Rebels fighting the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the east of Libya retreated from the oil town of Brega yesterday after heavy bombardment delivered government forces another battlefield success.
“The rebels have left Brega. It is evacuated,” 33-year-old anesthesiologist Osama Jazwi said.
Abdul Hakim, also a resident of the town, said that the rebels had left. There were no details of the attack by Qaddafi’s forces immediately available.
Earlier, Libyan television had said that the rebels had retreated.
“Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs,” a military source was quoted on Libyan state TV as saying.
Retreating rebel soldiers in the nearby town of Ajdabiyah were demoralized.
“He’s out of Brega. He’s on the way, maybe in half an hour his rockets will reach us here,” said rebel fighter, Masoud Bwisir, at the western gate of the town.
“There’s no uprising any more,” said rebel Nabeel Tijouri, whose heavy machine gun had been destroyed in the fighting. “The other day we were in Ras Lanuf, then Brega, the day after tomorrow they will be in Benghazi.”
Further east down the coastal road, government troops had already pushed rebels from Ras Lanuf after attacking the oil port in an assault pitting tanks and planes against rebels armed with light weapons and machine guns mounted on pick-up trucks.
“Obama, you can have as much oil as you like just send in the marines to get rid of Qaddafi,” said one fighter, who only gave his name as Younis, asking US President Barack Obama for military assistance.
One senior rebel officer, who declined to be identified, was angry.
“These guys won’t listen. They are driving me crazy. There’s no one in command. We had [the town of] Bin Jawad, but they just wouldn’t listen, I’m being driven crazy,” he said.
“The Libyan people need help. We’re in danger. The east is in danger,” said Abdel Hadi Omar, a civilian rebel volunteer, speaking in Ajdabiyah. “The Libyan people can’t cope with Qaddafi’s weapons. We have people, but we don’t have means.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from