Opposition ‘encroaching cautiously’ on Gaddafi’s den

Muammar Gaddafi has managed to move all his loyal units to Tri­poli, marking his last defensive line, opposition activists told The Times yesterday.

While the east of Libya had been taken over by the opposition, the west remained close to Col Gaddafi’s heart, the place he would stand up for and protect, they said. His militias were well-equipped and had been shooting at civilians.

In the light of the cautious stance that appears to have been taken by the anti-Gaddafi movement, one young activist said: “We are not being hesitant, nor are we waiting for a no-fly zone. We are just equipping ourselves well.”

Muftah Lamlum, general secretary of the Libyan National Movement, one of the earliest groups formed to oppose Col Gaddafi’s regime back in the 1970s, said if his stronghold of Bab al-Aziziya, just outside Tripoli, fell it would drag the capital down with it.

A Maltese man living in Tripoli confirmed the situation in the capital was “completely different” from the rest of Libya. Although shops were open and people were going about their business as usual, the only reason they were not protesting was because they were unarmed, he said.

“They are full of hatred towards Gaddafi and if they were armed they would hang him in Green Square. But, until then, they wouldn’t dare go against the armed mercenaries,” he said.

Revolutionaries have stormed the military barracks in Misratah, an important city to the east of Tripoli, and have been taking over surrounding cities, including Zlitan and Tahuna, closing in on Col Gaddafi’s lair.

However, citizens in az Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of Tripoli, had a harder bone to grind, Mr Lamlum said, speaking from his home in the UK.

Although witnesses on the ground in az Zawiyah said they were no longer at the mercy of Col Gaddafi, rebels on their way to Tripoli were intercepted by an army unit controlled by his son, Khamis, stationed a few kilometres east of az Zawiyah.

People are being stopped with every “imaginable weapon at their disposal”, Mr Lamlum said. Bab al-Aziziya could not be stormed by unarmed people. This was a military operation and not a demonstration, he insisted.

The opposition would therefore consolidate its position with the armies and it had to pave its way to Tripoli by negotiating with tribes close to Surt, in central Libya. It would take some time to reorganise armies controlled by Col Gaddafi’s tribe, Mr Lamlum pointed out. And transferring equipment from eastern Libya to Tripoli, a 1, 200-kilometre stretch, required an abundant supply of fuel.

A young activist based in Tripoli said most refineries were still shut down as they were operated by foreign workers who had fled the country.

Commanders of army units posted between Libya and Tunisia had taken a neutral stance and would neither shoot on rebels nor side with the opposition, an army officer said. “We want to preserve our forces and weapons until we hand them over to the future regime or government,” he said.

Mr Lamlum said: “Gaddafi’s fall can’t be predicted from where we stand, however it seems his people are gradually but surely defecting. Although these are being replaced by people from the army, there are cracks within the group itself and Libyans are ready to pounce on the colonel as soon as he gets weak at the knees.

“The sanctions imposed by the UN would lead to the inevitable disintegration of the regime, so there’s no point in sending an unarmed demonstrator on the street to be slaughtered by the machinery.”

A young activist based in Tripoli said Libyans were not seeking international military inter­vention. Although they would welcome a no-fly zone, they wanted to “kick Gaddafi out of the West”, just like they did in the East.