Wednesday, 25 May 2011
NATO strikes aim at speeding up the ouster of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi as protesters gained diplomatic ground. (File photo)
South African President Jacob Zuma plans to visit Tripoli next week to discuss an exit strategy for Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in cooperation with the Turkish government as NATO unleashed its heaviest blitz yet of the capital in a bid to oust the Libyan leader.
The visit is in the planning stages and will be aimed at discussing ways for Qaddafi to exit, Talk Radio 702 reported on Wednesday, citing sources in Tripoli.
Mr. Zuma’s spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
France and the United States have made upbeat assessments on progress towards ending Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
The visit is in the planning stages and will be aimed at discussing ways for Qaddafi to exit, Talk Radio 702 reported on Wednesday, citing sources in Tripoli.
Mr. Zuma’s spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
France and the United States have made upbeat assessments on progress towards ending Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe of France said on Tuesday that the NATO bombing campaign was making progress and should achieve its objectives within months, according to Reuters.
France, Britain and the United States are leading the air strikes, which started on March 19 after the United Nations Security Council authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from Qaddafi's forces as he sought to crush an uprising.
Talk Radio 702 said Mr. Zuma will visit Libya after attending the inauguration of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on May 29.
The South African president headed an African Union mission to Tripoli in April but the AU bid to halt the civil war collapsed within hours.
Last week, South Africa accused Libya of misleading it over the fate of a South African photographer now believed to be dead after being shot and abandoned in the desert by forces loyal to Gaddafi.
Loud explosions, meanwhile, rocked Tripoli overnight as NATO unleashed its heaviest blitz yet of the capital in a bid to speed up the ouster of Colonel Qaddafi as protesters gained diplomatic ground.
Six powerful explosions struck late Tuesday near the Mr. Qaddafi’s residence, targeted a day earlier by intensive NATO air strikes, an Agence-France Presse journalist said.
Jet fighters could be heard above before three deafening explosions rocked the area of the embattled leader’s Bab Al-Aziziya residential compound around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT), followed by three others two minutes later.
The zone came under heavy bombardment overnight Monday lasting more than half an hour, leaving three dead and 150 wounded, according to the Colonel’s regime.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim insisted those strikes targeted a deserted military barracks but instead hit civilians living nearby.
NATO rejected the charge, saying that a strategic vehicle storage facility—used to resupply the regime forces and instrumental in attacks against civilians—had been struck, according to AFP.
The Western alliance is shifting into high gear in Libya in a bid to deliver a decisive blow against Mr. Qaddafi’s government, hitting Tripoli with its heaviest bombardment to date.
“The regime has become very apathetic in the last 15 days. It has lost the military initiative and appears on the defensive, which is a sign that we are on the right path,” a senior NATO military official said.
“We think that we must speed up and increase the tempo of our operations to let the fruit drop on its own,” the official said, adding that allies hoped the 68-year-old colonel will fall by late June or early July.
After three months of fighting, however, the regime remains entrenched in much of the west, including the capital Tripoli.
Worried about getting bogged down in an endless stalemate, NATO allies, who were divided over going into Libya, a country of six million people, in the first place and face budgetary constraints, have no choice but to increase the pressure, the official said.
More than 15 powerful blasts were heard for more than half an hour in Bab al-Aziziya in a pre-dawn raid Tuesday, as warplanes roared overhead.
A further three explosions were heard in the garrison town of Tajura, east of the capital, during the afternoon, residents said.
Plumes of smoke rose over the Mediterranean seaside town but witnesses were not immediately able to identify the target.
In another boost to forces fighting to oust Colonel Qaddafi, France said this week it would provide attack helicopters for NATO’s air campaign, while the EU widened sanctions against Mr. Qaddafi’s forces. Britain denied reports it was also providing helicopters, saying the idea was still under consideration.
The helicopters, a weapon that has yet to be used by NATO in Libya, will help the western alliance strike regime military assets hidden in urban areas while avoiding civilian casualties.
Top US official Jeffrey Feltman said Libya’s protesters have accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington, but he stopped short of granting the National Transitional Council (NTC) official recognition.
“This step is an important milestone... and we are happy they accepted it,” he added during a visit to the revolt stronghold of Benghazi, according to AFP.
Mr. Feltman, the highest ranking US official to visit the revolt stronghold of Benghazi since its people revolted against Colonel Qaddafi in mid-February, noted the council was in fact already the only representative of the country in Washington. He also renewed US calls for Mr. Qaddafi to step down immediately.
