Gaddafi unleashes fighter jets against rebels

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi responded Monday to increased international pressure to step down by unleashing bombing raids and escalating the use of special forces units and army troops.

Gaddafi's troops attacked an oil refinery in central Libya and cities on either side of the country, and his warplanes bombed a weapons depot in the east.

The two Libyan Air Force jets that conducted bombing raids were MIG-23s. They took off from the Kordobiya base near Surt and hit three targets before being deterred from the fourth by rebel anti-aircraft fire, reports the New York Times. They then attacked three other locations in Ar-Rajah, south of Benghazi, an opposition-controlled city in the east.

Gaddafi's escalation of force, which risked bringing the country closer to a state of civil war, comes as the international community increases its support for Libyan opposition forces and pushes Gaddafi to step down. Gaddafi has struggled to maintain power as weeks of protests have posed the biggest challenge yet to his four-decade rule.

The United States and Europe have freezed billions of dollars in Libya's foreign assets, the European Union has imposed an arms embargo among other sanctions and France said it would fly aid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country.

A Pentagon official said Monday the United States was repositioning naval and air forces around Libya, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was prepared to offer "any kind of assistance" to help Libya's rebel forces overthrow the Gaddafi regime.

"We have planners working and various contingency plans and I think it's safe to say as part of that we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made … to be able to provide options and flexibility," Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said.

Discussions on a range of possible military options began last week between British and U.S. officials at the Pentagon, according to the Guardian. Officials told the paper that the support of U.S. and British armed forces might be required to protect corridors for humanitarian relief into Libya through Tunisia and Egypt.

Western officials told the paper that any military intervention in the unfolding conflict would require the approval of the Security Council. Russia and China, who both hold a veto, have voiced their opposition to any outside interference.

Officials from the Obama administration and European allies have been discussing the possibility of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in an effort to halt Gaddafi's attacks on civilians. Hundreds if not thousands of civilians have been killed by Gaddafi's forces and pro-government mercenaries since the uprising began in mid February.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs Monday that Britain and its allies were considering using fighter jets to impose a no-fly zone and patrol and shoot down Libyan aircraft attacking opposition forces.

"We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets. We must not tolerate this regime using military forces against its own people," Cameron said.

When asked if the West might supply Libyan opposition forces with weapons, Cameron replied: "It's certainly something we should be considering."

Fears of chemical weapons

London's Telegraph reports that the West is considering using force against Gaddafi's regime out of fear that the defiant and often unstable leader has access to chemical weapons that could be used against civilians. The Telegraph quoted an unnamed senior British government source who accuses Libya of still having stocks of mustard gas chemicals.

"Despite a promise in 2003 to give up weapons of mass destruction, Gaddafi is thought to have retained as much as 14 tons of the chemicals required to create mustard gas. The stocks are said to be stored in secret secure facilities in the Libyan desert. The chemicals would need to be mixed and loaded into shells before they could be used as weapons, but are 'still a concern,' said a senior British government source. 'We want to make sure they’re destroyed,' " reports the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press reporter who reached Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, confirmed Sunday that anti-Gaddafi rebels were in control of the city center.

They had deployed army tanks and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks, according to the reporter, but were surrounded by pro-Gaddafi forces, also backed by tanks and anti-aircraft guns.

By all reports, Gaddafi still holds the most of Tripoli, which is home to 2 million of Libya's 6.5 million people. On Sunday, state banks began handing out the equivalent of $400 per family in an effort to boost support for Gaddafi in the capital.

But Zawiya, a town of 200,000 close to an oil port and refineries, is the nearest population center to Tripoli to fall into the opposition hands. Police stations and government offices inside the city have been torched and anti-Gaddafi graffiti was everywhere. Many buildings are pockmarked by bullets.

Gaddafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-regime uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

Looming humanitarian crisis

Aid workers are warning that the exodus from Libya has caused a crisis at the border with Tunisia. About 20,000 people were stranded at the Tunisian border and in need of food and shelter, reports the BBC. Tunisian authorities can no longer handle the influx of refugees, according to U.N. officials.

"They've been accommodating people in shelters, schools and places of their own. But we're now aware of the fact that they're very much stretched and they need the support of the international community," said Liz Eyster of UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency.

The U.N. estimates that about 100,000 people have fled the violence in the past week.

Another person who has reportedly fled Libya this weekend is Gaddafi's alleged lover, Ukrainian nurse Galyna Kolotnytska. She returned to Ukraine early Sunday morning on a plane with other Ukrainian evacuees.

A U.S. diplomatic cable described the 38-year-old divorced nurse as a "voluptuous blonde" who always traveled with Gaddafi. Despite rumors of an affair, the nurse has insisted her relationship with the dictator has been strictly professional.

Travel bans — names released

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Libya and issued a travel ban on Gaddafi, his family and his officials over the weekend. The United States and Britain imposed their own sanctions, too.

Aside from condemning the violence in Libya and referring actions of the Gaddafi regime to the International Criminal Court, the resolution "decides that all Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals listed in Annex I of this resolution."

The list of 16 reveals some of the most influential figures within Gaddafi's inner circle, who between them are understood to wield significant military, security or political power.

The resolution also says "all Member States shall freeze without delay all funds, other financial assets and economic resources which are on their territories, which are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the individuals or entities listed in Annex II of this resolution."

— Hanna Ingber Win, Freya Peterson

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