Dubai: Brega, the second largest oil exporting port after Ras Lanuf, fell yesterday to the forces of Muammar Gaddafi in what military sources close to the revolutionaries said was a tactical withdrawal.
"We are waiting for the no-fly zone. We don't want to lose a single life in this unbalanced confrontation between revolutionaries and Gaddafi militia," said a defected captain from the Gaddafi Army who did not want to reveal his name.
"Gaddafi has been using all kinds of ammunition including surface-to-surface missiles and air bombardment," he added.
A spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC) told Gulf News that revolutionaries will be able to fight the Gaddafi militia and defeat them without an air force.
"I am sure the world will not be pleased to deal with [a] terrorist like Gaddafi if he succeeded in retaining power," Naim Al Obaidi told Gulf News.
"The Libyan crisis has become an international issue and the quicker the world comes up with a solution to end the tyrant regime in Tripoli, the safer our world will be," he said.
He said the Libyans are sincere in their efforts to remove Gaddafi's regime.
"The international community must show similar commitment. The world we live in has no room for criminals like Gaddafi. We need to see what [plan] the Security Council will come up with," he said.
"This is a crucial moment in the history of reform in the Arab countries," Al Obaidi added.
Israel
Al Obaidi said people in Libya are talking about Israeli support to Gaddafi.
"I don't rule out such cooperation with Israel. Gaddafi is doing anything possible to stay in power along with sons and family. For him there is no red line or a threshold that he cannot cross."
"The Israeli link explains why Gaddafi has no interest in Arabs. Saif attacked Arabs like no leader in the past dared to do.
"Libya [under] Gaddafi has severed its relations with Arab countries and this is another reason for keeping this revolution up till it succeeds in removing Gaddafi," he said.
