Rebel army formed in bid to oust Gaddafi

TRIPOLI - Army leaders in eastern Libya who are opposing the Colonel Muammar Gaddafi regime are reportedly preparing to dispatch a rebel force to Tripoli to support the uprising there.

The Telegraph quoted Brigadier General Ahmed Gatrani as saying that a small force comprising army defectors and rebels has already reached the outskirts of Tripoli.

“We are trying to organize people who will sacrifice their lives to free Tripoli from the dictator. Entering Tripoli is not easy. Anyone trying will be shot,” Gatrani, who heads the military committee now in charge of the army in Benghazi, said.

Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, had earlier warned on Saturday that “the signs of civil war and foreign interference have started.”

However, there is no indication as of now that any of the rebel groups have reached Tripoli or participated in the fighting in areas where protesters are confronting heavily armed Gaddafi loyalists with sticks and stones, the paper said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council has agreed to impose scores of sanctions against Libya, including an arms embargo, and freezing of the assets of Colonel Gaddafi and his relatives.

The resolution, passed on Saturday evening by a 15-member council, voted unanimously to freeze the assets of Gaddafi, his four sons and one daughter, and also impose travel bans on his whole family, and ten other associates. (ANI)