Libyan Rebels Reclaim Oil Town Ajdabiya After Weeklong Siege

Libyan Rebels Reclaim Oil Town Ajdabiya After Weeklong Siege

Libyan rebels have overcome Muammar al-Qaddafi's forces in strategic oil town of Ajdabiya, seizing control of the city Saturday in a major turnaround for an uprising that appeared to be on the verge of defeat.

Libyan government forces pulled out from the city of Ajdabiya following an air assault by Western coalition forces, a senior government official told Reuters.


"Without the planes we couldn't have done this. Qaddafi's weapons are at a different level than ours," said Ahmed Faraj, 38, a rebel fighter from Ajdabiya. "With the help of the planes we are going to push onward to Tripoli, God willing."

Drivers honked in celebration and flew the tricolor rebel flag. Others in the city fired their guns into the air and danced on burned-out tanks that littered the road. Inside a building that had served as makeshift barracks for pro-Qaddafi forces, hastily discarded uniforms were piled on the floor.

Saif Sadawi, a 20-year-old rebel fighter with an RPG in his hands, says the city's eastern gate fell late Friday and the western gate fell at dawn Saturday after airstrikes on both those locations.

"All of Ajdabiya is free," he said.

Ajdabiya had been under siege for more than a week, with the rebels holding the city center and scattered checkpoints but facing relentless shelling from government troops on the outskirts. Residents are without electricity or drinking water, and many have fled.

Coalition warplanes struck Qaddafi's forces outside the strategic city of Ajdabiya Friday, the gateway to the rebel-held east, hitting an artillery battery and armored vehicles. Tiny Qatar also became the first Arab country to fly combat missions over Libya.

Pentagon officials say they considering more firepower and airborne surveillance systems to find and attack enemy troops in Libya.

The proposed attacks would target forces loyal to Qaddafi, who still remain a threat to civilians in the area.

Among the weapons being eyed for use in Libya is the Air Force's AC-130 gunship, an imposing aircraft armed with cannons that shoot from the side doors with precision. Other possibilities are helicopters and drones that fly lower and slower and can spot more than fast-moving jet fighters.

American officials have said they won't drop bombs in cities to avoid killing or wounding civilians -- a central pillar of the operation. Yet they want to hit the enemy in contested urban areas such as Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zintan.

Qaddafi is trying to keep his weakening hold on power by offering promotions to all his military, while arming "volunteers" to fight against a resurgent rebel force.

"(The) brother leader of the revolution has issued a decision to promote all members of the armed people who are currently drafted in his various military units for their heroic and courageous fight against the crusader, colonialist assault," Libyan TV said in a written statement, according to Reuters.

U.S. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, said during a briefing Friday that the international coalition is aware of reports that Qaddafi is arming "volunteers." He also said that the Libyan strongman has diminishing ability to command ground forces.

A Libyan government official says his country is ready to talk with opposition rebels and accept political reforms, possibly including elections.

Former Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi said Friday that the violence in Libya is being carried out by "extremists" and foreign intervention. Al-Obeidi is a member of the Libyan delegation at African Union talks in Ethiopia.

This comes as a Canadian general will be taking over NATO's military operations in Libya, Fox News has learned.

A State Department official tells Fox News that Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard will be the joint task force commander.

The official says Bouchard will "work with his naval and air component commands to be implementing this operation" for both the no-fly zone and the civilian protection missions.

Bouchard recently served as the deputy commander at NORAD.

NATO is expected to take command of Libyan military operations early next week, the Italian foreign minister told Reuters Friday, a day after NATO agreed to just enforce the no-fly zone over the country for now.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a news conference that "NATO will be operational Sunday or Monday," according to Reuters.

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague also said he expected NATO to take command of operations within days.

This comes as France declared Libya's airspace "under control," after NATO agreed to take command of the no-fly zone in a compromise that appeared to set up dual command centers. Muammar al-Qaddafi drew a rare rebuke from the African Union, which called for a transitional government and elections.

