France Recognizes Opposition Leaders As 'Legitimate' Voice Of Libyan People

by  RFE/RL

Battles are continuing on both military and diplomatic fronts between Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi's regime and the opposition forces who seized cities across the country last month.

Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, opposition envoys from Libya's eastern town of Benghazi have successfully lobbied French President Nicolas Sarkozy to obtain French recognition of their so-called National Council.

Sarkozy's office said after talks with the envoys that Paris now recognizes the Libyan National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Sarkozy plans to send an ambassador to opposition-held Benghazi and also to receive an envoy from Libya's opposition as an ambassador in Paris.

On the ground in Libya, pro-Qaddafi forces have intensified their counterassaults against opposition forces who seized the eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Correspondents report pro-Qaddafi troops trying to advance toward  Ras Lanuf  along the coastal highway from the west, as well as from across open desert to the south. Pro-Qaddafi ground troops were firing heavy artillery barrages in that battle for the first time, as well as continuing to use mortars against opposition fighters.

Dozens Dead

At the same time, to the north, Libyan Navy warships were attacking Ras Lanuf from the sea. Meanwhile, Libyan Air Force jets were continuing to bomb oil terminal facilities at Ras Lanuf for a second day -- reportedly leaving dozens dead and sending enormous plumes of black smoke into the sky from burning oil storage tanks.

Opposition forces were fighting back with missile launchers, rockets, and antiaircraft guns.

Opposition fighters trying to advance on the nearby government-controlled town of Bin Jawad were repelled on March 8 by air strikes and direct fire from Libyan Army tanks.

To the west of Tripoli, there are conflicting claims about who controls the city of Zawiya. Pro-Qaddafi troops claimed to have retaken the city in the last 24 hours after a five-day siege involving tanks, truck-mounted multiple-fire rocket launchers, and air strikes.

But opposition fighters said they retook parts of Zawiya from government forces.

Divisions Over No-Fly Zone

In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers and NATO defense ministers planned to discuss Libya's crisis in meetings ahead of an EU leaders' summit on March 11.

EU and NATO nations have been united in calling for Qaddafi to leave power. But there appear to be divisions over implementing stronger measures such as a no-fly zone.

France and Britain have been among those backing a United Nations Security Council resolution that would impose a no-fly zone. Other countries, including the United States, say a no-fly zone must be assured of broad international backing, including support from regional leaders in North Africa and from Arab states.

Russia has rejected the idea of a no-fly zone over Libya.  But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today joined international efforts to isolate Qaddafi's regime economically for attacks on Libyan civilians.

Medvedev -- joining other UN Security Council permanent members in ordering an arms embargo against Libya and other sanctions against Qaddafi's family -- signed a decree in Moscow that bans the "export, sale, and delivery to Libya of all kinds of weapons and associated materials."

Medvedev's decree stipulates that all cargo bound for or from Libya will be carefully inspected if there is "information that gives reason to believe that the cargo carries material subject to the ban."

The German government has ordered a freeze on bank accounts in Germany that are held by the Libyan central bank and the Libyan Investment Authority. That move is seen as additional pressure aimed at cutting off potential sources of income for Qaddafi.

Germany's Economy Ministry said the freeze came in response to a European Union decision earlier this week to clamp down on Libyan state bank funds that are controlled by Qaddafi. The ministry also said the freeze would be imposed on the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and the Libyan Foreign Bank.

http://www.rferl.org/content/libya_fighting_ras_lanouf_eu_nato_no-fly_zone/2333416.html