Manama: Libyans living in Qatar are confident that it is only a matter of time before Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi flees the country.
The expatriates said that they based their claims on what they hear from their relatives and friends in Libya and with whom they are in regular touch.
"We have been able to establish telephonic contacts with our relatives and friends in other Libyan cities, but not Tripoli," a Libyan who works in the oil and gas sector in Qatar said. "Neither mobile phones nor landlines are working in the Libyan capital where fighting has been intense," he told Qatari daily The Peninsula.
In focus: Unrest in the Middle East
Gaddafi's hired militiamen are based in Tripoli and they travel within a radius of 20km and return to their base each time they attack anti-Gaddafi forces, the Libyan said.
The fall of the eastern region bordering Egypt has been crucial in the anti-Gaddafi warfare. The region is oil-rich and has immense water resources.
Medicines and food stocks in urgent need are being supplied to the eastern regions from Egypt, said the Libyan.
"Although people in the cities in the eastern and other parts that have fallen have four months of food reserves so they can fight Gaddafi's militiamen longer than expected," he said.
Opposition forces backed by the protesters in these areas have stockpiles of arms and ammunition which belonged to the army.
There are about 15 tribes in Libya. "Gaddafi's tribe is not major in terms of size, although it is a wealthy clan thanks largely to Gaddafi who has been in power for 42 years," another Libyan said.
India starts evacuation flights
Meanwhile, the Libyan government has given clearance for two Air India aircraft to evacuate some of the 18,000 Indian citizens.
The aircraft will operate from the Tripoli airport over the next 10 days.
Both planes have been chartered by the External Affairs Ministry.
Along with the evacuation flights, the passenger ship Scotia Prince is expected to dock at the Libyan port of Benghazi on Monday to ferry more than 1,200 passengers to Alexandria, Egypt, from where Air India flights will take them back home.
