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Title: Libyan Rebels: 'NATObama Is Now Our Problem'
Source:
sky NEWS
URL Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo ... _Nato_Of_Being_Too_Slow_To_Act
Published: Apr 6, 2011
Author: sky NEWS
Post Date: 2011-04-06 07:53:56 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Obama-doma-ding-dong, Obamatuer Hour, Kinetic FUBAR
Views: 738
Libyan rebels have accused Nato of being too slow to act - and asked them to suspend operations unless they "do the job properly". Rebel leader Abdel Fattah Younes has complained that the alliance takes hours to respond to events on the battlefield because of an overly bureaucratic process. He claimed the alliance's inaction was allowing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces to advance and was letting them kill people in the rebel-held city of Misratah "every day". He said: "Nato is moving very slowly, allowing Gaddafi forces to advance. Nato has become our problem." Mr Younes also said if Nato had wanted to lift the siege of Misrata, it could have done it weeks ago. Nato took over from a coalition led by the US, Britain and France on March 31. It puts the alliance in charge of air strikes targeting Col Gaddafi's military infrastructure as well as policing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo. Mr Younes said: "One official calls another and then from the official to the head of Nato and from the head of Nato to the field commander. This takes eight hours." Meanwhile, Sky News has returned to Zawiyah - a town which saw a bloody uprising put down by Col Gaddafi's troops a few weeks ago. Sky's senior correspondent Stuart Ramsay discovered that the mosque which had been at the heart of the rebellion was razed to the ground. In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim appeared to admit for the first time that civilians had been killed during battles in Zawiyah. But he blamed "armed militias" rather than Col Gaddafi's troops. In another development, Abdelati Obeidi has been appointed the Libyan government's new foreign minister, replacing Musa Kusa who defected to Britain last week. Mr Obeidi, who had served as deputy foreign minister, has been on a foreign tour to discuss solutions to the crisis. Air Strikes Are 'Encouraging' For Rebels Elsewhere in Libya, Nato forces have reportedly launched air strikes on government forces near the key oil town of Brega. Opposition fighters have been asking the coalition to assist them with bombardments against the dictator's troops for days. Sky security editor Sam Kiley, in Ajdabiya, said: "The fact that there have been some air strikes, we believe, should be very encouraging to them (the rebels). "(The rebels) are very anxious to take the oil terminal at Brega so they can begin to export oil through an arrangement with Qatar." Libyan Rebels: 'Nato Is Now Our Problem'
Rebels take cover during a fight with Gaddafi's troops outside Brega
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