NATO says "cracks in Gaddafi regime are clearly visible"

BRUSSELS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya has shown visible cracks after eight senior Libyan military officers defected, a NATO spokesman said Tuesday.

"A number of pro-Gaddafi units have shown signs of waiving loyalty. And yesterday (Monday), a number of senior pro-Gaddafi officers defected," Mike Bracken told a press briefing via video conference from Naples, Italy.

Eight senior Libyan military officers, including five generals, announced their decision to defect in Rome Monday.

"The cracks in the Gaddafi regime are now clearly visible," Bracken said.

According to the defected Libyan military officers, pro-Gaddafi forces were now at only 20-percent capacity, NATO spokeswomen Oana Lungescu told the same press conference.

"It is a significant loss of the regime' senior leadership, and it doesn't come in surprise. Because NATO strikes have largely paralysed the command and control of the Gaddafi regime forces... they (senior military officers) are losing their faith in their leadership," she said.

The defections came as South African President Jacob Zuma was in Libya to try to broker a cease-fire. After his talks with Gaddafi, Zuma said that the Libyan leader is ready to carry out an African Union (AU) roadmap for solving the crisis.

Oana said that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is scheduled to meet with Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, on Tuesday afternoon.

"The African Union, of course, has a very important role to play in conflict resolution in Libya. And we welcome all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict," she said.

Editor:Wang Xiaomei |Source: Xinhua


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Son of star wars' base in Yorkshire finally ready to open

Peace campaigners slam secrecy over $10bn Menwith Hill project that puts UK in line of fire A "star wars" inspired defence shield that will alert the US to the launch of ballistic missiles is expected to be operational from a North Yorkshire airbase before the end of the year. The Space Based Infrared System is seen as the successor to Ronald Reagan's unrealised "star wars" programme, which would have detected Soviet missiles and shot them down using lasers. The new system, which has cost more than $10bn, has taken almost two decades to build and has been subject to numerous delays and cost overruns. The imminent completion of the project at the RAF Menwith Hill base near Harrogate has revived fears that space is in danger of becoming militarised, with Britain in the vanguard. "I find this disturbing to say the least," said a local Labour MP, Fabian Hamilton. "It's as if they are saying this is a place in the US and you are foreigners. But ha
Keep reading

Wisconsin governor prank called

Republican is duped by a caller pretending to be one of the rightwing Koch brothers, two of his wealthiest backers The Republican governor at the centre of the union-busting protests in the US has been embarrassed by a prank call that he believed was from one of his billionaire backers. On the recording of the call, which has been released online, the Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker tells a caller impersonating one of the rightwing Koch brothers that he is looking forward to flying to California to celebrate with them once the battle with the unions was won, and jokes about taking a baseball bat to slug Democratic leaders. Walker is under siege in his office in the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin, in a backlash against his proposed legislation to remove unions' right to collective bargaining and cut public sector workers' pay. Ian Murphy, who calls in pretending to be David Koch, suggests planting troublemakers among the protesters, who have been peac
Keep reading

As China Rolls Ahead, Fear Follows

Image
As China Rolls Ahead, Fear Follows - China kept economy growing in past couple of years by printing money. Now it's feeling consequences. Inflation in consumer prices, speculative bubble in property. Milk dearer in Shanghai than in New York Agence France-Presse — Getty Images China is looking to restructure its economy away from dependence on exports like textiles. For nearly two years, China’s turbocharged economy has raced ahead with the aid of a huge government stimulus program and aggressive lending by state-run banks. But a growing number of economists now worry that China — the world’s fastest growing economy and a pillar of strength during the global financial crisis — could be stalled next year by soaring inflation, mounting government debt and asset bubbles. Two credit ratings agencies, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings , say China is still poised for growth, yet they have also recently warned about hidden risks in its banking system. Fitch even hinted at the
Keep reading