drones.
McCain also denied concerns about the possibility of
extremist or al-Qaeda elements fighting alongside the
pro-democracy forces, telling Al-Jazeera "they (rebels) are my
heroes".
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US military's joint
chiefs of staff, offered a similar assessment. "We're watchful
of it, mindful of it and I just haven't seen much of it at
all. In fact, I've seen no al-Qaeda representation there at
all," he said during a visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
McCain is the first from the US to visit Benghazi since
the conflict broke out in late February and made the trip to
Libya on his own.
One of his aides said he met rebel leaders, including
their finance chief Ali Tarhouni and armed forces head Abdel
Fattah Younes.
The US Senator's arrival came close on the heels of
President Barack Obama approving the use of armed drones in
Libya against ground forces for the first time since America
handed over the military operation to NATO.
The Predators carried out a number of strikes in Misurata
as well as on suspected missile sites in capital Tripoli
giving tactical advantage to the opposition, who drove out
dozens of snipers on tall buildings within hours of street
fighting, NATO officials said.