Rebel fighters, meanwhile, have reportedly made advances in fighting near the key oil port of Brega. Both sides have accused the other of bombing Libya’s oilfields. Gaddafi’s forces have attacked oil sites in rebel-held areas after the rebels brokered deals to raise funds for their operations. Libya is accusing British warplanes of bombing a key oilfield and killing a number of workers.
U.S. Dismisses Gaddafi Letter to Obama
The White House has dismissed a new personal appeal from Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi to President Obama for an end to the bombing. In a letter, Gaddafi called on Obama to stop the NATO-led air attack while also wishing him luck on the 2012 campaign. Appearing with Italy’s Foreign Minister, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed Gaddafi’s letter.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: *”I think that Mr. Gaddafi knows what he must do. There needs to be a ceasefire. His forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost. There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and, as the Foreign Minister said, his departure from Libya. So, I don’t think there is any mystery about what is expected from Mr. Gaddafi at this time. That is an international assessment.”*
