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Gaddafi
launches air strikes, Egypt PM quits
Friday March 04, 2011 12:17:10 AM,
IANS
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Cairo/Tripoli/Sana'a: The turmoil in the Arab world Thursday saw Libyan strongman
Muammar Gaddafi ordering air strikes on a town held by anti-regime
demonstrators even as Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq quit
over his closeness to the deposed Hosni Mubarak.
The air strikes on the eastern Libyan oil terminal town of Brega
took place as a defiant 68-year-old Gaddafi attempted to recapture
areas held by rebel forces seeking to end his four decades in
power.
Troops loyal to Gaddafi lost the town Wednesday after briefly
capturing it from opposition fighters, AKI news agency reported.
Fighting was also reported in Ajdabiya town for a second straight
day Thursday.
The Libyan unrest, which began Feb 14 after a mass revolt in Egypt
forced Mubarak to flee, has spiralled with Gaddafi's security
forces launching fierce attacks on the tens of thousands of
demonstrators.
The toll in two weeks of violence and fighting is reported to be
around 2,000. The Libyan Human Rights League has estimated that as
many as 6,000 people may have perished.
The defence ministry in the Hague said Thursday that three Dutch
soldiers had been captured by militias loyal to Gaddafi during a
failed million to evacuate Dutch nationals.
DPA reported that the soldiers were attacked and captured after
their helicopter landed near the city of Sirte in a bid to spirit
away two Dutch citizens. Sirte is Gaddafi's hometown.
Gadaffi, who has ruled Libya since 1969, has said that Al Qaeda
was behind the unrest and has refused to resign.
His defiance notwithstanding, Gaddafi has accepted an offer from
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to mediate in the revolt against
him.
According to Al Jazeera, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas
Maduro has discussed the mediation plan with Amr Moussa, the head
of the Arab League.
The plan will involve a commission with representatives from Latin
America, Europe and the Middle East to reach a negotiated outcome
between the Libyan leader and opposition forces.
In a dramatic development in Egypt, Premier Ahmed Shafiq resigned.
The announcement came hours ahead of the start of a planned mass
sit-in by activists in Cairo's Tahrir square to demand the
departure of Shafiq and his cabinet, DPA said.
Essam Sharaf, a former minister of transportation, will lead a new
government.
In Yemen, another Arab country in turmoil, President Ali Abdullah
Saleh has promised to step down within a year, according to
opposition members who met him.
Saleh met representatives of the Joint Meeting Party, a coalition
of opposition groups, late Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal said
Thursday.
Saleh, who has ruled for over 30 years, has been an important
regional ally for the US, which has provided millions of dollars
in military aid to his government to help battle the Yemen-based
affiliate of Al Qaeda.
In Jordan, the US will back political and economic reforms pledged
by King Abdullah and new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit.
Michael Posner, US assistant secretary of state for democracy,
human rights and labour, met Jordan's leaders Wednesday and
relayed Washington's support, the US embassy said.
The Arab News website quoted the statement as saying that the "US
support for the king's call for a comprehensive programme of
political and economic reform as the key to realizing the enormous
potential of Jordan".
The monarch earlier fired the cabinet of prime minister Samir
Rifai after a series of anti-government demonstrations.
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