The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Daily Libya Update

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 2 Comments

If this is Wednesday, the rebels are advancing:

AJDABIYA, Libya — This normally bustling city was nearly deserted Tuesday as rebel fighters pressed on to the oil port of Brega, taking advantage of recent NATO airstrikes that pushed forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi farther west. . . .
In Ajdabiya, rebels left behind a skeleton crew to watch over what were mostly shuttered businesses and deserted streets in a city of 130,000 residents. Rebel commander Awdea Misrati said the NATO airstrikes gave the rebels defending Ajdabiya some much-needed breathing room, but residents of the bullet-scarred city are being told to stay away until the situation stabilizes.
Misrati said weekend airstrikes fractured Gadhafi forces, leaving small pockets of men and weapons scattered along the desert road to Brega and within the city itself. Fighters reported sporadic gunfire within the city as rebels tracked government snipers left behind, and they fired rockets at a suspected group of government holdouts near the western gate.
The road to Brega is littered with the charred hulls of tanks and cars and where empty shell casings jingle underfoot.

From a briefing by NATO commander Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm:

The situation on the ground is dynamic, fluid and changing constantly. In the east opposition forces retook control of Ajdabiya yesterday, two days after being driven to the northern edge of the city.
Regime forces withdrew towards Brega and deployed their lead elements east of that city. Opposition forces have deployed elements southwest of Ajdabiya. So the confrontation line is once again between Brega and Ajdabiya.

So the rebels are now back where they were last Thursday, before the panic-stricken retreat. And as to the situation on the ground being “fluid” — try not to step in that, OK?

Category: Libya

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