1 of 4 | Libyans grieve and attend on March 3, 2011 in Benghazi the funerals of Libyan rebels killed the previous day while defending a strategically important oil refinery town from a regime counter-attack in Brega, as five others fighters were also buried in Ajdabiya, 150 kilometres (94 miles) to the west. UP/Mohamaad Hosam |
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TRIPOLI, Libya, March 15 (UPI) -- Rebels fought government forces in Libya Tuesday while word came out of Paris the Group of Eight nations would not create a no-fly zone over the country.
Rebels have sought the no-fly zone to give them relief from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air supremacy but The Daily Telegraph reported the G8 foreign ministers, meeting in Paris, made no mention in their closing statement of military aid for insurgents. France and Britain had favored establishing a no-fly zone over Libya but Russia China and other nations have shied away from the suggestion.
"We have perhaps missed a chance to restore the balance," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
The G8 members did agree the United Nations Security Council should "increase the pressure, including through economic measures, for Moammar Gadhafi to leave," Juppe said. Diplomats are drafting a UN resolution.
British Foreign Minister William Hague said "there is a common appetite" for increased pressure on the Gadhafi regime.
"We do not want to get sucked into a war in North Africa," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.
U.S. President Barack Obama conferred with his national security team Tuesday.
"At today's meeting, the president and his national security team reviewed the situation in Libya and options to increase pressure on Gadhafi," a White House statement said. "In particular, the conversation focused on efforts at the United Nations and potential U.N. Security Council actions, as well as ongoing consultations with Arab and European partners.
"The president instructed his team to continue to fully engage in the discussions at the United Nations, NATO and with partners and organizations in the region."
The Christian Science Monitor reported Khaled el-Sayeh, a rebel military spokesman, said the insurgents remained in control of Ajdabiya, despite air attacks by the Gadhafi forces. He said some Gadhafi ground units had entered the town but were repelled.
"The city [Ajdabiya] is currently in the hands of the revolution and it's looking pretty good," he said.
He claimed the rebels sank two oil tankers converted to "warships" Tuesday, damaged a third and had seized another carrying 25,000 tons of fuel en route from Greece to Tripoli.
In the oil town of Brega, each side has claimed the upper hand at one time or another, witnesses said. Rebel fighters may be staying inside the oil installation in Brega, apparently believing the government doesn't want to attack the facility, witnesses told the BBC.
Opposition sources said there was dissent among government troops, with some apparently reluctant to fire on civilians.
Reports elsewhere indicate government forces moved into the rebel-held town of Zuwarah and were shelling Misurata, the BBC reported Tuesday.
Since protesters began rallying against the Gadhafi regime in February, Libya has degenerated into civil war, humanitarian organizations said. Heavily armed pro-Gadhafi forces have attacked rebel strongholds on land and by air. Rights organizations estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people have died.
A U.N. envoy traveled to Libya, asking for an end to the violent response to opposition protests and immediate humanitarian access, officials said. Abdul Ilah Khatib, a former Jordanian prime minister, met Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa in Tripoli, Libya's capital, to discuss the situation, a U.N. spokesman said.