"Having our first Arab nation join and start flying with us emphasizes that the world wants the innocent Libyan people protected from the atrocities perpetrated by pro-regime forces," U.S. Air Forces Africa Commander Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward said.

The U.S. launched 16 more Tomahawk cruise missiles from naval positions in the Mediterranean Sea, a military official said Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. The targets late Thursday and early Friday were Scud missile garrisons near Tripoli, while U.S. bombers struck Qaddafi artillery, command and control and tank positions elsewhere, the official said. French and British warplanes attacked an artillery battery and other targets near the town of Ajdabiya, which has been under siege by Qaddafi forces for more than a week.

The latest Tomahawk missile launchings come after the Pentagon said that the U.S. would not launch these types of missiles into Libya during the military operation.

The strikes were intended to give a measure of relief to the city, whose residents have fled or cowered under more than a week of shelling and fighting between rebels and government troops. Explosions also sounded in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, before daybreak Friday, apparently from airstrikes.

"Libyan airspace is under control, and we proved it yesterday, because a Libyan plane in the hands of pro-Qaddafi forces, which had just taken off from Misrata in order to bomb Misrata, was destroyed by a French Rafale," Adm. Edouard Guillaud said on France-Info radio.

Representatives for the Qaddafi regime met with the African Union on Friday, in Ethiopia, in what the U.N. described as a part of an effort to reach a cease-fire and political solution. Although the U.N. secretary-general said an opposition representative would attend, Mustafa Gheriani, an opposition spokesman, said Friday he knew nothing about it.

"The position of the national council has been clear from the beginning -- no negotiaions," Gheriani said. "All he has to do is stop bombing and leave the country."

African Union commission chairman Jean Ping said the AU favors an inclusive transitional period that would lead to democratic elections.

Ping stressed the inevitability of political reforms in Libya and called the aspirations of the Libyan people "legitimate."

Such a solution seemed a long way off, and NATO's military staff began drawing up detailed plans Friday to assume full control of the no-fly zone over Libya in coming days. The U.S. military said coalition jets flew about 150 sorties on Thursday, about 70 of them with American planes.

"The operation is still focusing on tanks, combat vehicles, air defense targets -- really whatever equipment and personnel are threatening the no-fly zone or civilians on the ground in such locations as Ajdabiya and along some other areas on the coast," Marine Corps Capt. Clint Gebke told reporters from aboard the USS Mount Whitney.

Libyan state television showed blackened and mangled bodies that it said were victims of airstrikes in Tripoli. Rebels have accused Qaddafi's forces of taking bodies from the morgue and pretending they were civilian casualties.

French jet 'destroys Libya plane'

French jet 'destroys Libya plane'

The French military said a Rafale jet attacked the Libyan plane

French warplanes have destroyed a Libyan plane which had been flying in breach of the UN no-fly zone, French officials say.

The plane, a smaller trainer aircraft, had just landed in the besieged city of Misrata when it was attacked, they say.

It is the first incident of its kind since enforcement of the zone began.

Dozens of coalition missiles have already hit military bases, with the aim of ending Col Muammar Gaddafi's ability to launch air attacks.

UK officials said on Wednesday that Libya's air force no longer existed as a fighting force.
Single engine

Coalition forces have pounded Libyan targets for a fifth consecutive night.

Initial reports of the French action said the Libyan plane, a G-2/Galeb with a single engine, was in the air when it was hit.

But French military spokesman Col Thierry Burkhard later said the plane had just landed when the attack took place.

The French jet, a Rafale, fired an air-to-ground missile, other reports said.

Earlier, the French military said their planes had hit an air base about 250km (155 miles) south of the Libyan coastline, but did not give any further information on the location of the target or the damage.

Western military planes were also said to have hit the town of Sebha in southern Libya, according to residents and media reports.

Fresh fighting has meanwhile been reported in Misrata, scene of a bitter battle for control which has lasted for many days.

