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    June 13, 2011

Germany Gives Diplomatic Recognition to Libyan Rebels

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   German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) shakes hands with Libyan
   rebel National Transitional Council vice chairman and official
   spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga after a news conference in Benghazi, June
   13, 2011
   Photo: Reuters
   German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) shakes hands with Libyan
   rebel National Transitional Council vice chairman and official
   spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga after a news conference in Benghazi, Libya,
   June 13, 2011

   Germany on Monday officially recognized Libya's rebel council as the
   legitimate representative of the Libyan people, as battles continued in
   several places between rebels and government loyalists.
   German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle offered the recognition
   during a visit to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Germany does not
   participate in NATO airstrikes aiding the rebel cause to oust Libyan
   leader Moammar Gadhafi.
   Germany joins several other nations in recognizing the rebel
   Transitional National Council including France, Italy, Qatar and the
   United Arab Emirates.
   The Obama administration is supporting the rebel cause but has stopped
   short of recognition.
   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday called on African
   nations to cut ties with Mr. Gadhafi and work with the Libyan
   opposition. Clinton made the remarks in a speech at African Union
   headquarters in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
   The diplomatic moves come as Libyan rebel forces attempt to take
   advantage of increased coordination with NATO to mount a series of
   attacks.
   In Zawiyah, a strategic city 50 kilometers west of the capital, Libyan
   rebels regrouped and clashed with pro-Gadhafi forces, weeks after
   troops had forced the rebels' retreat.
   A London-based opposition spokesman, Guma el-Gamaty, said Sunday that
   several hundred rebel fighters controlled large areas of western
   Zawiyah as well as a section of the coastal highway. But a government
   official denied the report.
   Government forces killed at least five people when mortar shells and
   Grad rockets hit Zintan, part of the rebel-held Western Mountains
   region. Elsewhere, opposition forces say fighting killed at least six
   at Dafniya, just west of rebel-held Misrata.

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