Panic-stricken rebels fled the eastern town of Brega under heavy artillery fire yesterday as units loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi reversed the momentum of Libya’s revolution, with no foreign intervention in sight.
“They are right at the edge of Brega! They’re right behind us! Go, go, go!” screamed a volunteer fighter to his comrades as scores of rebel pick-up trucks jockeyed past one another in the race to leave the town. Behind him salvoes of surface-to-surface missiles exploded on the western edge of Brega, reducing the rebels to panic.
“Where are our commanders? They left us alone. We can’t fight against the weapons used against us,” yelled another man, his rage and fear erasing any trace of the revolutionary zeal of previous weeks.
The rebels were also under pressure in the west, where a showdown was looming at the last opposition stronghold, Misrata. Residents and rebels said that Libyan troops have prevented food and medical supplies from entering the port city during three weeks of clashes that have left more than 60 dead and hundreds wounded.
In Brega, only pockets of rebel resistance remained last night. By midday the city had lost most of its defenders,several hundred of whom had regrouped at the gates of Ajdabiya, 90 miles (170km) from Benghazi, the rebels’ de facto capital.
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Some civilians at the edge of Ajdabiya heckled the rebels, afraid they might be left to face Gaddafi’s wrath alone.
“Don’t leave us alone in your rush to get out of here,” one shouted.
Calls for Western intervention were widespread amid yesterday’s chaos.
“We need foreign intervention in the form of airstrikes,” said Colonel Mohammed Abbar, a Libyan tank commander from Benghazi who had joined the rebel ranks — without any tanks — three weeks ago.
“These men are just rookies,” he added, watching the rabble charge down the road beside him as artillery fire rumbled in the distance. “They have no organisation at all and are now in a state of terror. We need airstrikes on key Gaddafi positions and airfields or else next we’ll be fighting in the streets of Ajdabiya.”
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A plea from the Arab League for a no-fly zone over Libya will strengthen rebel leaders’ hand when they meet Hillary Clinton in Paris today, as time runs out to stop Colonel Gaddafi’s headlong counter-attack towards Benghazi. Mrs Clinton will confront mounting dismay over America’s reluctance to intervene in Libya when she meets members of the anti-Gaddafi National Council.
At an emergency weekend summit in Cairo, the 22-nation Arab League suspended Libya’s membership and appealed for a UN-backed no-fly zone to protect civilians. The invitation to Western armed forces was unprecedented in the League’s 66-year history and was welcomed by President Obama and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, as a sign of the regional support they have demanded as a basis for military action. Yet it came amid growing fears that any intervention may be too late.
US officials have said they would require concrete help as well as verbal support from the League, possibly including bases and fuel, before providing air cover to the Libyan opposition.
“If the international community chooses to play the role of bystander . . . then we will have to defend ourselves on our own,” said Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, an opposition spokesman. “We have to take the decision to arm ourselves as best we can.”
Despite retaking Ras Lanuf and Brega, Colonel Gaddafi’s troops in the area may be too few to pose a serious threat to Benghazi, according to prisoners taken by the rebels. Dr Omar Mangoush, who questioned three wounded prisoners in Ajdabiya on Friday, said: “They told me that their unit was between 1,200 and 1,500 strong, with 3 or 4 tanks attached. They said that most of their strength lay with truck-mounted rockets.”
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Nevertheless, Colonel Gaddafi is preparing psychologically for his next move. Over the past two days menacing texts from the Libyan government have appeared on the population’s mobile phones in Benghazi.
“Sad people of Benghazi,” the texts read. “Be joyous because the day of freedom is approaching.”