AS DAWN broke over the rebel-held city of Benghazi yesterday an 11th hour exodus began. Hundreds of people crammed their cars with food and possessions and drove east towards Egypt as Colonel Gaddafi’s forces, tanks and warplanes pushed in from the west.
“Where is France? Where is Nato?” cried one woman as she fled the city. “It’s too late.”
Among those leaving the city was a family of 13 who sought refuge in the lobby of a roadside hotel. “I’m here because when the bombing started last night my children were vomiting from fear,” said one of them, a doctor. “All I want to do is get my family to a safe place and then get back to Benghazi to help. My husband is still there.”
A jet circling the city was shot down in flames, prompting rebel cheers as it plunged to the ground. The Libyan government denied any of its aircraft had been hit and later the rebels claimed it was one of theirs that had been shot down by government forces.
Throughout the morning the sounds of battle grew closer to the city centre. As the gunfire and artillery bombardment intensified, young men collected bottles to make gasoline bombs. Others dragged bed frames and pieces of metal into the empty streets to form makeshift roadblocks.
Each barricade was manned by about six rebels but only a handful were armed.
Fathi Abidi, a rebel supporter who works on logistics, said the government forces were attempting to surround the rebels and drive them out. “They have just entered Benghazi and they are flanking us with tanks, missiles and mortars,” he said.
Abdel-Hafez, a 49-year-old Benghazi resident, said rebels and government soldiers were fighting on a university campus on the south side of the city, with government tanks moving in, followed by ground troops. Another separate explosion was heard near the rebel movement’s headquarters in the courthouse while government snipers opened fire on citizens. For many there was a sense of frustration that the international community’s delayed response had allowed Gadaffi’s forces to breach the rebel defences and attack its population of 670,000.
“They have entered Benghazi from the west. Where are the Western powers? They said they could strike within hours,” said rebel military spokesman Khalid al-Sayeh.
“We are really surprised. When will they come? When will they stop him? It’s always, ‘In a few hours, in a few hours.’ Then what?” said Salah, 42, a travel agent. “Everybody is angry about this.”
By noon doctors at Benghazi’s Jala hospital reported 27 deaths and 40 wounded in the fighting. Among the dead was Mohammed Nabbous, a blogger and founder of Libyan Al-Hurra television in Benghazi. “He touched the hearts of many with his bravery and indomitable spirit. He will be dearly missed and leaves behind his young wife and unborn child”, said Sharon Lynch, a station representative.
As the rebels were forced to the outskirts of the city, Ibrahim Musa, a Libyan government spokesman, blamed the rebels in Benghazi for breaking the ceasefire by attacking military forces.
“Our armed forces continue to retreat and hide, but the rebels keep shelling us and provoking us,” Musa said.
Meanwhile, in Tripoli, Libya’s oil ministry urged Western firms which abandoned operations at the outbreak of unrest last month to return, warning that contracts may otherwise be handed over to companies from countries such as China and India, which did not back military action.
But opposition figures dismissed the Libyan government’s ceasefire announcement as “the biggest lie ever”, insisting that the dictator’s forces continued to bombard cities including Benghazi, Misrata and Ajdabiya.
There were reports on Libyan state television of civilians massing as “human shields” at locations thought to be possible targets for allied air strikes. In the besieged western city of Misrata, residents said government forces shelled the rebel town again yesterday. They were facing a humanitarian crisis as water supplies had been cut off for a third day.
“I am telling you, we are scared and we are alone,” one said. As the evacuation of Benghazi continued, the calls for swift UN action refused to die away.
“Do we have to wait till he (Gaddafi] kills us all before the (world] acts? We are very disappointed,” said Adel Mansoura, an air traffic controller fleeing Benghazi with his family. “When we heard the UN resolution, we were very happy and thought we had our freedom but now we have been left on our own to the killers.”
Rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil told Al Jazeera television: “Now there is a bombardment by artillery and rockets on all districts of Benghazi. There will be a catastrophe if the international community does not implement the resolutions of the UN Security Council.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Benghazi residents on the ground, who were growing increasingly impatient as the UN leaders were locked in their talks.
“Europe and America have sold us out. We have been hearing bombing all night, and they have been doing nothing. Why? We have no one to help us but God,” said Hassan Marouf, 58, standing outside the door of his house in Benghazi.
“Us men are not afraid to die, but I have women and children inside and they are crying and in tears. Help us.”
“We have no hope in the Western forces,” said Khalid Ahmed, a rebel fighter, as around him rebel forces pulled back from the advancing front line.
Elsewhere rebels reported skirmishes and strikes by Gaddafi forces, with black plumes of smoke rising from the west to the outskirts of the city. “Fighter jets bombed the road to the airport and there’s been an air strike on the Abu Hadi district on the outskirts,” said Mohammed Dwo, a hospital worker and a rebel supporter.
Parts of eastern Libya, where the once confident rebels last week found their hold slipping, erupted into celebration at the passage of the UN resolution. But the timing and consequences of any international military action remained unclear as night fell yesterday.
Misrata, Libya’s third largest city and the last held by rebels in the west, came under sustained assault well after the ceasefire announcement, according to rebels and a doctor there. The doctor said Gadhafi’s snipers were on rooftops and his forces were searching homes for rebels.