March 8: Rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi have rejected an offer from the Libyan leader to negotiate his exit even as they battled to hang on to early gains in the insurrection. The frontline in east Libya was static on Tuesday, with forces loyal to Col. Gaddafi and rebels manning defences in a stretch of barren coastline near oil terminals between the towns of Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, about 550 km east of Tripoli.
A spokesman for the rebel National Libyan Council said it had spurned an overture from Col. Gaddafi’s camp for talks on him relinquishing power. “We are not negotiating with someone who spilled Libyan blood and continues to do so. Why would we trust the guy today?” spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said.
Al Jazeera television reported that the council said it may not pursue Col. Gaddafi, who has ruled for 41 years, for crimes they accuse him of committing if he steps down. Jadallah Azous Al-Talhi, a former Prime Minister, earlier appeared on state television to urge rebels to “give a chance to national dialogue to resolve this crisis”.
Meanwhile, Libyan warplanes launched air strikes on rebel forces in the east on Tuesday as the two sides faced off across a new front line close to major oil export terminals. The battlefield has become mired in attack and counter-attack between the loose-knit rebel army of young volunteers and defectors and Libya’s Army in a buffer zone of barren desert and scrub between east and west.
There were three air strikes near rebel positions on the outskirts of the oil terminal of Ras Lanuf on Tuesday following similar attacks the previous day. No casualties were reported. Immediately after the latest explosion, rebels began chanting “Allah hu Akbar” (God is greatest).
“I confirm that we received contact from a Gaddafi representative seeking to negotiate Gaddafi’s exit. We rejected this,” a media officer for the rebel Libyan National Council, Mustafa Gheriani, said, adding: “We are not negotiating with someone who spilled Libyan blood and continues to do so. Why would we trust the guy today?” said Mr Gheriani for the council, which is based in Libya’s second city of Benghazi where the uprising against Col. Gaddafi began.
Al Jazeera television said the Libyan government denied having talks with the rebels.