Fight for Sirte and Bani Walid continues

Hoards of anti-Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi fighters have renewed assaults on two of the Leaders strongholds, Sirte and Bani Walid. Gunfire and explosions have been resonating through Bani Walid's hills, 180km south of Tripoli, as the anti Qadhafi fighters make their way to the town.

It has been reported that tanks are also approaching Sirte, just hours after an impromptu attack was pushed back by Qadhafi's loyalists. The latest attempts to seize the two towns come amid Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visit to Tripoli. Erdogan has met Libya's new leaders in the capital and is currently on a regional tour in Ankara.

The Turkish official's visit follows the state visit of UK's Prime Minister David Cameron and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, who were the first world leaders to visit Libya since the National Transitional Council (NTC) seized Tripoli.

Judging from the ongoing fighting in both cities it is clear that pro-Qadhafi forces are still going strong and have the capacity to respond. Concern, however, is mounting for the tens of thousands of civilians still believed to be living in both cities, who have been struggling for weeks due to depleted supplies of food and water and electricity shortages.

According to Reuters, fighters loyal to the NTC have already captured a valley leading into Bani Walid following the initial push on Friday. Speaking to the BBC an unnamed NTC official said: “We were planning to hold Friday prayers, God willing, in Bani Walid...As we were about to advance, a clash took place with a surveillance crew made up of two or three enemy vehicles. They shot at us but thank God, we were able to stop them and defeat them."

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Bloomberg

r more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

UK will do its duty in Libya for as long as necessary

The news from NATO indicates a failure in the weapons system of a missile targeted on Sorman on 19th June which killed nine. NATO appears to have accepted responsibility for this tragedy which has been attributed to French aircraft. NATO also acknowledged a second missile strike, on the home of Khuweildi al-Hamidi, a close confidant of Colonel Qadhafi, on 20th June, when, it is claimed, 15 died.

This NATO raid on 19th June was one of 137 air sorties taking place, 60 of which were non-combatant, being directed towards identifying targets. The work rate of the NATO aircraft included strikes on a military store and missile guidance radars in the Tripoli region. Two rocket launchers and a number of other military vehicles were destroyed in raids on the city of Misrata.

In all, NATO aircraft have made 11,781 sorties, of which 4,469 were strike air raids. Meanwhile at sea, the NATO flotilla enforced the embargo on arms movements and also took part in attacks on the mainland. NATO reported that it was taking the greatest precautions to minimise civilian casualties. Sorman is a centre of Qadhafi support and it will remain a NATO target.

The British are suffering from an undersupply of military assets, material and backup for the Libya campaign because it is running in tandem with its major role in Afghanistan. On 17th June, Chief of Defence Staff General Sir David Richards rebuked the statement by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope which suggested that the country could not support its Libyan activities beyond the end of September 2011.

Reinforcement of those who argue that the Libya campaign was overstretching resources came from Air Chief Marshall Sir Simon Bryant and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, who stated that activity in Libya is costing tens of millions of pounds and potentially hundreds of millions if fighting continues.

Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox rubbished this idea, stating the UK would do its duty in Libya for as long as necessary; Prime Minister David Cameron criticised all of them for their interference.

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Libya declares an immediate ceasefire

Libya has declared an immediate ceasefire after UN Security Council backed a no-fly zone over the country; the resolution also gave UN members permission to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. Anti-government protesters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi greeted the news of UN's resolution with cheers and celebratory fireworks.

Libya's Foreign Minister Musa Kusa said the ceasefire was intended "to protect civilians". The announcement came amid heavy fighting between Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi loyalists and rebels.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 gave broad backing to taking military action against all threats to civilians. Speaking about the resolutions, President of the Justice and Democracy Party of Libya Hadi Shalluf said the anti-government protesters would welcome UN peacekeepers in Libya to help enforce the no-fly zone on the ground. Shalluf said: “All the Libyans now, they are very, very happy even as this resolution is coming very, very late. But we are really glad and then happy. Today, just now in Benghazi where the people go outside singing, and then dancing, and are very, very happy about this resolution.”

Shalluf also thanked both the US and France for their part in making the no-fly zone resolution possible, adding “We would like to say thank you to Mr Obama and then we would like to say thank you to Mr Sarkozy and Mr. (Alain) Juppe, the French president and foreign minister about what they did for the Libyan people.”

Speaking shortly after Libya declared ceasefire, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would judge Qadhafi "by his actions not his words". He added: “What is absolutely clear is the UN Security Council resolution said he must stop what he is doing, brutalising his people. If not, all necessary measures can follow to make him stop…That is what we agreed last night, that is what we are preparing for and we'll judge him by what he does."

Sources: BBC News, Voice of America, Reuters, New York Times

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.