June 18, 2011 (REUTERS)
Rebels waging a drawn-out war to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have run out of money, their oil chief said on Saturday, and he accused the West of not meeting promises to deliver urgent financial aid.
His comments came as cracks were appearing in the NATO alliance over its 3-month bombing campaign against Gaddafi, with some allies showing mission fatigue and the United States accusing some European allies of failing to pull their weight.
The following countries have recognised the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya’s sole and legitimate representative since the beginning of the conflict on February 15 2011.
The rebels have made several gains in the past few weeks, but remain far from seizing their ultimate prize — Gaddafi’s powerbase of Tripoli and its hinterland — despite air support from the world’s most powerful military alliance.
“We are running out of everything. It’s a complete failure. Either they (Western nations) don’t understand or they don’t care. Nothing has materialised yet. And I really mean nothing,” rebel oil chief Ali Tarhouni said in an interview with Reuters.
At least eight rebels were killed in fighting near the northwestern town of Nalut, a rebel source said, as insurgents sought to press an advance into Gaddafi’s heartland that has proven slow despite weeks of NATO air strikes on their behalf.
The gun battles in the village of Takut, just outside Nalut, on Saturday followed exchanges of heavy artillery fire near the city of Zlitan, on the other side of Tripoli, as the insurgents tried to take government-held territory to the east of the city.
Tarhouni’s remarks highlight the insurgents’ struggle to make ends meet, with war damage to energy infrastructure in their eastern territory having knocked out oil production there.
Western powers have pledged to expand aid by tapping into Libyan assets frozen abroad. But Tarhouni, also the insurgents’ finance minister, said they had not followed through.
“All of these people we talk to, all of these countries, at all these conferences, with their great grand speeches — we appreciate (them) from the political side, but in terms of finances they are a complete failure. Our people are dying,” he said.
Excerpted from Reuters
