<strike id="aasoo"></strike>

An all-round war between Tripoli, Benghazi

Xinhua, May 22, 2011

Weapon, logistics and support

The opposition's weaponry has been improved from nothing when the conflict began three months ago. Some of them are from forces defected from Gaddafi's army, some are trophies during the battle. Ghoga said the fighters took a large stockpile of weapon and ammunition in Misrata, and earlier in Ajdabiya.

But according to eye witness of Xinhua from the last checkpoint where unarmed civilians are not allowed to go further westward, all weapons which are in different standards, are carried on pick- up trucks. Among 50 pick-ups went through the checkpoint, only two or three can be described as advanced, Katyusha rocket missiles.

Officials from the opposition said that inadequate, out-dated weapons are the top challenges on the front line. But to date they have only received medicine, food and fuel.

Lack of training is another major problem for the opposition. A tutor in military school told Xinhua that a civilian can become a soldier in only three weeks. The training classes limit in use of basic weapons and simple battle tactics. Bani said it was a special practice under the current critical condition.

There are no accurate numbers when it comes to the size of both forces. Gaddafi's forces were around 65,000, including 30,000 more ground troops. Bani declined to tell the exact numbers of the opposition's forces, saying that "millions of Libyan people are all fighters." However, some sources from the opposition said they have around 7,000 soldiers, or more than 10,000.

The last, but not the least factor in battlefield, is the air superiority of NATO. The opposition reached the current situation only after the NATO's started its airstrikes under the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1973. The British defense chief of staff Richards on Sunday urged NATO to widen its airstrike targets. Bani said that it will definitely take less time for them to win over Gaddafi.