Misrata resident Muhammad told the BBC many large explosions were heard overnight in the city.

"Even now, we continue to hear the aeroplanes circling the air above Misrata," he said.

"Gaddafi's forces have occupied the main street - there are snipers all along the rooftops of that street. They are firing indiscriminately into the main street and the back streets.

"But the heavy artillery and shelling has stopped since yesterday [Wednesday]. In that sense, we are in a much better position."

Further east in the strategically important city of Ajdabiya, residents described shelling, gunfire and houses on fire.

Nato members have been holding talks about assuming responsibility for the no-fly zone over Libya, so far without agreement.

Turkey is an integral part of the naval blockade, but has expressed concern about the alliance taking over command of the no-fly zone.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged all sides in Libya to cease hostilities. "All those who violate international humanitarian and human rights law will be held fully accountable," his spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Fifth night of airstrikes unable to stop Gadhafi

Fifth night of airstrikes unable to stop Gadhafi

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Focusing now on Libyan ground forces, coalition jets pounded targets for a fifth consecutive night but so far have been unable to stop Moammar Gadhafi's armor.

A resident in Misrata told CNN that he heard an explosion and that snipers loyal to Gadhafi were operating from rooftops in the besieged western city.

Earlier, Gadhafi's tanks attacked Misrata's main hospital filled with 400 people, half of whom were patients, a witness said. At one point, the shelling went on for 40 long minutes -- without respite.

"Now, fortunately, no more shelling, but the situation is so serious that all the teams here -- the doctors, the patients -- are paralyzed, scared," the witness said, imploring the international community to intervene in the name of civilians under attack.

The situation, he said, was too dangerous for ambulances to leave the hospital. The hospital had no electricity and was relying on a generator.

Witnesses in Misrata are not being identified by CNN because of security reasons. Journalists have no access to the city and cannot independently confirm reports of violence.

The battle for Misrata, Libya's third largest city, has been ongoing for more than a week.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday that many residents remain trapped in their homes without electricity and communications and a dwindling supply of food and water.

Explosions could also be heard just east of the Lybian capital Thursday.

Coalition planes struck the suburb of Tajura, a Libyan government official said and state television showed footage of what it said were the charred bodies of 18 people -- civilians and military -- killed in the attack.

Western leaders have repeatedly denied reports of civilian casualties.

"It is not likely that civilians were a part of any airstrike today," said Joint Task Force Operation Odyssey Dawn Lt. Cmdr. Jim Hoeft.

In the east, Gadhafi's tanks were shelling Ajdabiya, where fierce fighting had occurred the day before. Loyalist forces still controlled the northern and western gates to the city.

"This underlines the appalling danger its inhabitants would be in without coalition action, as do continued threats by Gadhafi forces to 'massacre' residents in areas under bombardment," Hague said.

An opposition member told CNN that an isolated Gadhafi unit had raised a white flag but when the rebels approached, the unit began firing.

The coalition has been able to establish a no-fly zone that spans from east to west along Libya's coastline. A U.S. official said though the rebels are in a better position, Gadhafi's forces still have the upper hand.

They remain capable of carrying out attacks on the opposition, are relatively well-organized and continue to fight effectively, the official said.

 As the Libyan war entered the sixth day, questions persisted over who will take command of the coalition.

"These coalition operations are currently under U.S. command," Hague said. "But we want them to transition to NATO command and control as quickly as possible."

NATO already has ships in the Mediterranean Sea to enforce an arms embargo.

"We need agreement to unified command and control for it to be robust, and we expect to get that soon," Hague said.

Critics are also calling for a clearer explanation of U.S. policy in the North African nation.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who just wrapped up a five-day trip to Latin America, has insisted that the goal of the U.N.-sanctioned military mission is strictly to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

Specifically, the U.N. mandate calls for protecting Libyan rebels and other civilians from attacks by forces loyal to the strongman.

