The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Libya forces corner Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte
- Oil spill grows from stricken ship off New Zealand
- Perry under pressure at U.S. Republican debate
| Libya forces corner Gaddafi loyalists in Sirte Posted: SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan transitional government forces said they had cornered Muammar Gaddafi loyalists in the centre of the deposed leader's hometown on Monday, where desperate civilians were still trying to flee the fierce street fighting.
The protracted battle for Sirte has raised concerns that civilian casualties could breed long-term hostility and make it hard for the National Transitional Council (NTC) to unite the vast North African state once the fighting is over. "Gaddafi's forces are cornered in two neighbourhoods near the sea, an area of about 2-km square, but there is still resistance," Abdul Salam Javallah, commander of NTC units from eastern Libya, told Reuters on the front line of their attack. "We are dealing with them now with light weapons because there are still families inside," he said. Shortly after he spoke, a group of three women, three small children and two male civilians emerged from a house on the front line. They were searched by the rebels and hurriedly got into a car and drove off waving the V-for-victory sign. Another family of three women and one man, stopping at a checkpoint as they fled Sirte, said they had been trapped in their house by the fighting. "We didn't know where the strikes were coming from. Everyone is being hit all day and all night. There is no electricity and no water. There is nothing. There is not one neighbourhood that hasn't been hit," said one of the women who gave her name as Umm Ismail. NTC commanders say they are using only light weapons, but government tanks have also moved into road intersections and pounded Gaddafi positions, while pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weapons as well as foot soldiers darted out of cover to fire wildly up ahead. At times, NTC units came under fire from their own side, a hazard becoming more acute as the poorly coordinated groups of government volunteers attacking from the east and west close in on one another. Most of the NTC forces attacking Sirte are from other towns and do not have much help from the inside as they did they when they captured the capital Tripoli on Aug. 23 and ended 42 years of one-man rule by Gaddafi after six months of civil war. GADDAFI'S MEN FIGHT FOR THEIR LIVES Many civilians from Sirte are also fighting alongside the remnants of Gaddafi's army in the belief the outsiders will commit atrocities once they capture the city of 75,000 people, which Gaddafi built into a lavish second capital. "Gaddafi's troops know their way around," said one government fighter in a brief lull in the fighting. "We don't know the city. We don't even know what's in the next street." Gaddafi is believed to be hiding in the desert to the south. NTC forces have struggled to take Sirte and a few other bastions of Gaddafi loyalists, which has impeded efforts to set up effective government nationwide and restart oil production, the lifeblood of the Libyan economy. Several Libyan analysts also say they are worried fault lines are opening up between the Islamist-run Tripoli Military Council, which has nominal control over the capital and is also believed to be backed by Qatar, and groups loyal to interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, a Western-trained technocrat. The interim government sent out text messages on Monday urging their fighters to report to military bases and join the national army. Concern is rising in the capital about potential conflict among armed groups that converged on Tripoli in August and have stayed on to demand stakes in a future government. NTC forces in Sirte took three important landmark buildings on Sunday -- the main hospital, the university and the opulent Ouagadougou conference centre, built to host the summits of foreign dignitaries that Gaddafi was fond of staging. "Eighty percent of Sirte is now under our control," said Omar Abu Lifa, a commander of government forces attacking Sirte from the west. NTC forces have repeatedly claimed to be on the point of victory in Sirte, only to suffer sudden reversals at the hands of tenacious enemies fighting for their lives, surrounded on three sides and with their backs to the sea. In just one field hospital to the east of the city, doctors said they had received 20 dead and 87 wounded over the last two days from fighting. There were many more casualties elsewhere. One man, a student, who had escaped from the centre of the city, said he had watched from a rooftop on Sunday as Gaddafi soldiers destroyed 10 government pick-up trucks. "Their morale is very high," said Salam Awad. "They are prepared to fight to the death." NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said his men had reached Sirte city centre, while the only other major town in the hands of Gaddafi loyalists, Bani Walid in the interior desert to the south, was also under siege from no fewer than five sides. "I think and I hope, with the help of God, the liberation of these two towns will be completed by the end of this week. God willing," he told a news conference in Tripoli on Sunday. Sirte holds symbolic significance because Gaddafi turned it from a fishing village into a second capital. He built opulent villas, hotels and conference halls to house the international summits he liked to stage there. (Additional reporting by Barry Malone and Joseph Logan in Tripoli; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Peter Graff) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Oil spill grows from stricken ship off New Zealand Posted: WELLINGTON (Reuters) - An oil