Counteroffensive by Gaddafi’s forces push rebels; Six Yemeni soldiers killed in Al Qaeda attacks; Yemen ruling party members quit party
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    • In Libya, Gaddafi’s forces ambushed rebels advancing on the coastal town of Bin Jawad with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades on March 6, forcing the rebels in east Libya into their first major retreat of the three-week-old rebellion. The rebels had occupied Bin Jawad on March 4 and then withdrew, allowing army units to take over houses and mount an ambush March 6 when the rebels returned in anticipation of an advance westward towards Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and stronghold. The army, supported by aerial bombardments, forced rebels back to one of their own strongholds further east, Ras Lanuf. It was the first time since the uprising against the Libyan leader began on February 15 that the rebels have admitted conceding ground to his forces. The protesters-turned-rebels, backed by mutinous army units and armed with weaponry seized from storehouses, are going on the offensive to try to topple Gaddafi's. The government has said that it had driven the rebels, who took over eastern Libya over a week ago, all the way back to their eastern stronghold of Benghazi.1

    Reports noted that Gaddafi’s counter-offensive against the rebels is increasing fears that Libya is heading for a civil war. The resilience of Gaddafi’s forces and their ability to counterattack has raised the prospect that the country is heading for a protracted conflict. Meanwhile, Gaddafi loyalists had poured into the streets of Tripoli and have expressed their support for the leader.2

    According to reports, in Yemen, three Yemeni officers and three soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected Al Qaeda militants on March 6. Three soldiers and an officer who belonged to the Republican Guards were ambushed as they were driving an army vehicle to distribute food to troops at checkpoints in the city of Marib. In Abyan province an intelligence officer was killed in a similar attack by suspected al Qaeda militants. According to security sources terrorists on bicycles shot and killed the colonel in a vegetable market of Zinjibar city. Another intelligence officer was also killed in a similar attack in Seyoun city, in the province of Hadramaut.3

    Several members of Yemen's ruling General People’s Congress (JPC), including members of parliament and some ministers, have resigned from the party in protest against the violence and harassment used against anti-government demonstrators in the country. Ali Al-Imrani, an MP from al-Baida province, and Fathi Tawfiq Abdulrahim, head of the finance committee of the Yemeni parliament, resigned from the JPC on March 6. This brings the number of resigned ruling party MPs to 13 since the wave of protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule began. Sam Yahya Al-Ahmar, the deputy culture minister, Hashid Abdullah al-Ahmar, the deputy minister for youth and sports and Nabil Al-Khameri, a businessman, have also quit the ruling party.4

    Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people continued with protests in several key cities across Yemen, including Sanaa, Aden, Taiz and Hadramawt, pressing on with demands that the President Saleh to step down. On March 4, Saleh rejected a proposal by opposition groups that offered him a smooth exit from power by the end of 2011. The offer sought to end the country's political crisis, calling for a "peaceful transition of power" from Saleh by the end of this year. It also called for a probe into the deadly crackdown on the recent anti-government protests. The proposal also called for steps to change the constitution and rewriting election laws to ensure fair representation in parliament, removing Saleh's relatives from leadership positions in the army and security forces, and a guaranteed right to peaceful protest.5

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