Global General

Rebels gear up for major fight near Tripoli

(Agencies/China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-28 07:07

Bangladeshi workers wait to be evacuated from Benghazi port in eastern Libya on Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

ZAWIYA, Libya - Hundreds of armed anti-government forces backed by rebel troops who control Zawiya, the city closest to the capital Tripoli, appeared to be readying on Sunday to repel an expected offensive by surrounding forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi.

The rebels are in control of the center of the city of 200,000, 50 km from Tripoli. They have army tanks and have deployed pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. But they are surrounded by pro-Gadhafi forces on the city's outskirts.

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There were at least six checkpoints controlled by troops loyal to Gadhafi on the road from Tripoli to Zawiya. Each checkpoint was reinforced by at least one tank, and the troops concealed their faces with scarves.

Gadhafi loyalists remain in control of nearby Tripoli, which was reported to be quiet early on Sunday, with most stores closed.

Earlier, Libyan cities under rebel control appointed an ex-justice minister to lead a provisional government, a member of the Benghazi city council said.

Fathi Baja said opponents of Gadhafi named Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who resigned as justice minister in protest against the excessive use of force against demonstrators, to the provisional leadership post.

Baja said on Sunday that Abdel-Jalil was chosen by committees running eastern Libyan cities which are now in rebel hands. The rebels now control most of the eastern half of the country.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously imposed sanctions on Gadhafi and his family.

Voting unanimously after day-long discussions interrupted with breaks to consult with capitals back home, the council imposed an asset freeze on Gadhafi, his four sons and daughter, and a travel ban on the family along with 10 other close associates.

Council members also agreed 15-0 to refer the Gadhafi regime's crackdown on people protesting against his rule to a permanent war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity.

He Wenping, chief of African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the sanctions, which target Gadhafi and his associates, are different from those imposed on Libya during the 1980s and 1990s, which affected the whole country. "The aim is apparent, to send him a clear signal and squeeze him more heavily," she said.