Qaddafi Razes Rebel City

The Daily Telegraph reports:

To Libya’s rebels the destroyed city of Zawiyah is the symbol of a brave but doomed fight; one that was ruthlessly crushed in March, then flared up again six days ago when a new attempt was made to launch a rebellion there.

To the government of Muammar Gaddafi the story of the small city on the coast 30 miles west of Tripoli is a very different one. It is the scene of a glorious episode of fighting al-Qaeda ‘rats’ who wanted to topple the Brother Leader’s rule; were rooted out of their holes at the beginning of the uprising; tried again last week; and who have now been well and truly beaten.

At least, that was the Libyan government’s message. It took a minibus full of foreign journalists to show who was in charge of the ghost town of empty streets and fire blackened, bullet-scarred buildings.

“Everything is normal life here now,” one of the government minders said, waving a hand at the empty shops in the centre of town, scene of the worst of the fighting.

He pulled over a lonely motorist to ask how he felt about being liberated by Gaddafi forces from the rebels.

“We are very happy to be free again,” said Emad Ibrahim, 35, who had exhausted, bloodshot eyes. He said it without enthusiasm and kept glancing at the young policeman with a pistol stuck in his belt who stood near by. There was no doubt that Gaddafi forces were in control of Zawiyah again; a huge green flag, with what looked like bullet holes in it, flapped lazily over the town centre in the bright sunshine.