TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebels surged westward along Libya’s coast Sunday, seizing at least three more key towns and capitalizing on their new momentum after more than a week of airstrikes by an international coalition.
The rebel stronghold of Benghazi erupted in gunfire and rockets early Monday amid rumors that that Sirte, the home town of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, had fallen.
But those reports appeared to be unfounded. Opposition spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said he did not have information that the rebels were in control in Sirte, and news services reported hours later that there was no fighting in the town, and no sign of rebel forces.
Dozens of fighters loyal to Gadhafi could be seen roaming the streets of Sirte Sunday night, the Associated Press reported. Witnesses in Sirte told AP that bombing was heard Sunday night and then again at 6:30 a.m. local time.
Rebel forces--who had tried to take Sirte before the international air strikes began but were driven back by Gaddafi’s forces--were said to be advancing on the town once more.
In Washington, U.S. officials were guardedly optimistic about the reversal of fortunes for the rebels. President Obama is scheduled to address the nation on Monday night, and officials said he will be able to show that the operation is starting to achieve its goals. Obama has faced mounting criticism from some lawmakers, who fear that the United States could get bogged down in a foreign intervention without a clear objective.
Senior U.S. officials said Sunday that Gaddafi’s 41-year rule could end with the implosion of his regime or a negotiated settlement rather than an outright rebel victory.
“One should not underestimate the possibility of the regime itself cracking,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.
But analysts warned that, although the rebels have seized the initiative in eastern Libya, they still face formidable obstacles.
NATO members agreed Sunday evening that the alliance would assume control of the international military campaign against Libya. It had earlier taken over from the U.S. military in leading enforcement of an arms embargo and a no-fly zone and had debated for days whether to coordinate the politically riskier strikes on Libyan ground forces.
With Gaddafi’s air-defense equipment largely destroyed and NATO stepping up to assume command, the United States will be able to reduce its role, Gates said.
“Within the next week or so, we will begin to diminish the commitment of resources,” he said. He added, however, that the United States will stay on in a supporting role and acknowledged that it is unclear how long the operation will last. He and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday defended the Libya campaign, saying it is helping avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
The coalition again targeted the Libyan capital, Tripoli, with witnesses reporting at least 10 loud explosions Sunday night, followed by bursts of antiaircraft fire.
As rebel forces headed toward Sirte, 278 miles east of Tripoli, reporters on a government trip to the city heard at least half a dozen explosions there and saw warplanes circling overhead.
Libyan state television reported what it said were the first coalition strikes against Sirte, but by late Sunday it had still not broadcast details of the loyalist army’s rapid retreat across more than 200 miles of coastal highway over the previous 24 hours.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Sunday evening that although its forces had pulled back, “we are still very strong on the ground.” He said the airstrikes were “a plan to [put] the Libyan state in a weak negotiating position.”
Read more at The Washington Post.
