Rebel economy begins to churn as assault on Gaddafi marches on

AJDABIYA, Libya — Air strikes here pounded Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's tanks on Friday as rebel fighters, determined to finally take this key oil city, mounted an assault down the main highway leading into town.

But the same heavy shells that have stalled them for more than a week turned them back again.

Both the Qatari Air Force and the United Arab Emirates, the first two Arab countries to contribute to the multilateral intervention, bolstered the allied forces conducting air strikes on Friday. NATO officials, meanwhile, agreed to take over the mission completely, a move that will likely lead to more aggressive military action against Gaddafi’s forces.

On the outskirts of Ajdabiya, the Transitional Council’s newly appointed minister of economy and oil, Ali Tarhuruni, said the rebel leadership had begun to form the beginnings of an independent economy in nearby Benghazi, the opposition's base of operations.

“We have liquidity in the central banks in Benghazi,” said Tarhuruni, who has a doctorate from Michigan University and spent the last 30 years in the United States, dispelling rumors that the rebels were on the verge of financial collapse.

“We made an arrangement with Qatar to send our oil to their market,” he added. “We have no words to describe what Qatar has done for the Libyans.”

Tarhuruni said the agreement with Qatar includes a plan to maintain operations of the Libyan oil refineries that are under rebel control. It will be the first time oil has been shipped out of eastern Libya since the revolution began in mid-February.

Meanwhile, on the front lines, rebel fighters began to organize themselves into strict military ranks better equipped and coordinated to move against Gaddafi’s forces.

A man on a megaphone asked for the less experienced fighters to follow those with more experience, and for those with knowledge of certain weapons to group together. And closer to the front there was more determination than ever as the allied air strikes began in earnest.

“We have to finish this today,” said a soldier in a military truck at the last checkpoint.

Two former Libyan army captains said they were in charge of three regiments of about 120 fighters each on the eastern front of Ajdabiya. Capt. Noori Mohammed said his regiment has tanks and could now communicate using radios.

“I have a plan that’s organized with allied communications,” he said.

Mohammed said he’s under the command of Gen. Khalifa Kifter, a veteran of Libya’s conflict with Chad, which began in the late 1970s and spanned much of the 1980s.

The usual gathering of irregular volunteers waited on Friday for the allied air strikes to end before they began another push toward the embattled city. The crowds cheered from the dunes at each puff of smoke as the bombs struck several miles away.

An army jeep rode up the dunes in the late afternoon and let off a volley of rockets, possibly to signal to the allied planes overhead that the rebels were moving in.

This time, when there was none of the usual return fire from Gaddafi’s tanks, the rebels saw an opening.

“I’m 80 percent sure that he’s out of ammunition or will surrender,” said Fati Burgati, 42, a former traffic policeman now armed with an AK-47 and wearing mirrored sunglasses.

There had been rumors all morning that Gaddafi troops wanted to surrender to a group of tribal sheiks, but that their terms to leave with their weapons were rejected by the rebels.

And so fighters in Toyotas, vans and cars outfitted with AK-47s rolled forward until a heavy barrage of tank shelling stopped them about a mile into their assault. Men jumped into the backs of already overloaded trucks and scrambled, ducking for cover as shells and bullets flew overhead.

It was another seige, followed by another retreat — a pattern that has repeated itself over and over again since the allied bombings began on March 17.

The defeat, however, did not shake the rebels’ resolve. Into the evening opposition fighters fired rockets from makeshift launchers that were attached to a car battery. They sprayed the eastern side of the front with light and heavy machine guns. It was hard to tell if they knew what they were aiming at.

Many rebels said they were in desperate need for more weapons. But they appear to be in possession, at least, of the heavy Soviet-mounted Duskas and SAM-7 missiles that are capable of taking out tanks.

Fauzd Buktif, 56, a former project manager for an oil company said he is in charge of training volunteers. He said the training takes about two weeks but depends on the prior weapons experience of the Libyans who join.

“They’re mostly young men with no military background,” Buktif said.

For most of the rebels, it is becoming more and more clear that, short of Gaddafi’s sudden surrender, the march to Tripoli could take months.