Libya: U.S. Openly Backing Rebels
February 28th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
The U.S. said it will assist Libyan rebels trying to force Muammar Qaddafi from power, as pro- democracy protests that have swept the Middle East spread to Oman and reignited in Tunisia.
“We’ve been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and, as the revolution moves westward, there as well,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said en route to Geneva for talks on Libya. The U.S. will provide “any kind of assistance” to those seeking to end Qaddafi’s 41-year dictatorship, she said.
Armed anti-government forces control much of Libya’s east and have deployed tanks and anti-aircraft weapons to defend Al- Zawiyah near the capital, Tripoli, according to the Associated Press. Helicopters attacked a rebel-held radio station in Misrata, east of Tripoli, Al Arabiya television said. The United Nations estimates that more than 1,000 people have died in the uprising and almost 100,000 have fled amid the heaviest fighting in six weeks of unrest that has spread from North Africa to the Persian Gulf, home of the world’s biggest oil reserves.
