Blow for Kadhafi as foreign minister defects

NEAR BREGA, Libya - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi suffered a major blow with the defection of his foreign minister even as his forces bombarded a rag-tag rebel army seeking to topple him into disarray.

A rebel fighter said Kadhafi's loyalists were riding through the streets of the oil town of Brega shooting randomly on Thursday, a day after pushing the insurgents back more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) along the coast.

Awad Alurfi, a former army captain turned rebel fighter, said at least one rebel had been killed in the fight for Brega, 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

Experts said the opposition lacks anti-tank weapons, radios and other basics, but above all the disjointed, chaotic force needs some rudimentary training.

The defection of Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa, the most senior figure to defect since the uprising against Kadhafi's iron-clad 41-year rule erupted more than six weeks ago, is seen as an indication that the strongman's regime is crumbling.

Kussa's arrival in Britain was a "sign that the regime's days are numbered," defected immigration minister Ali Errishi told France 24 television on Thursday.

"It is the end... it is a blow to the regime (and) others will follow," said Errishi who himself defected soon after the insurrection began.

"Kussa was his most trusted aide. Kadhafi no longer has anybody. It's just him and his kids."

Libyas former deputy ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi, told France 24 in a separate interview that Kussa's defection "was very important at this stage because he knows a lot of secrets of the regime. He has been working with the Kadhafi regime for a long period now."

"He's been involved with the regime in the latest period. He knows how Colonel Kadhafi is directing the operations against the revolutionary forces and how he behaved even inside his own close! d circle . Maybe he has more information about the intentions of many high officials around Kadhafi."

Mussa Kussa arrived at Farnborough Airfield, west of London, on Wednesday, a Foreign Office statement said.

"He travelled here under his own free will. He has told us that he is resigning his post," it added.

The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that the United States and Britain had inserted covert intelligence agents into Libya to make contact with rebels and to gather data to guide coalition air strikes.

The White House refused to comment on the apparent shadow war and also declined to discuss another report that President Barack Obama had signed a secret order allowing Central Intelligence Agency operations in the country.

A senior US official did, however, welcome the defection of Kussa, interpreting his flight as a sign that Kadhafi's inner circle was beginning to crumble.

"This is a very significant defection and an indication that people around Kadhafi think the writing's on the wall," the source said.
Another senior defector meanwhile, rebel commander Major General Suleiman Mahmoud, told BBC's Newsnight on Wednesday that his forces needed time and help -- including weapons -- to overcome the Kadhafi regime.

"Our problem (is) we need help: communication, radios, we need weapons," he told the news programme.

Western powers are divided over sending weapons to the rebels, although many reports indicate arms are already reaching them at their stronghold of Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya.

Even with weapons, however, it could take weeks and even months to turn the rag-tag rebels into a genuine fighting force capable of holding ground and coordinating firepower with troop movements, according to said Dakota Wood, a retired US Marine officer.

"They're certainly willing but you're starting from a very low baseline, almost non-existent in terms of the professional use of arms," Wood told AFP.

Militarily, Wednesday was a ! terrible day for the rebels as superior firepower from Kadhafi's forces saw them driven back 200 kilometres from the oil town of Ras Lanuf to a point about 20 kilometres east of Brega.

AFP reporters said the front line remained at that point on Thursday, with rebels saying Brega appeared under the control of the loyalists.

"There are small groups of Kadhafi forces inside the town. They are driving around shooting at people," rebel fighter Alurfi said.
Five air strikes were heard by AFP reporters around Brega, although it remains unclear what they were targeting.

The rebels said they were awaiting more air strikes before they attempt to retake the town.

The air strikes came soon after NATO took over command of all operations in Libya at 0600 GMT Thursday from a US-led coalition that has conducted air raids against pro-Moamer Kadhafi forces since March 19.

The 28-nation alliance "took sole command of international air operations over Libya," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

The United States had been gradually transferring command of the aerial operations to protect civilians since NATO agreed to take over the mission on Sunday.

Explosions shook an eastern suburb of Tripoli overnight as warplanes staged a raid on the Libyan capital, a witness told AFP by telephone.