Plan for post-Qaddafi Libya revealed as govt forces report gains, launch offensive

A revolution blueprint for a post-Muammar Qaddafi Libya would retain much of the current regime’s infrastructure in the hope of averting an Iraq-style descent into chaos, the London Times reported Monday, as Libyan protesters in the western town of Zliten were said to be low on ammunition but their peers were in control.

A 70-page plan prepared by the National Transitional Council (NTC) with help from Western powers and seen by the paper concedes they have little chance of toppling the long-serving ruler but that internal divisions will force him out.

In that event, the protesters plan to establish a 10,000-15,000 strong “Tripoli task force” to secure the capital and capture prominent Qaddafi supporters.

Around 5,000 policemen will be recruited to serve as the interim government’s security forces, according to the plan, AFP reported.

The protesters claim that 800 current Qaddafi government officials have already been recruited to their cause, and could form a key plank of a post-conflict security apparatus, the paper reported.

The document also maps out how telecommunications, power and transport infrastructure will be secured in the immediate hours after the regime’s collapse.

The plan relies heavily on defections from the old regime, which threatens to cause friction with those within the revolution faction who want a complete purge of the existing order.

The protesters estimate that around 70 percent of high-ranking Qaddafi officials will commit to the new regime.

The NTC confirmed the report’s authenticity, but requested that the British newspaper withhold key details which could compromise the ongoing operation.

Aref Ali Nayed, the head of the planning cell for the task force, said it was important that the general public “knows that there is an advance plan.”

“What you have obtained was an early draft,” he told the paper. “We are now working on a much bigger picture.”

Rebels in the western Libyan town of Zliten were said to be low on ammunition and on the defensive on Sunday, as the regime said its forces had retaken the strategic southwest town of Bir Ghanam.

Abdul Wahab Melitan, a rebel spokesman in the port city of Misrata near Zliten, said forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi had launched an assault on protesters positions in Zliten’s Souk Telat area, killing three and wounding 15, according to AFP.

“The protesters lack ammunition to advance and we do not want to risk losing any ground,” Mr. Melitan said.

Meanwhile, a revolution source at Al Qusbat, around 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, said that town was living through its fourth day under siege.

A group of protesters on Thursday overran Qaddafi forces based in one of the town’s schools, but since then the rebels have been battling to hold on to their gains.

In Tripoli, Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi told reporters that government troops had recaptured the strategic town of Bir Ghanam, southwest of the capital, from insurgents.

“Life is back to normal in Bir Ghanam, and today it is under the full control of the regime,” Mr. Mahmoudi said.

But protesters were in control of the town early Monday, an AFP journalist said.

“The protesters are controlling the checkpoints. There are no shots,” the journalist said, adding that NATO warplanes were flying overhead.

Protesters from the Berber-dominated Nafusa mountain range south of Tripoli claimed the capture of Bir Ghanam just 80 kilometers from the capital on Saturday, as they pushed further east.

The protesters have been using the Nafusa as a springboard to advance on Tripoli but have encountered strong resistance from fighters loyal to Colonel Qaddafi.

Mr. Mahmoudi also condemned the intensification of NATO raids on Tripoli and other cities, claiming that the alliance no longer “differentiates between civilian and military sites.”

NATO said its warplanes attacked 45 targets across Libya on Saturday, including an ammunition storage facility and a multiple rocket launcher system in the Bir Ghanam area.

On Saturday, hundreds of revolution fighters also forked off towards the sea, advancing within 20 kilometers of Surman on the coast road west of Tripoli before meeting any resistance, an AFP correspondent said.

But forces loyal to the veteran Libyan strongman fought back, laying down fire in a bid to halt their advance.

Many of the protesters were from the “Tripoli Battalion,” a group of volunteers from the capital and other coastal towns eager to “liberate” their homes in the five-month-old revolt.

The battalion is said to have received military training in the Nafusa mountains.