The rebels scored another success around the perimeter, taking the airport:
Libya rebels captured Misrata airport on Wednesday after a fierce battle with Moamer Kadhafi's troops, marking their first significant advance after weeks of being pinned back by the loyalists.
The airport of Libya's third city, which had been besieged for almost two months by Kadhafi's forces, fell to the rebels after fighting that raged through the night, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.
Not that the airport is open for business as long as the loyalists remain within range to shell the place. But if the rebels can push the loyalists away from all point along the perimeter, the rebels could secure the people from shelling and secure the port from attack by anything but air attacks and car bombs.
Still, this just makes me shake my head:
They celebrated the victory by cheering in the streets and setting ablaze tanks left behind by Kadhafi troops.
Really? They burned the tanks? Are reports of the arms shortages amongst the rebels simply wrong? Towing even disabled tanks to the front to be used as bunkers with heavy cannons and machine guns wouldn't have been a better idea than burning them?
I will give the rebels credit for this field expedient method used in their push west out of Misrata:
Haj Mohammed, a Misrata rebel commander, had said on Tuesday that Kadhafi's forces were slowly being pushed back westwards from Misrata along the coastal road toward the town of Zliten.
Rebels were using shipping containers to shield themselves from loyalist fire, and bulldozers were pushing them forward as the advance continued.
Against a real army, that wouldn't work. But give the rebels credit for doing something to compensate for their lack of heavy armor to lead attacks. Too bad they don't have tanks ...
Oh, and pressure for a ceasefire is building if the continued calls by the UN Secretary-General mean anything:
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called for "an immediate, verifiable cease-fire" in Libya on Wednesday and said Moammar Gadhafi's government had agreed to another visit by a special envoy.
The secretary-general said he spoke with Libya's prime minister by phone late Tuesday to urge a ceasefire and demand unimpeded access for U.N. humanitarian workers there. He also called on Gadhafi's forces to stop attacking civilians.
And funny enough, even NATO--which is waging war on Khaddafi--appears eager for any end to the war:
In Brussels, NATO welcomed Ban's call for a cease-fire.
"Of course we agree with the U.N. Secretary-General," NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero said. "NATO would like to see an immediate end to the violence since our mandate is to protect civilians."
"There can be no solely military solution to the crisis in Libya," she said.
Unless we get lucky, Khaddafi will survive this war.
