But near Ajdabiya there was anxiety brewing. Rebel commanders said they were unable to reach their allies inside the city to mount a two-pronged offensive against Gaddafi’s forces positioned at the eastern entrance. Cellphones had been shut down, and the rebels had no satellite phones.
“Why doesn’t our leadership give us better communications?” said Mraibi, the rebel fighter. “We are cut off from our forces inside Ajdabiya.”
Like other fighters, he said he was expecting an allied airstrike on Gaddafi’s tanks and rocket launchers on the perimeter of the city. Adil al-Hasi, a rebel commander, said he was given orders not to send his men into battle until allied jets had struck Gaddafi’s forces.
“Gaddafi’s forces are like birds,” said Fathi Bin Saoud, 54, a fighter. “They can fly anywhere, but the international community can shoot them down. Our role in this war is to walk in and pluck their feathers.”
So when the rebels saw the coalition jets, there was a sense of relief and euphoria. Fighters pointed at the sky and cheered. “The French are here,” yelled one, referring to French warplanes leading the allied air assault.
After the retreat, rebel forces were in disarray. Within minutes, the front line had been pushed back five miles. “We made a mistake,” mumbled Kareem Ali, 55, another fighter, as he looked toward Ajdabiya.
Several rebels had been killed, including four in a pickup truck that was covered with blood. Rebel commanders tried to regroup their men, but they failed to bring order. Some fighters proposed taking a back route through the desert to attack Gaddafi’s forces. Others inexplicably began to fire heavy machine guns into the sky, which raised concerns that the allied jets might strike them instead.
U.S. jet crashes in Libya, pilots survive, as Gaddafi’s forces dig in
Gallery: Conflict and chaos in Libya: As forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi continued attacks on rebels and international strikes began, thousands of Libyans fled the fighting.
* View as Single Page
* Smaller Text Larger Text Text Size
* Reprints
For the rebel forces, Monday began with an abundance of hope and confidence. A day after the allied airstrikes, the highway from Benghazi to Ajdabiya was a graveyard for Gaddafi’s forces. Charred tanks, some still burning, and shattered armored personnel carriers littered the road beside the bodies of Gaddafi’s soldiers.
Video
With Operation Odyssey Dawn in full effect, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports from the Pentagon that the two pilots who were flying a jet that crashed have been recovered and are in U.S. hands with minimal injuries.
Video: With Operation Odyssey Dawn in full effect, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports from the Pentagon that the two pilots who were flying a jet that crashed have been recovered and are in U.S. hands with minimal injuries.
Graphic
Coalition forces focused their actions Monday on extending the no-fly zone south and west from Benghazi.
Graphic: Coalition forces focused their actions Monday on extending the no-fly zone south and west from Benghazi.
But near Ajdabiya there was anxiety brewing. Rebel commanders said they were unable to reach their allies inside the city to mount a two-pronged offensive against Gaddafi’s forces positioned at the eastern entrance. Cellphones had been shut down, and the rebels had no satellite phones.
“Why doesn’t our leadership give us better communications?” said Mraibi, the rebel fighter. “We are cut off from our forces inside Ajdabiya.”
Like other fighters, he said he was expecting an allied airstrike on Gaddafi’s tanks and rocket launchers on the perimeter of the city. Adil al-Hasi, a rebel commander, said he was given orders not to send his men into battle until allied jets had struck Gaddafi’s forces.
“Gaddafi’s forces are like birds,” said Fathi Bin Saoud, 54, a fighter. “They can fly anywhere, but the international community can shoot them down. Our role in this war is to walk in and pluck their feathers.”
So when the rebels saw the coalition jets, there was a sense of relief and euphoria. Fighters pointed at the sky and cheered. “The French are here,” yelled one, referring to French warplanes leading the allied air assault.
After the retreat, rebel forces were in disarray. Within minutes, the front line had been pushed back five miles. “We made a mistake,” mumbled Kareem Ali, 55, another fighter, as he looked toward Ajdabiya.
Several rebels had been killed, including four in a pickup truck that was covered with blood. Rebel commanders tried to regroup their men, but they failed to bring order. Some fighters proposed taking a back route through the desert to attack Gaddafi’s forces. Others inexplicably began to fire heavy machine guns into the sky, which raised concerns that the allied jets might strike them instead.
“Every one of us has his own plan,” a fighter named Abu Ahmed, clutching a ragged pair of binoculars, shouted at a comrade.
In the end, though, almost every commander and fighter reached the same conclusion: Don’t push forward. Let the allied warplanes destroy Gaddafi’s forces. Some hoped that their foes, fearing the airstrikes, would leave on their own.
“We are waiting,” said Hasi, the commander. “Maybe they will surrender.”
Correspondent Liz Sly in Tripoli and staff writers Greg Jaffe and Debbi Wilgoren in Washington contributed to this report.
SOURCE
0 comment:
Post a Comment