1 April, 2011 (Scooped News)
An army of rebels has informed to the journalists of Al Jazeera that the Egyptian and American experts began to train as Al Jazeera TV showed at 1st April 23:00. News in Cairo, it is clear that the Egyptian army has begun deliveries of weapons to Libya, the rebels across the border with Washington, awareness, U.S. and Libyan officials said the rebels.
These transfers, mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition, it seems to be the first confirmed case of non-state armed rebels. These fighters have been losing ground steadily to the west front of the number of days in advance of troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Egyptian expeditions are the best indication to date that some Arab countries have not been deaf to the calls Western forefront of efforts to intervene on behalf of pro-democracy rebels in their struggle against Mr Gaddafi in Libya. Washington and other Western countries have long expressed frustration with the Arab states were reluctant to help resolve crises in their own region, although they criticized the western powers of trying to do.
Remittances also receive abnormally strong reaction of diplomacy in Arab countries. There have been few public calls for foreign military intervention in an Arab country, including a vote by the 23-member Arab League last week urged the UN to impose an air exclusion zone over Libya .
The vote provided critical political cover for Western powers wary of military action without broad international and regional mandate. Thursday night voted to the Security Council on a UN resolution approving a no-fly zone in Libya and authorized military action in support of the rebels.
Council, Lebanon has had a leading role in drafting and circulating a draft resolution urges "all necessary measures" to implement the ban on flights over Libya. United Arab Emirates and Qatar have taken the initiative to propose to participate in the creation of no-fly zone, according to UN diplomats.
Benghazi Libyan rebel leaders, meanwhile, praised Qatar since the first day of the uprising, calling it state small bay of its allies. Qatar has always pushed behind the scenes of the international hard and fast in the wings, these officials said.
Qatar flags fly prominently held by the rebels in Benghazi. After the pro-Gaddafi has captured the city of Ras Lanuf last week, Libyan state television pictures of food aid packages with the flag of Qatar.
The White House has been reluctant to return calls on the leaders of Congress to arm the rebels in Libya directly, arguing that the U.S. should fully assess the fighters are and what policies to be implemented if it managed to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi. U.S. officials believe that the opposition includes some Islamic elements. They fear that Islamist groups hostile to the United States might try to distract the opposition and take up arms provided.
Egyptian arms transfers began "a few days ago," and is ongoing, according to a senior U.S. official. "There is no official policy of the United States or the recognition that what happens," said the official. But "it’s something that we know."
Requests the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister’s spokesman seeking comment went unanswered. There is no way to reach Egypt’s military for comment. An Egyptian official in Washington said he had no knowledge of arms shipments.
The U.S. official also noted that the transfers seemed to come "too little, too late" to tip the military balance in favor of the rebels, there was an attack by Libyan troops backed by tanks, artillery and aircraft.
"We know that the Council of the Egyptian military to help, but can not be so visible," said Hani Souflakis, Libyan businessman in Cairo, who has served as a rebel with the Egyptian government, after the revolt began.
"Weapons are to come," said Mr Souflaki who says he has regular contacts with Egyptian officials in Cairo and rebel leaders in Libya. "The Americans gave the green light to the Egyptians for help . Americans do not want to get involved in a direct level, but the Egyptians would not do if they do not get the green light. "
Western officials and rebel leaders in Libya said the U.S. wanted to avoid being seen as taking a leading role in any military action against Mr Gaddafi, after the invasions of Iraq and anger fuel Afghanistan and mistrust of Washington in the entire region.
But the U.S. made it clear he will Gaddafi on power and said he would support those that offer help to the rebels militarily or otherwise.
The rebel spokesman said the government Benghazi weapons shipments have begun to join the rebels, but refused to specify where they came from.
"Our commitment is to purchase weapons and to arm our people. The weapons are coming, but the nature of the weapons, the amount, where it came, it was classified," said the spokesman, Mustafa al-Gherryani.
The U.S. official said Egypt wanted to keep hidden objects. In the public sector, Egypt has tried to maintain a neutral stance against rebel uprising in Libya. Egypt abstained from voice calls from the Arab League for the UN to impose an air exclusion zone to Mr. Qaddafi, according to people familiar with the internal considerations Arab League.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian workers are believed to still be in Libya.
On the other hand, the Egyptian army’s covert support for insurgents to suggest that it is estimated that Mr. Gaddafi is unlikely to remain in power, at least in the eastern half, which is why Egypt is anxious to begin to establish good relations with the rebels.
Rebel forces in the past 24 hours seemed to make progress foiled an attack by the pro-Gaddafi and took out new weapons for the first time since the uprising began last month. Among them, the rebel tanks took up positions on the front lines in recent days. Rebels also launched attacks on positions fighter government Wednesday for the first time in the past.
Tanks and fighter jets are believed to have been among the weapons seized by the defection of rebel units Libyan army in the eastern half of the country, but received mechanical parts or trained outside the country to help them implement some rebel leaders have speculated.