U.S. officials have indicated they hope Gadhafi will be removed quickly by forces currently loyal to him, though they haven't publicly called for a coup

The international airstrikes against Libyan military positions began over the weekend after Gadhafi defied a United Nations-mandated cease-fire to stop attacks against civilians.

The war was sparked in February by protests demanding an end to Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule. The Libyan strongman responded with force against civilians, prompting the international community to take action.

France launched the air campaign, and Britain and the United States followed. Britain has announced an international meeting for next Tuesday to assess the situation in Libya.

China says Libya fighting risks regional stability

China says Libya fighting risks regional stability

BEIJING (Reuters) - China again pressed on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire in Libya and a resolution through dialogue, warning that the fighting there could undermine regional stability.

"We believe that the objective of enforcing the U.N. Security Council resolution is to protect humanitarian (objectives) and not to create an even bigger humanitarian disaster," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

"Libya's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity should be respected. We also urge all sides to immediately cease fire and avoid the conflict escalating, which would worsen the situation regional-wide," she added.

Western warplanes began striking Libya over the weekend, but have so far have failed to stop Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's tanks shelling rebel-held towns or dislodge his armour from a strategic junction in the east.

Britain will host an international conference next Tuesday to discuss progress on the U.N.-mandated military intervention.

Asked about the proposed meeting in London next week, Jiang said: "It's my understanding that the Security Council will continue informal consultations about the situation in Libya."

"As for what actions the Security Council should take next, that should be decided by consultation among the Security Council member states. China is willing to work with other sides to promote a resolution of Libya's current crisis through dialogue and other diplomatic means."

China abstained from the U.N. Security Council vote that authorised the intervention, but has since decried the U.S.-led air strikes on Gaddafi as risky and unwarranted overreaching by the West.

Chinese envoy appeals for understanding of executions of 3 Filipinos

Chinese envoy appeals for understanding of executions of 3 Filipinos

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao on Thursday morning asked the Filipino people to understand the reason for the scheduled execution on March 30 of three Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking in China.

"It's something that has to happen," Liu said of the executions, which will take place a few weeks after Chinese authorities postponed them upon the request for a reprieve by the Philippine government.

Liu said the executions have to happen under Chinese law.

He asked for understanding from the Philippine public and expressed hope that the executions won't affect relations between the two countries.

Tests detect radiation above limits for infants in Tokyo water

Tests detect radiation above limits for infants in Tokyo water

Tokyo (CNN) -- A top Japanese official urged residents of the nation's capital not to hoard bottled water Wednesday after Tokyo's government found that radioactive material in tap water had exceeded the limit considered safe for infants.

"We have to consider Miyagi and Iwate and other disaster-hit areas," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "I'd like to again urge consumers not to purchase more bottled water than they need."

Earlier Wednesday, Tokyo government officials advised residents not to give tap water to infants or use it in formula after tests at a purification plant detected higher levels of radioactive iodine.

The city's water agency said the spike was likely caused by problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, located 240 kilometers (150 miles) away.

Still Tokyo residents made a dash for bottled water.

"I did not know about the news at all. I saw the sudden increase in customers and learned about the contamination," said Seiji Sasaki, a grocery store owner.

He had 40 cases of water in his shop. They quickly sold out. Other stores and supermarkets also reported they had no water. A CNN cameraman visited three stores and found two cases of water remaining in only one, but those cases were snapped up quickly. The supply of bottled water was already limited following the earthquake.

"I cannot find water anywhere. All sold out and I can only place orders," lamented Harue Kamiya, a city resident.

Officials evacuated some workers at the plant Wednesday afternoon as a black plume of smoke billowed above one of the reactors, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The company said it was unclear what was causing the smoke.

Workers have been scrambling to cool down fuel rods at the nuclear plant since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami on March 11 knocked out cooling systems there.

