03/02/2011
Libyan Revolution
With No End to Fighting, International Pressure Grows on Gadhafi
The outcome of the ongoing rebellion in Libya still seems far from clear, with international pressure building amid reports of counter-attacks by forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Fighting continued in Libya Wednesday, with reports of "random bombing" in the oil-exporting town of Marsa El Brega in the rebel-held eastern part of the country. Arab satellite television Al Arabiya reported that 14 people had been killed there after a counter-attack by Gadhafi's forces.
The Libyan government denied reports of such government-backed attacks in eastern Libya, however. Government oil officials told the Associated Press Wednesday that oil exports from that part of the country are proceeding "normally," and that funds from the sale of the oil will be deposited in the country's accounts, even if the country is sanctioned by the international community.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomed the decision Tuesday by the United Nations to suspend Libya's membership in the UN Human Rights Council. "Those who damage human rights in such a terrible way have no place on the human rights council of the United Nations," Westerwelle said Wednesday in Berlin.
Two US warships, the amphibious assault ships USS Kearsarge and USS Ponce, made their way into Egypt's Suez Canal Wednesday, on their way to the Mediterranean. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he had ordered two ships into the Mediterranean, but that military action in Libya must be carefully weighed because of wider implications for the region.
Drafting Plans for a No-Fly Zone
Meanwhile, diplomats in Brussels said plans are being drafted in the event that the UN Security Council decides to impose an air embargo over Libya. Officials told the Associated Press that some possible models would be the no-fly zone imposed by NATO over Bosnia in 1993, which had a mandate from the Security Council, and NATO's air war over Kosovo in 1999. NATO has made clear that a no-fly zone over Libya could only take place with a UN Security Council mandate. Russia, which holds a veto as a permanent member of the council, has ruled that out.
In Italy, which has been flooded with immigrants from Tunisia in recent weeks following the revolution there, and which relies heavily on imports of foreign oil, including from Libya, government officials were watching developments there closely. When asked if Italy feared Gadhafi might do something desperate, such as bomb oil fields, Italy's Industry Minister Paolo Romani said on Italian television that there was a "real possibility" that Gadhafi might make a "last-ditch attempt to free himself from the siege that he finds himself in."France and Britain have called for an emergency EU summit on Libya, which could take place as early as next week. A French government spokesman said Tuesday that humanitarian aid to the North African country should be the priority over a military ouster of the Libyan leader.
Austria and Germany also moved Tuesday to freeze assets belonging to Gadhafi family members and other top Libyan officials, following in the footsteps of Switzerland, Britain and the European Union, which has already issued travel bans and an asset freeze against them. On Tuesday, Germany's government blocked a bank account belonging to one of Gadhafi's sons, which was reported to hold €2 million ($2.8 million).
mbw -- with wires
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