By Borzou Daragahi and Garrett Therolf, Los Angeles Times
March 6, 2011
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They suffered a blow Friday when a massive explosion destroyed a munitions base near Benghazi, the eastern cradle of the rebellion, leaving several craters 50 feet deep, acres of scorched earth and shattered windows miles away.
There were conflicting reports about the cause of the explosions in the town of Rajmeh, with some saying a plane fired two rockets at the depot, but it appeared to be the first successful attack by pro-Kadafi forces against the rebels' largest stockpiles.
Another armory, in Ajdabiya, about 100 miles south, has been attacked with missiles at least three times since the beginning of the uprising, but each time the strikes missed the more than a dozen buildings full of weapons.
Kadafi's forces have their own limitations: the frequently shaky loyalty of the fighters and challenges replenishing supplies.
"Despite the regime's financial resources, it is very difficult to bring things from Egypt overland," which would entail crossing into eastern Libya, Sullivan said. "If someone is thinking about bringing them over the southern desert, there are about 2 million land mines waiting for them from World War II.
"Algeria doesn't like Kadafi, so you can't bring anything from there. The only way to be replenished is by sea, and the international community is watching that very closely."
According to figures announced by the government Friday, 374 people had been killed in the conflict. Independent observers have put the death toll in the thousands. The fighting has contributed to regional jitters that have driven oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Libyan officials dismiss the rebels as Islamist radicals tied to Al Qaeda. "They are like the Taliban," said one Libyan security official in the town of Nasriyah, south of Zawiya. The opposition claims that Kadafi's forces are bolstered by African mercenaries, an assertion denied by Libyan officials.
In Zawiya, Arab journalists and residents reached by telephone said dozens of people, mostly civilians, had been killed in two days of fighting that at times had escalated into house-by-house warfare. Unconfirmed reports cited sniper fire directed at terrified civilians.
Witnesses reached by phone and cited by Arab television channels said the government advance started at dawn after authorities shut off electricity to major parts of the city.
Rebel organizer Salem Salem said the rebels were able to hold the city but were anticipating more waves of attacks.
"There are bodies everywhere. We have no ability to collect them," Salem said.
A pro-opposition journalist in Zawiya reached by telephone Saturday said rebel control was incomplete and pro-government forces stormed a hospital used to treat wounded rebels and civilians, injuring dozens.
It was impossible to verify all the accounts. Western journalists approaching the city were turned back or detained by security forces. Access to the Internet was severed for a second day throughout much of the nation.
Daragahi reported from outside Zawiya and Therolf from Cairo. Times staff writer Raja Abdulrahim in Rajmeh, Libya, contributed to this report.