Some radiation has been released, officials said, but it was unclear whether radiation levels spiked after the black smoke was spotted Wednesday. Japan's nuclear agency said radiation levels near the plant had not changed, public broadcaster NHK reported.

But in Tokyo, concerns over radiation surged.

Government samples taken Tuesday night found 210 becquerels of radioactive iodine per kilogram of water -- two times higher than the limit that the government considers safe for infants.

The amount of iodine detected was lower than the level considered safe for adults: 300 becquerels per kilogram.

A becquerel is a measurement of radioactive intensity by weight.

"There's no immediate health threat," Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara told reporters, urging people to "stay calm."

Also Wednesday, Japan's government expanded food shipment restrictions after the health ministry said tests detected radioactive materials at levels exceeding legal limits in 11 types of vegetables grown near the Fukushima plant.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked Ibaraki Prefecture to suspend shipments of raw milk and parsley, Edano told reporters Wednesday.


The government of Fukushima Prefecture also told residents not to eat leafy vegetables, he said.

Edano said radiation levels in the food would not cause health problems right away, but if radiation rises, "We are looking at the possibility of levels reaching levels that may harm human health."

The decision to prohibit produce sales is another potentially devastating blow to a part of northeast Japan hit by the earthquake and tsunami.

Fukushima ranks among Japan's top producer of fruits, vegetables and rice. Ibaraki, south of Fukushima, supplies Tokyo with a significant amount of fruits and vegetables and is Japan's third-largest pork producer.

"This is our livelihood," a Fukushima farmer told Japanese television network TV Asahi. "It's a huge problem that we are unable to ship all our produce. We raised (this produce) with our own hands. It's unbearable that we would have to throw it all away."

Hong Kong on Wednesday said it was restricting food and milk imports from certain prefectures over the radiation concerns. The United States previously announced import alerts covering milk, milk products, fresh vegetables and fruit from prefectures near the reactors.

Police say the dual disaster has killed at least 9,487 people and left at least 15,617 missing, many of them killed as a wall of water rushed in following the quake.

Meanwhile, about 387,000 evacuees are staying at 2,200 shelters, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported. Relief efforts to help them and other victims continued, with U.S. military helicopters delivering food, clothes and supplies to some of the hardest hit areas.

In addition to the stories of people struggling to survive in quake-ravaged towns in northeastern Japan, the plight of workers braving high radiation levels to solve problems at the troubled plant has also drawn attention.

Tokyo Electric said Wednesday that two workers were injured at the plant while working with an electric panel. The workers, whose injuries did not involve exposure to radiation, were treated by a doctor at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant.

"We are constantly switching over all the time, since the work cannot be stopped," one worker told TV Asahi.

"It has settled down quite a lot compared to the beginning, and we could even begin to see a bright hope that maybe it would somehow work out in a little bit," another worker said in what the network touted as the first televised interviews with workers.

But authorities said Wednesday that work was far from over at the plant.

The Tokyo Fire Department planned to start spraying water into the spent-fuel storage pool outside the plant's No. 3 reactor Wednesday, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. Power has been restored in the control room at that reactor -- which officials say could be a key step in bringing cooling systems back online.

"It is an industrial catastrophe," said Lake Barrett, a nuclear engineer who directed the initial cleanup and response of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania following a partial core nuclear meltdown in 1979. "It's a huge plant, and it's been basically destroyed internally and has high contamination levels inside. There are areas in the building where no human's going to go for a long time."

But, Barrett told CNN, "it's also not a health catastrophe -- as long as the people follow the instructions from the government, they're going to be safe in Japan."

The No. 3 reactor has been a priority for authorities trying to contain damage to the plant and stave off a possible meltdown. Its fuel rods contain plutonium mixed with uranium, which experts say could cause more harm than regular uranium fuels in the event of a meltdown.

"We have progress in stabilizing cooling capacity. We most progressed in the No. 3 reactor," Edano said. "On the other hand, we are trying to figure out... the cause of the smoke."

