Dubai: Revolutionaries have wrested control of Brega from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi less than 12 hours after militiamen and mercenaries of the embattled Libyan dictator celebrated the defeat of their rivals in the oil refinery and port city.
Orraish Saeed, a member of the February 17 Coalition in Brega, told Gulf News that those who appeared on Gaddafi's Jamahiriya TV were either killed or arrested by the revolutionaries.
He said the number of the militia and revolutionaries who were killed in the operation is not known. He said 40 members of Gaddafi's forces are being held as prisoners of war as per the Geneva Convention.
He said the withdrawal of revolutionaries from Brega on Sunday evening was for re-grouping and to attack Gaddafi's forces during the night.
"Revolutionaries raided the position of Gaddafi's militia from the western side of the city and cut their logistics lines. The city was combed by the revolutionaries, street by street and house by house. Those who did not surrender were killed, while the rest were arrested and taken out of the city," Saeed said.
"Brega was fully liberated a little after dawn on Monday. The nature of the operation, which covered the whole city, did not allow revolutionaries to have a definite count of the killed militiamen in the operation yet," Saeed said.
He said what was more important than liberating the city was the spoils of the Brega battle which was a large number of arms including light weapons and artillery.
"The arms being used by the militiamen were so advanced. We believe the battalion which was assigned to take over Brega, the neighbouring Ras Lanuf and Bani Jawad from revolutionaries is part of the elite forces in charge of Gaddafi's personal security. Revolutionaries moved the weapons to Benghazi for training so that they can be used in the battle against Gaddafi," he said.
Lt. General Omar Al Hariri, a member of the National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi who defected from the army late last month, told a news conference that those who are fighting alongside Gaddafi were weak and their morale is low.
"Although they were getting high salaries, their morale was at its lowest level," he said.
Al Hariri said the mercenaries and militia were cut off from their supply lines. They have arms but they lack water. They were afraid to drink from the city water system because their leaders were telling them they should not touch anything left by the revolutionaries as it might be poisoned.
"The men were waiting for food and water supplies from Tripoli when the revolutionaries raided their position in Brega. Some of them told interrogators that their families were held hostage in Tripoli to prevent them from defecting. Pilots on a mission against the revolutionaries were ordered to fly without parachutes to stop them from deserting," he said.
He said the revolutionary forces were re-grouped and placed under a central leadership.
Hamid Al Hasi, a spokesman of the Coalition of February 17 Revolutionary Forced in Ajdabiya, told Gulf News that Brega, Aqilla were considered the front line of defence of revolutionaries.
"The line was fortified with certain arrangements upon orders from the headquarters in Benghazi. Ajdabiya was fortified also to stop Gaddafi's forces which had started the bombardment of the city before noon time.
