Reuters/
A rebel vehicle is hit by a shell fired by soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
The rebel leadership said yesterday that the oil
Asked about a Libyan state television report that forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi had cleared Ras Lanuf of “armed gangs”, Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the rebel National Libyan Council, said: “No, this is not accurate.”
“All we are seeing there is bombardment with heavy artillery from the sea and the air,” he said.
A man who gave his name as Mohamed el-Araby said by telephone from Ras Lanuf: “The rebels have total control of the city”. he added that “the situation is fine, thank God”.
He said “light clashes” were continuing just west of Ras Lanuf. Another resident, who did not give his name, also said rebels were in control of strategically-important Ras Lanuf.
Rebels, who have taken swathes of territory in the east and who are becoming better organised, have been stopped from taking the coastal road west to the prized target of Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, by tanks and warplanes.
The front line has become a stretch of desert and scrub near the coastal oil towns.
The council is keen on a no-fly zone being imposed to restrict Gaddafi’s use of warplanes.
“The Libyan people are facing genocide, the annihilation of an entire population through the use of air power and heavy artillery. This does not just threaten the security of
“The UN is capable of taking the necessary steps to stop such carnage. We demand a bombardment of the camps where he (Gaddafi) keeps his mercenaries and the roads he uses to transport them and his security forces,” he added.”
At the Security Council, where
Ghoga remained optimistic. “The resolution is right now (at) the Security Council and we do expect that such a measure will be agreed in the coming days ... There are certain steps needed to secure it,” he said.
Ghoga listed those that he said had received the rebel council’s delegations as the European parliament,
People in the Libyan
The blockade started on Sunday, when the village fell to Gaddafi forces after having been briefly held by rebel fighters. Villagers are now running out of food and water, the residents and relatives of people in the village said.
“Gaddafi’s forces have blockaded Nawfaliyeh. Nothing gets in or out. We’re running out of food and water,” said Yusuf, a Nawfaliyeh resident contacted by telephone yesterday, giving only his first name.
A rebel fighter gave a similar account on Wednesday.
“Gaddafi’s people have blockaded Nawfaliyeh. No food, no water can come through. They’re drinking filthy water,” said rebel fighter Adel Yahya, whose nephew lives in Nawfaliyeh.
Two sources said men had been rounded up and told they would be shot. But they said the threat had not been carried out.
It was not possible independently to confirm the reports as journalists operating in the east of the country cannot enter the government-held village, 500km east of
The village’s population is reported to be no more than about 3,000 people, but those fleeing fighting in nearby Bin Jawad are also trapped there, sources said. Government and rebel forces have fought fierce battles over Bin Jawad in recent days.
Reporters contacted another two Nawfaliyeh residents by phone on Wednesday. One said the blockade made it “difficult” to enter or exit and that food was running out, although water was available. But the second one said the blockade had ended.
Yusuf said those that played down the blockade were either afraid to talk openly to the media, fearing their calls would be monitored, or they were Gaddafi loyalists themselves and were exempt from the blockade.
Yusuf and rebel sources said members of a particular tribe with some members in and around Nawfaliyeh had collaborated with Gaddafi forces to ambush rebels in Bin Jawad on Sunday.
Muftah Khalil, a civilian with family in Nawfaliyeh, said that people in the town were afraid to talk.