Gadhafi’s troops are closing in on the heart of the opposition, the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Warplanes heavily bombed the city on Wednesday, giving Gadhafi the momentum for the first time since rebels captured the city and declared an interim government last month.
For the past two weeks Gadhafi’s forces have tried to regain control of Misurata and now Benghazi from lightly armed mostly inexperienced rebel forces. The biggest blows to them have come from artillery and air strikes.
“Gadhafi has a lot of hardware and a lot of money. And he is ruthless: he doesn’t mind killing people,” says professor James Walston, political scientist at the American University in Rome.
Gadhafi’s second son, Saif al-Islam, who’s has publicly defended his father’s policies since the uprising, declared on Wednesday that it would all be over soon. “The military operations are finished. In 48 hours everything will be over. Our forces are close to Benghazi. Whatever decision is taken, it will be too late,” Saif al-Islam told Reuters.
So far, the international community has shown little willingness to intervene to stop Gadhafi’s efforts to reclaim control over the country. “Nobody will start military action against Libya, unless there is full support from the United Nations.”
Negotiations within the U.N. to pass a new security council resolution have proven fruitless so far with only France and the United Kingdom expressing public support for imposing a no-fly zone.
In a letter to the U.N. on Wednesday, French President Nicholas Sarkozy urged the security council to back a draft resolution over the no-fly proposal.
“As we speak, there is intense negotiation occurring in New York over the terms of a resolution that would include a range of actions that the international community could take,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a press conference on Wednesday.
But with Benghazi already under siege questions were raised on Wednesday whether a no-fly zone would have any impact on protecting civilians.
Charles Kupchan, from the Council on Foreign Relations, believes there will be no military action against Libya since “the losses will outweigh the benefits.”
He predicts that if Gadhafi retakes power, the Libyan government will be isolated by the international community, rather than be “reintegrated as a part of the international community during the last decade.”
Benghazi, Libya’s second biggest city, has been the base of the Interim Transitional National Council (TNC). The TNC had already taken serious steps toward establishing a new government in Libya. Last week, TNC representatives lobbied for support in Europe, but only France granted them official recognition as the legitimate rulers of Libya. With the city of Benghazi poised to fall, little will remain of this.
The United Nations has warned of an increasing military escalation by government forces in Libya. “A campaign to bombard such an urban centre [of Benghazi] would massively place civilian lives at risk,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last week Gadhafi’s forces already gained significant ground over rebel forces in Zawiyah, a city close to Tripoli. Cities on the way to Benghazi—Ras Lanuf, Brega, and Ajdabiya—have also been retaken.
The heavy fire on rebels and civilians has forced civilians to flee the cities and the International Committee of the Red Cross announced Wednesday that it evacuated its staff from Ajdabiyah and Benghazi.
“Right now there is a chance that Gadhafi might retake power and if this happens there will be a bloodbath—he will kill a lot of people,” says Walston.
For the past two weeks Gadhafi’s forces have tried to regain control of Misurata and now Benghazi from lightly armed mostly inexperienced rebel forces. The biggest blows to them have come from artillery and air strikes.
“Gadhafi has a lot of hardware and a lot of money. And he is ruthless: he doesn’t mind killing people,” says professor James Walston, political scientist at the American University in Rome.
Gadhafi’s second son, Saif al-Islam, who’s has publicly defended his father’s policies since the uprising, declared on Wednesday that it would all be over soon. “The military operations are finished. In 48 hours everything will be over. Our forces are close to Benghazi. Whatever decision is taken, it will be too late,” Saif al-Islam told Reuters.
So far, the international community has shown little willingness to intervene to stop Gadhafi’s efforts to reclaim control over the country. “Nobody will start military action against Libya, unless there is full support from the United Nations.”
Negotiations within the U.N. to pass a new security council resolution have proven fruitless so far with only France and the United Kingdom expressing public support for imposing a no-fly zone.
In a letter to the U.N. on Wednesday, French President Nicholas Sarkozy urged the security council to back a draft resolution over the no-fly proposal.
“As we speak, there is intense negotiation occurring in New York over the terms of a resolution that would include a range of actions that the international community could take,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a press conference on Wednesday.
But with Benghazi already under siege questions were raised on Wednesday whether a no-fly zone would have any impact on protecting civilians.
Charles Kupchan, from the Council on Foreign Relations, believes there will be no military action against Libya since “the losses will outweigh the benefits.”
He predicts that if Gadhafi retakes power, the Libyan government will be isolated by the international community, rather than be “reintegrated as a part of the international community during the last decade.”
Benghazi, Libya’s second biggest city, has been the base of the Interim Transitional National Council (TNC). The TNC had already taken serious steps toward establishing a new government in Libya. Last week, TNC representatives lobbied for support in Europe, but only France granted them official recognition as the legitimate rulers of Libya. With the city of Benghazi poised to fall, little will remain of this.
The United Nations has warned of an increasing military escalation by government forces in Libya. “A campaign to bombard such an urban centre [of Benghazi] would massively place civilian lives at risk,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last week Gadhafi’s forces already gained significant ground over rebel forces in Zawiyah, a city close to Tripoli. Cities on the way to Benghazi—Ras Lanuf, Brega, and Ajdabiya—have also been retaken.
The heavy fire on rebels and civilians has forced civilians to flee the cities and the International Committee of the Red Cross announced Wednesday that it evacuated its staff from Ajdabiyah and Benghazi.
“Right now there is a chance that Gadhafi might retake power and if this happens there will be a bloodbath—he will kill a lot of people,” says Walston.
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