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Britain that has been pushing for a robust military action suffered an embarrassment on Friday when a team of SAS Special Forces who snuck into the rebel controlled area of Khandra, near Benghazi, were captured. The Special Forces were leading an M16 agent to rebel leaders when they were surrounded by militia armed with AK-47 soon after they were dropped from a spy helicopter.
The SAS forces and the M16 agents, styled after the famous 007 James Bond, were thought to be Gadhafi’s foreign mercenaries. They were carrying equipment for espionage and reconnaissance, multiple passports and weapons. They were later released and flown to the HMS Cumberland, stationed off the coast of Libya.
While Gadhafi called it a proof that Western conspiracy was behind the uprising, the British Foreign Minister, William Hague, said that further attempts will be made to contact the rebels. "A small British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi. They experienced difficulties, which have been resolved," he said.
Meanwhile, African migrant workers were facing brutal attacks in the hands of rebels. According to the LA Times, these unlucky Africans trapped in Libya were suspected of being mercenaries fighting for Col. Gadhafi. Seven Nigerians have been reported killed in such incidents.
The Financial Times reported that Gadhafi’s forces were using terror to dissuade Libyans in the capital Tripoli from demonstrating against the government. Many cases of disappearances and rapes have been reported to the international and Libyan human rights groups.
Forces loyal to Libyan leader, Col. Maummar Gadhafi over the weekend halted rebel soldiers march on Tripoli. Using helicopter gunships, artilleries and rockets, Gadhafi’s men bushed the rebels back from towns around the capital, Tripoli. According to the Associated Press, rebel leaders have retreated. They plan to regroup and rearm themselves for what is now looking like a protracted war to dislodge Col. Gadhafi from Tripoli. The rebels had targeted Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown, when air attacks disseminated the hurriedly assembled rebel force.
The setback suffered by the rebels and the increase in the use of air assault reignited the call for the United States to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The White House is reluctant to embrace the drumbeat for military action. On Sunday morning TV shows, representatives of the White House argued that imposing a no-fly zone would require taking out Libya’s air defenses which would technically mean going to war.
"Lots of people throw around phrases of `no-fly zone' and they talk about it as though it's just a game, a video game or something. Some people who throw that line out have no idea what they're talking about," White House chief of staff William Daley said.
