CRISISBOOM

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It’s just a matter of time before foreign ground troops arrive…

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  Libyan rebels prepare to tow a vehicle, belonging to pro-Qaddafi forces, that rebels claim were targeted by a NATO strike along the front line near Brega, Libya, on Tuesday, April 5. Libya's rebel forces are looking more effective on the front and even scrapping back some of the territory lost to Muammar Qaddafi's army, but the rag tag fighters are still a long way from being able to march to Tripoli. Altaf Qadri/AP

Libyan rebels retreating from their positions outside the oil town of Brega and facing heavy fighting elsewhere in the country have accused NATO forces of not providing enough air support and failing to protect civilians.

The complaint comes as international players involved in Libya increase their efforts to resolve the situation through diplomatic means. Many rebels say the coalition’s shift to negotiations has led to a decline in NATO’s military campaign, a move that rebels say is costing lives.

Gen. Abdul Fattah Younis, Libya’s rebel commander and Col. Muammar Qaddafi’s former interior minister, said NATO forces were “not doing anything.” He complained that an overly bureaucratic process has created a system that keeps NATO jets from responding to developing situations for hours. He also faulted NATO for limited actions in Misratah, the only large city in western Libya still under the control of antigovernment forces, which he said were at risk for “extermination.”

“If NATO should wait another week, there will be no more Misratah,” said General Younis in an article by BBC. “You will not find anyone.”

Younis’s sentiments run deep amid the rank and file of the Libyan rebels. After suffering their first major territorial loss to government forces in almost a week, many rebels say they felt let down by NATO, reports The Wall Street Journal. Rebels had held Read more…