Khadafi Loyalists Continue Attempts To Retake Opposition Controlled Towns As Body Count Rises

Mumar Khadafi's regime still thinks that it is fighting not a revolution by his countrymen fed up with his 40 year regime, but rather an al Qaeda/US/Western conspiracy to overthrow his regime and that those opposed to his regime are drug addled.

Khadafi loyalists and mercenaries are attempting to retake towns near Tripoli, but having limited success despite sending in airstrikes to support groups of loyalists on the ground.

Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi tried to reassert his power Wednesday in a part of the country under the control of the opposition, launching an attack on the town of al-Brega.

A CNN crew saw airplanes flying over the town, and saw one drop a bomb in the area.

Opposition members fought to maintain control of the town, which is home to a refinery and natural gas processing plant, but witnesses said the battle was ongoing. A resident said there were casualties, but the number was unclear.

Meanwhile, in another lengthy, rambling speech to supporters, Gadhafi continued to claim that there are no peaceful Libyan protests, only al Qaeda-backed efforts to tear the country apart. In the remarks, carried on state television, Gadhafi blamed the problems on former prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who were released to Libya and then freed by Libyan authorities after they pledged to reform. He said they turned out to be members of al Qaeda sleeper cells. He insisted his country is "stopping al Qaeda from flourishing," and stopping Osama bin Laden from moving into North Africa.

Khadafi's troops are still in control of Tripoli and making an attempt to show that the fighting is extremely limited and that the opposition is few in number, but the scenes from both inside and outside the capital city tell a different tale.

The only crowds you encounter are outside bakeries or banks, where people are collecting the 500-dinar ($400; £250) state giveaway to each family.

As I drove past one branch of BNP Paribas, a long queue outside its doors, a young skinny man in civilian clothes stood tall at the back of a pick-up truck, nonchalantly holding an assault rifle.

A few metres away, scorch marks blackened the concrete road. It's where anti-government protesters burnt things when they took to the streets.

Almost every main road that has any long stretch of wall bore the remains of graffiti in red or black with anti-government or anti-Gaddafi slurs.

They have been clumsily white-washed - what you see is a horizontal line of rather transparent white paint covering them - or at least trying to.

State schools are slowly re-opening, but several teachers say they are only going to work because they have to, and no pupils are turning up.

His forces are attempting to retake other towns, and while loyalists claim success, the opposition forces have reported that they've turned the tide and retaken those same disputed towns.

Khadafi also tries to bring Israel into the matter, claiming that he's doing nothing more than what Israel has done to Gaza to root out insurgents and terrorists. He's also calling on the UN to investigate whether a conspiracy was involved in attempting to overthrow his regime to get at Libya's oil reserves.

UPDATE:
Khadafi's pal Louis Farrakhan says that Jews are pushing the US into a war in Libya.

Right. Let's just ignore that it was the Libyans who rose up to protest the regime. It was Libyans who revolted against the regime and stood united against Khadafi when Khadafi unleashed his mercenaries and military (which later defected in large numbers to the very opposition). It is Libyans who are dying for their rights and freedoms.

Anti Semitism is the refuge of scoundrels and scum. No surprise that Farrakhan is still at it.