Libya's opposition militia on Monday made inroads in the town of Yafaran, southwest of the capital, Tripoli, spelling the steady erosion of authority of the regime of Muammar Qadhafi.
Reuters reported quoting its photographer that the town which had been held by pro-Qadhafi forces had fallen to the opposition. “The rebels say that they have taken the town,” said the photographer, Youssef Boudlal. “We are inside the town ... There is no sign of any Qadhafi forces. I can see the rebel flags ... We have seen posters and photos of Qadhafi that have been destroyed,” he said.
Anti-Qadhafi forces have been steadily gaining ground in the mountains west of Tripoli tapering toward the border with Tunisia. Many of the mountain strongholds are populated by Berbers, a distinct group that has been traditionally hostile to the Qadhafi regime.
While western forces have not sent “boots on the ground”, there has been a marked escalation in the air campaign after the deadly Apache helicopters entered the theatre of combat. French Gazelle and British Apache helicopters have been targeting the regime's heavy weapons in urban hideouts which could not be targeted by fast-moving fighter jets. Analysts say by using air power extensively, western countries hope to clear the military impediments that, apparently, have been preventing the advance of opposition forces toward Tripoli. The helicopters have so far struck pro-Qadhafi forces around the eastern oil town of Brega and Misurata, Libya's third largest city, which in recent weeks had witnessed heavy fighting.
Despite the military gains, the opposition forces may not yet be ready for a political takeover. Key western powers are now insisting the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council (TNC) share power with some of the loyalists of Mr. Qadhafi after he quits the political stage. The New York Times is reporting that British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who has concluded a visit to Benghazi, said the opposition must learn from Iraq's experience. Mr. Hague said the anti-Qadhafi leadership must refrain from a campaign similar to Iraq's disastrous “de-Baathification” initiative. Many analysts are of the view that this policy marginalised Saddam Hussein's supporters and fuelled an insurgency that plagued Iraq for several years. “We're encouraging the Transitional National Council to put more flesh on their proposed transition — to lay out in more detail this coming week what would happen on the day that Qadhafi went — who would be running what, how would a new government be formed in Tripoli?,” Mr. Hague told BBC.
The opposition's poorly developed post-Qadhafi transition plan is apparently costing it broader international recognition. The United States has still not recognised the TNC — a factor which prevents the opposition from accessing $34-billion in frozen Libyan assets.
The opposition has also consumed most of its available crude oil stocks, a source of valuable revenue, and resumption of oil supplies from the south-eastern oil fields remains uncertain.
