Rebels push to strangle Tripoli, reopen US Libya mission

Libya's rebels pushed to strangle two supply lines to Tripoli on Wednesday, hoping to ratchet up pressure on the regime as their leaders prepared for the transition to democracy.

Rebels fought to sever Tripoli's supply lines from Tunisia to the west and to Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte in the east, as they continued efforts to translate military victories into political pressure.

Fighting continued to the west of Tripoli at Zawiyah, with rebel officials claiming they were in control of "most" of the strategically vital oil port.

The town, which contains a oil refinery, "is being heavily shelled by Gaddafi forces from the east, but the population is not scared and will not leave," said Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, a military spokesman.

Bani added that the rebels were now pushing west toward the Tunisian border, an apparent bid to further strangle what limited supply lines remain.

It was the latest in a series of operations to cut off the capital, which the rebels hope will force defections from the regime and spark a Tripoli uprising against the nearly 42-year-old regime.

East of Tripoli rebels moved toward a town that links the capital and Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and a stronghold for his military.

But with rebels spread thinly across a fragmented front around Tripoli, their assault represented a slight tightening of the noose rather than the chair being kicked from under gaddafi feet.

Still, anticipating victory, Libya's rebel leaders set out a fresh plan to transform the country from autocracy to a fully blown democracy, in a roadmap that could help define the country for decades to come.

Rebels reopen US Libya mission

A Libyan diplomat representing rebels fighting strongman Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday formally reopened Libya's mission in Washington. Expressing hope for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets.

"For the first time in 42 years, this embassy represents a free Libya," the envoy, Ali Aujali, told dozens of cheering supporters who waved Libyan flags outside the de facto embassy's offices in the Watergate Hotel.

The United States two weeks ago transferred the Libyan embassy in Washington to the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC), which Washington has recognized as Libya's de facto government.

Aujali said "diplomatic recognition is not an end in itself but rather an important step" toward promoting greater cooperation between the NTC and the United States.

"I am hopeful that the United States government will soon move forward with releasing the frozen assets in the US that belong to the Libyan people," Aujali said.

The United States announced on March 10 that it was shutting down the Libyan embassy, weeks after it withdrew its diplomats from the US embassy in Tripoli as Kadhafi's forces used violence against the uprising.
 

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