“We are asking for more Apache action” to counter Qaddafi forces clashing with rebels, said Aref Ali Nayed, who is also spokesman for a rebel transition team that has set up a temporary base in Dubai. NATO has said that shifting battle lines and fighting in urban areas was making it more difficult to identify targets for airstrikes.
The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, is among the Arab states that have strongly backed the rebellion against Qaddafi and could provide critical assistance if the Libyan leader is toppled.
In Libya, the rebels said a front-line force was within 20 miles (30 kilometers) of Qaddafi’s main stronghold in Tripoli. On Saturday, opposition fighters launched their first attack in the capital itself.
Nayed told reporters in Dubai that rebels have control of at least two anti-Qaddafi neighborhoods in Tripoli, Tajourna and Souk Al-Jouma.
Libyan rebel officials also insisted that they have already started efforts to stabilize the country before the possible fall of Qaddafi’s regime. Team chairman Ahmed Jehani called Sunday “day one” for efforts to prepare the country for a post-Qaddafi era.