Britain, France, Gambia, Italy and Qatar have already recognized the opposition council as their sole interlocutor in Libya.
Jordan, meanwhile, said it recognizes the NTC as the “legitimate representative” of the Libyan people and intends to appoint an envoy to Benghazi.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has opened an EU office in Benghazi and declared the 27-member bloc’s “long-term support” to the protesters.
(Abeer Tayel, an editor at Al Arabiya, can be reached at: abeer.tayel@mbc.net)
France, Britain and the United States are leading the air strikes, which started on March 19 after the United Nations Security Council authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from Qaddafi's forces as he sought to crush an uprising.
Talk Radio 702 said Mr. Zuma will visit Libya after attending the inauguration of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on May 29.
The South African president headed an African Union mission to Tripoli in April but the AU bid to halt the civil war collapsed within hours.
Last week, South Africa accused Libya of misleading it over the fate of a South African photographer now believed to be dead after being shot and abandoned in the desert by forces loyal to Gaddafi.
Loud explosions, meanwhile, rocked Tripoli overnight as NATO unleashed its heaviest blitz yet of the capital in a bid to speed up the ouster of Colonel Qaddafi as protesters gained diplomatic ground.
Six powerful explosions struck late Tuesday near the Mr. Qaddafi’s residence, targeted a day earlier by intensive NATO air strikes, an Agence-France Presse journalist said.
Jet fighters could be heard above before three deafening explosions rocked the area of the embattled leader’s Bab Al-Aziziya residential compound around 11:00 pm (2100 GMT), followed by three others two minutes later.
The zone came under heavy bombardment overnight Monday lasting more than half an hour, leaving three dead and 150 wounded, according to the Colonel’s regime.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim insisted those strikes targeted a deserted military barracks but instead hit civilians living nearby.
NATO rejected the charge, saying that a strategic vehicle storage facility—used to resupply the regime forces and instrumental in attacks against civilians—had been struck, according to AFP.
The Western alliance is shifting into high gear in Libya in a bid to deliver a decisive blow against Mr. Qaddafi’s government, hitting Tripoli with its heaviest bombardment to date.
“The regime has become very apathetic in the last 15 days. It has lost the military initiative and appears on the defensive, which is a sign that we are on the right path,” a senior NATO military official said.
“We think that we must speed up and increase the tempo of our operations to let the fruit drop on its own,” the official said, adding that allies hoped the 68-year-old colonel will fall by late June or early July.
After three months of fighting, however, the regime remains entrenched in much of the west, including the capital Tripoli.
Worried about getting bogged down in an endless stalemate, NATO allies, who were divided over going into Libya, a country of six million people, in the first place and face budgetary constraints, have no choice but to increase the pressure, the official said.
More than 15 powerful blasts were heard for more than half an hour in Bab al-Aziziya in a pre-dawn raid Tuesday, as warplanes roared overhead.
A further three explosions were heard in the garrison town of Tajura, east of the capital, during the afternoon, residents said.
Plumes of smoke rose over the Mediterranean seaside town but witnesses were not immediately able to identify the target.
In another boost to forces fighting to oust Colonel Qaddafi, France said this week it would provide attack helicopters for NATO’s air campaign, while the EU widened sanctions against Mr. Qaddafi’s forces. Britain denied reports it was also providing helicopters, saying the idea was still under consideration.
The helicopters, a weapon that has yet to be used by NATO in Libya, will help the western alliance strike regime military assets hidden in urban areas while avoiding civilian casualties.
Top US official Jeffrey Feltman said Libya’s protesters have accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington, but he stopped short of granting the National Transitional Council (NTC) official recognition.
“This step is an important milestone... and we are happy they accepted it,” he added during a visit to the revolt stronghold of Benghazi, according to AFP.
Mr. Feltman, the highest ranking US official to visit the revolt stronghold of Benghazi since its people revolted against Colonel Qaddafi in mid-February, noted the council was in fact already the only representative of the country in Washington. He also renewed US calls for Mr. Qaddafi to step down immediately.
Britain, France, Gambia, Italy and Qatar have already recognized the opposition council as their sole interlocutor in Libya.
Jordan, meanwhile, said it recognizes the NTC as the “legitimate representative” of the Libyan people and intends to appoint an envoy to Benghazi.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has opened an EU office in Benghazi and declared the 27-member bloc’s “long-term support” to the protesters.
(Abeer Tayel, an editor at Al Arabiya, can be reached at: abeer.tayel@mbc.net)
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