spill from a container ship stricken off New Zealand is growing as the weather deteriorates, sending clumps of thick fuel oil on to nearby beaches, officials said on Tuesday. The 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena has been stranded on a reef about 12 nautical miles off Tauranga on the east coast of the country's North Island since running aground on Wednesday. As much as 350 of 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil has already escaped and authorities have warned people off the beaches and from eating seafood. The district is a popular holiday resort, with long, golden beaches renowned for surfing and nearby waters with an international reputation for big-game fishing. Booms have been put over some harbour entrances to prevent oil from destroying wetland and wildlife habitats. So far fewer than a dozen seabirds have died and about the same number treated for oil contamination. Maritime New Zealand said weather overnight had shifted the ship on the reef and continuing heavy swells and strengthening winds were making it too dangerous to stay on board. "All personnel have now been taken off the vessel as a precautionary measure due to the conditions," the agency said in a statement. Swells of up to four metres (12 feet) and winds gusting up to 25 knots had moved the ship around on the reef, but also reduced its list to between three and six degrees from the previous 11 degrees. "There has been more damage to the front part in the vessel, and additional flooding in the forward holds. However, this will to some degree help to settle Rena." Refloating and salvage of the ship is the responsibility of the owner, Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece's Costamare Inc., and salvage experts, but any plan needs official approval. The ship was en route to Tauranga, 200 km (120 miles) southeast of New Zealand's biggest city, Auckland, the country's biggest export port and a hub for transshipping cargo, to collect cargo before heading for Singapore. (Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Nick Macfie) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Perry under pressure at U.S. Republican debate Posted: HANOVER, N.H. (Reuters) - Republican Rick Perry hopes to end a string of poor performances and campaign rival Mitt Romney looks to consolidate his newly regained front-runner status at a U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday.
The debate will be Herman Cain's first moment in the national political spotlight since gaining momentum with his surprise Florida straw poll win last month, and the former pizza executive is sure to face new scrutiny. Eight Republican contenders will participate in the debate in New Hampshire, the seventh this year in the party's race for the nomination to face President Barack Obama in 2012. Three months before Republican voting begins, the pressure will be on Perry to reverse a streak of wobbly debate showings that put his once high-flying campaign into a nosedive. "Perry will be in the spotlight because he has to put on a better performance," said Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "The last few debates started to peel back the layers of the onion on Perry -- and he really hasn't held up well." Perry, the Texas governor, roared past Romney to take the lead in polls after getting in the race in August. But he foundered after several stumbling debate performances where he was hammered over his immigration policies and for ordering young girls be vaccinated for a sexually transmitted virus. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor whose 2008 White House bid failed, has retaken the lead in polls but has still not won over conservatives who remember his past support in Massachusetts for abortion rights and a healthcare mandate. Romney has been a steady performer in the debates and has gone largely untouched by his rivals, particularly in the three debates last month that focused on Perry. Some of the other second-tier candidates, including former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, could be trying to get noticed in the debate as time runs out for them to make a move. 'TAKING SOME RISKS' "I'm expecting some of the second and third-tier candidates to start finally taking some risks to distinguish themselves," Cullen said. "If you're Jon Huntsman or Rick Santorum, your opportunities are starting to become numbered." The debate begins at 8 p.m. EDT/midnight GMT on the campus of Dartmouth College and will be carried by Bloomberg Television. It will focus on economic issues. Candidates will sit side-by-side with the moderators in a roundtable format, surrounded by the audience, in an effort to generate more interaction, sponsors said. It is the second debate this year in New Hampshire, which is expected to hold its influential nominating contest in early January. The exact date remains uncertain as other states jockey to gain influence by jumping ahead in the calendar. Romney is the early favorite in the state, which borders Massachusetts and where he has a vacation home. A University of New Hampshire poll last week showed him with more than a 20-point lead over second-place Cain. Huntsman, who has staked his campaign on a strong showing in New Hampshire, has gained slightly in the state in recent polls and needs a good debate performance to maintain his momentum. Staunch social conservatives like Cain, Perry, Santorum and U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann might find New Hampshire's more moderate voters a less receptive audience. Also participating in the debate will be U.S. Representative Ron Paul and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich. (Editing by Christopher Wilson) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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