With the nuclear plant's six reactors in various states of disrepair, concerns have mounted over a potentially larger release of radioactive material from the facility.

Efforts over the past several days have focused on restoring power at the facility while fire trucks and cement pumps sprayed water on spent fuel ponds, which contain used fuel rods with radioactive material.

Embassies from more than two dozen countries have either closed down or moved operations to cities south of Tokyo since the earthquake and the resulting nuclear crisis, the country's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

"There are 25 embassies which either temporary shut down or moved its function outside of Tokyo," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hidenori Sobashima told CNN. Seven of those 25 have moved to cities such as Osaka, Hiroshima and Kobe, Sobashima said.

Opposition lines up against government

Opposition lines up against government

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff tells reporters outside on Parliament Hill March 23 that his party will move to a motion of non-confidence against the government, which could trigger an election by the weekend. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

 

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Wedneday his party will table a motion against the government Wednesday and seek to defeat it Friday. The leaders of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois said they would support the Liberal motion.

Ignatieff said the government stands accused of contempt of Parliament, election fraud and influence peddling, referring to recent scandals. And he attacked the government over the spending priorities in the budget.

"There isn't what there should be for families," in the budget, Ignatieff said, pointing to families who can't get child care or afford post-secondary education.

Ignatieff said it's a question of respect for Parliament's institutions.

"This is a government that's lost the confidence of the House of Commons, a government that's lost the confidence of Canadians," he said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said in his own remarks to reporters, "If it comes to it...we would be voting in favour" of the Liberal contempt motion. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe also said he would vote against the government.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill March 23. Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

Prime Minister Stephen Harper earlier defended his government's budget and said the opposition parties did not give it a chance.

Harper said in an interconnected world, Canada's economy is at risk, and his government is focused on following through on their plan for the country.

"I'm disappointed (the other leaders) didn't take the time to read the budget before they decided," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

The prime minister said the opposition parties are choosing to force "an unnecessary" election.

"It is not too late for them to step back, to think about the fragile global recovery and to listen to the strong support of the many organizations and the Canadian public for these measures," he said.

Layton said his party was willing to try to support a Conservative budget, and said Harper still has a chance to make changes to it.

"[The prime minister] could have strengthened the retirement security of hard-working security, but instead under a cloud of scandal," Harper chose not to.

Layton said Canadians were looking to the budget for help. "What they got was just more proof that Ottawa is broken and more evidence Setphen Harper can't be trusted."

In his earlier comments, Harper went over some of the highlights from the budget he said the opposition is putting at risk, including infrastructure funding for the cities and the tax credits for caregivers and children's arts programs.

"They are opposing initiatives to create job growth," he said, adding that the opposition leaders must explain their rejection of the budget.


If the government loses a vote of a non-confidence on Friday, the prime minister is prepared to head to Rideau Hall on Saturday to ask Gov. Gen. David Johnston to disolve Parliament and issue a writ of election, CBC News has learned. An election campaign would begin immediately, with an election date of Monday, May 2.

Asked Wednesday whether he would pre-empt a non-confidence motion by the Liberals by going to the Governor General himself, Harper said, "Our priority is the economy and we'll continue... as long as we're in office."

The Liberals have argued the Conservatives can't be trusted on budget numbers, and they've been leading the charge to find the government in contempt of Parliament for not giving sufficient information to MPs on the cost estimates of their crime legislation, the F-35 fighter jet deal and corporate tax cuts.

A committee studying the matter found the government in contempt on Monday and at some point the House of Commons must vote on whether to agree with that finding. A debate on that report could get underway as early as Wednesday, but Liberal MP Scott Brison said one has not been scheduled.

Instead, a debate on the budget itself is also scheduled to begin today after question period, in accordance with parliamentary rules. Liberal motions on contempt or non-confidence would follow.

Meanwhile, cabinet ministers and Conservative MPs are fanning out across the country to promote the budget, which the government calls "the next phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan."