A little good news:
Pro-democracy fighters have regained ground in a new advance on the oil port of Brega in eastern Libya. Rebels said the loss of ground early this week to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi is a normal occurrence in fluid desert wars, and will not prevent them from ousting the Libyan leader.
Meanwhile, NATO stepped up the pace of its air campaign over Libya on Wednesday, a day after facing fierce criticism of not doing enough to protect civilians in Misurata. The alliance dismissed opposition criticisms saying the safety of civilians is its top priority and pledged to do everything it can to ensure that. It accused Gaddafi's troops of hiding tanks, troops and heavy weapons among civilians to stop NATO aircrafts from air strikes.
But there is a new sign of vulnerability on the rebel side:
Attacks by government troops this week have also halted production in rebel-held oil fields, just as a tanker with the first shipment of crude left Tobruk on Wednesday. The rebels have a deal to export oil via Qatar and use the profits to pay salaries and buy food, medicine and arms to fight Gaddafi.
Hafiz Ghoga, a rebel spokesman, said groups of armoured vehicles attacked the oil field of Messla and of Sarir early this week. "I think we will not depend on oil revenues in the coming stage because our production has been affected in this crisis."
And:
Rebel troops are also being diverted from the frontline to guard the fields.
(Photo: A Libyan rebel soldier runs across the sand near front-line positions on April 6, 2011 outside of Brega, Libya. Rebel militias fighting against Libyan government loyalist soldiers continued their stand-off in the eastern Libyan desert today, regaining ground toward a key oil port while awaiting further NATO airstrikes. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
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