Anti-Qadhafi forces have succeeded in breaking the regime’s siege

TRIPOLI: On Tuesday, the opposition forces appear to have recorded a significant success in the city of Zintan, 106 km south of Tripoli.

Al Jazeera reported that anti-Qadhafi forces have succeeded in breaking the regime’s siege around the city. Heavy fighting has also been reported from Misrata, Libya’s third largest city, only 200 km east of Tripoli.

However, in a possible setback to the anti-Qadhafi forces, there has been growing opposition across the globe against the possible use of air power that can cause “regime change”, especially after Baab Aziziya, Mr. Qadhafi’s residential compound was attacked on Sunday night. There are also fears that “regime change” can be accomplished if Western powers provide coordinated fire power from the air to anti-Qadhafi combatants.

The pro-Qadhafi forces, prizing their country’s oil, are also equally desperate to cement their hold over Ajdabiyah. Once entrenched, the city could well become the regime’s springboard for an advance over Libya’s oil heartland, with oil cities of Brega and Ras Lanuf not far away.

With the threat of a takeover of Benghazi by government forces removed after Western air strikes earlier blew up the regime’s tanks and heavy weapons near the city, Ajdabiyah, a strategically located city 160 km from Benghazi, has become the new frontline.