Warplanes hit Libya again, stalemate feared

TRIPOLI: Forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi attacked a town near Tripoli on Tuesday after a third night of air raids on the capital, but the Western campaign faced questions over the future of its command structure.With anti-Qaddafi rebels struggling to capitalize on the air campaign and to set up a coherent command structure, Western nations have still to decide who will run the operation once Washington pulls back.The United States will cede control of the air assault in days, President Barack Obama said, even as divisions in Europe fueled speculation that Washington would be forced to continue leadership of air patrols to replace the initial bombardment.“We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks,” Obama, facing questions at home about the US military getting bogged down in a third Muslim country, told a news conference on a visit to Chile.Libyan state television said several sites had come under attack in Tripoli on Monday. There was no immediate confirmation of new strikes by Western powers in the campaign to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians after an uprising against Qaddafi’s 41-year rule.In the latest fighting on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported that Qaddafi forces were trying to seize the western town of Zintan in an attack using heavy weapons. Residents had already fled the center of the town to seek shelter in mountain caves.Rebels, who were driven back toward their eastern Benghazi stronghold before the air attacks halted an advance by Qaddafi forces, have done nothing to resume their planned advance on Tripoli — raising fears the war could grind to a stalemate.But Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Qaddafi, though France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within.Obama did not spell out which nation or organization would take charge of the campaign, but Britain and France took a lead role in pushing for air strikes in Libya which have already destroyed much of its air defenses. NATO officials to resume talksBritish Prime Minister David Cameron said the intention was to transfer command to NATO, but France said Arab countries did not want the US-led alliance in charge of the operation in the oil-producing north African desert state.NATO officials were due to resume talks in Brussels on Tuesday after failing to reach an agreement on Monday.Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said if agreement was not reached for NATO control of the no-fly zone over Libya, Italy would resume its own separate command structure.A NATO role would require political support from all the 28 NATO states, and on Monday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey wanted several conditions met for a NATO role.Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University, said it would be difficult to stand up a multinational command structure “on the fly.”“If that’s what’s being attempted then the hand-off may take longer than the Obama administration would like,” he said.Rifts are also growing in the world community over Libya, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin comparing the UN resolution to a call for “medieval crusades.” China and Brazil were urging a cease-fire amid fears of civilian casualties. ‘Crusader enemy’Libyan state television reported that several sites in Tripoli had been subject to new attacks by what it called the “crusader enemy.” “These attacks are not going to scare the Libyan people,” the television station said.Anti-aircraft gunfire rang out throughout the night and pro-Qaddafi slogans echoed around the city center. Cars sped through Tripoli streets honking wildly.Al Jazeera television said radar installations at two air defense bases in eastern Libya had been hit.A Libyan government spokesman also said that foreign attacks had killed many people by bombing ports and Sirte airport.“You saw that place (Sirte airport),” Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference. “It’s a civilian airport. It was bombarded and many people were killed. Harbors were also bombarded.” Qaddafi forces shelling 2 citiesMeanwhile, residents in two besieged rebel-held cities in western Libya, Misrata and Zintan, said they had been attacked by Qaddafi forces. Security analysts have said they believe government troops will try to force their way into civilian areas to escape attack from the air.In Misrata, residents said people had gone out into the streets to try to stop Qaddafi forces entering the city.Zintan, near the Tunisian border, which was attacked again on Tuesday, faced heavy shelling, two witnesses said. Several houses were destroyed and a mosque minaret destroyed.“New forces were sent today to besiege the city. There are now at least 40 tanks at the foothills of the mountains near Zintan,” Abdulrahmane Daw told Reuters by phone from the town.The reports could not be independently verified. Air strikes under scrutinyThe United States and its allies have run into some criticism for the intensity of the firepower unleashed on Libya, including more than 110 Tomahawk missiles on Saturday. The next step is to patrol the skies to enforce the no-fly zone.The UN Security Council is far from united over Libya. In last week’s vote, 10 countries supported the resolution and the other five council members abstained including Russia and China, which, however, refrained from using their veto power.Libyan rebels have welcomed the air strikes and say they are coordinating with the Western powers launching them.But there was little sign at the vanguard of battle in east Libya that this communication extended to forward rebel units.Western powers say they are not providing close air support to rebels or seeking to destroy Qaddafi’s army, but rather only protecting civilians, as their UN mandate allows, leaving disorganized rebel fighters struggling to make headway.Security analysts say it is unclear what will happen if the Libyan leader digs in, especially since Western powers have made clear they would be unwilling to see Libya partitioned between a rebel-held east and Qaddafi-controlled west.“There is still a real risk of a protracted stalemate, with neither side wanting to negotiate. So the endgame remains very unclear,” said Jeremy Binnie, a senior analyst with IHS Jane’s.British Prime Minister David Cameron said the operation would not drag into another Iraq-style conflict.“This is different to Iraq. This is not going into a country, knocking over its government and then owning and being responsible for everything that happens subsequently,” Cameron said during a parliamentary debate on Libya.In an appearance on Libyan television on Sunday, Qaddafi promised his enemies a “long war.”Officials in Tripoli said that one missile on Sunday, which they said was intended to kill Qaddafi, had destroyed a building in his compound, heavily bombed in 1986 by the United States.Cameron said there were no plans to target Qaddafi. “The UN resolution is limited in its scope, it explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Qaddafi’s removal from power by military means,” he told parliament.