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Libyan Rebels Make Gains in Key Oil Town

   VOA News  April 04, 2011
   A rebel fighter gestures beside a Kingdom of Libya flag on a truck at a
   staging area to the east of Brega, April 4, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   A rebel fighter gestures beside a Kingdom of Libya flag on a truck at a
   staging area to the east of Brega, April 4, 2011

   Libyan rebels made gains on Monday in a battle for a key oil town as
   international diplomatic efforts continued to end the fighting between
   government loyalists and opponents.
   Foreign media reports said the rebels controlled access in and around
   the eastern town of Brega, where the rival forces have been in a
   standoff for days.
   On the western front, troops loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi used tanks
   and snipers to keep the city of Misrata under siege.
   The International Committee of the Red Cross is appealing to combatants
   to allow it access to Misrata, the country's third largest city, where
   dozens of injuries and deaths are reported from fierce battles.
   Meanwhile, a Libyan government envoy is in Europe for talks on bringing
   an end to the fighting.
   Acting Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi is meeting with
   Turkish officials for talks on brokering a cease-fire with opposition
   forces.
   In London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain would
   not arm the rebels, but would provide them with needed
   telecommunications equipment. NATO has assumed command of the military
   operation to enforce a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone over Libya, which has
   helped the rebels through airstrikes.
   Hague added that an international group coordinating a political
   response for Libya will gather in the Qatari capital, Doha, next week.
   As part of the planned transition to NATO command, the U.S. military
   was pulling its warplanes from lead position missions Monday and taking
   a support role.
   The New York Times reports that Gadhafi's son, Seif el-Islam Gadhafi,
   has proposed a resolution to the conflict under which his father would
   relinquish power for a transition to constitutional democracy under the
   son's direction.
   The newspaper, citing a diplomat with close ties to the Libyan
   government, said neither the senior Gadhafi nor the rebels appear ready
   to accept Seif el-Islam Gadhafi's proposal, which follows years of his
   public efforts to bring about such a change.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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