AJDABIYAH: Muammar Gaddafi's jets bombed Libyan rebels Monday in a counteroffensive that has pushed them back 160 km in a week, far outpacing diplomatic efforts to impose a no-fly zone to help the rebels. There is now a very real possibility that by the time world powers agree on a response to the conflict, Gaddafi's forces may already have won. A divided UN Security Council Monday discussed the idea of authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya, but no consensus emerged among its 15 members and Russia said it had questions about the proposal. France, which along with Britain has led calls for an enforced ban on military flights across Libya, said it hoped the Arab League decision to ask the council to impose a no-fly zone would persuade reluctant members to support it. “Now that there is this Arab League statement, we do hope that it's a game changer for the other members of the council,” French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud said before the closed-door council meeting. After the inconclusive meeting finished, Araud said he was still hopeful of getting a no-fly zone resolution approved. “It's possible,” he said. “There was no total refusal. There were concerns, questions, but I think we are moving forward.” He said the council should act with greater urgency given the situation on the ground in Libya, where Gaddafi's forces have launched a fierce counteroffensive against rebels. “We would prefer to act as quickly as possible, and we want that our partners on the council have the same sense of urgency that we have,” he said. “That's the small regret that I have.” In Paris, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed the widening Libya crisis with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday and planned an unusual meeting with Libyan opposition figures. The meeting later Monday would be the Obama administration's first high-level contact with rebels. Meanwhile, Libyan government artillery and tanks retook the small town of Zuwarah, 120 km west of Tripoli, after heavy bombardment, resident Tarek Abdallah said by telephone. Perhaps more significantly, they were shrinking the swathe of eastern Libya still held by revolutionary forces.They took the important eastern oil terminal town of Brega late Sunday, and on Monday flew behind rebel lines to bomb Ajdabiyah, the only sizeable town between Brega and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Ajdabiyah commands roads to Benghazi and Tobruk that could allow Gaddafi's troops to encircle Libya's second city and its 300,000 inhabitants. Soliman Bouchuiguir, president of the Libyan League for Human Rights, said in Geneva that if Gaddafi's heavily armed forces broke through to attack Benghazi “there will be a real bloodbath, a massacre like we saw in Rwanda”. News of humanitarian suffering or atrocities could be taken as a sign that help is needed. But while Human Rights Watch has reported a wave of arbitrary arrests and disappearances in Tripoli, hard evidence is so far largely lacking. UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said Kyung-wha Kang said in Geneva that Gaddafi's government had “chosen to attack civilians with massive, indiscriminate force”. “Everyone here is puzzled as to how many casualties the international community judges to be enough for them to help,” said rebel spokesman Essam Gheriani in Benghazi. “Maybe we should start committing suicide to reach the required number. It is shameful.” If the Security Council eventually moved on to discussing a no-fly zone draft and approved it, enforcement would almost certainly fall largely to the United States. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told MSNBC television that a no-fly zone was an option under consideration, but added: “That is a decision, a political decision ultimately, that has not been taken.” President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday barred Gaddafi and his family from conducting financial transactions in Russia, a move that brings Moscow more in line with Western policy. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Russia would consider any proposal that comes before the Security Council. He said Arab League leaders had indicated a zone could be imposed “with some restrictions, primarily with full respect for the sovereignty of Libya and without the use of wweaponry to suppress air-defence facilities”. NATO member Turkey was more categorical. “Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counterproductive,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an international forum in Istanbul. As the diplomatic wrangling continues, Gaddafi's tanks and warplanes have been more than a match for the rag-tag rebel force, especially in the desert terrain between major towns. The only major city held by insurgents outside the east is Misrata, 200 km east of the capital. Rebels and residents there say an assault has been held up by infighting within the ranks of the besieging government forces.
