In mid April CMEC’s Deputy Chairman Adam Holloway MP and Director Leo Docherty travelled overland from Egypt to meet with rebel fighters and members of the Transitional National Council in Benghazi and Ajdabiya. The military limitations of the rebel forces and the democratic aspirations of the Transitional National Council were recurring themes.
The visit took place during the Doha meeting of Libya Contact Group, the results of which were received positively in Benghazi. Gratitude for the Western intervention was vocally expressed but often accompanied by the plea “surely NATO can do more?”
During the visit the increasingly severe humanitarian crisis in the rebel-held city of Misurata became apparent. An eyewitness from Misurata (recently escaped via a 36 hour boat journey to Benghazi) described indiscriminate shelling of Misurata by Gaddafi’s troops and multiple civilian deaths.
Country tags:
