The picture in Benghazi: Residents wait in fear for what future may bring

Published on Monday 21 March 2011 18:39

The road to Benghazi city is paved with dismembered tanks, and vehicle carcasses. These are the battered remnants of pro-Gaddafi vehicles that on Saturday were stopped in their tracks by French air power as they sought to attack the Libyan rebel stronghold city.

Thousands had fled the city in panic among rising plumes of smoke as loyalist forces pounded residential areas with tank shells and air strikes. Residential areas on the western outskirts were hit hard. Crumbling buildings reveal the possession of people's private homes. "We think over 200 people were killed," said one resident, too frightened to be identified.

"He came to the city with strong weapons, he was going to destroy the whole of Benghazi. His mandate is to kill the whole of Benghazi; men women and children," said Mounir el-Adawan, 44, who experienced the attack as he sat shuttered in his home. "These are the Gaddafi rules: to rule and control you, or to kill you."

Now, with much of the pro-Gaddafi arsenal ruined by the precision missiles of foreign coalition forces, Benghazi appears once again in rebel hands. On the promenade in the city centre, near the rebel centre court house, men gathered outside the coffee shop, drinking cappucinos and musing on the future.

"Today is OK. Now Gaddafi has forgotten Benghazi. He is frightened of the coalition forces. If he attacks, they will attack him. I don't think he can come back to Benghazi," said Khaled Feitour, 44.

The no-fly zone has come at the last possible opportunity said residents. "It was a surprise, because they are so late. If they had delayed by just six more hours, there would have been a massacre in Benghazi," said Munir Abdul Rahim, 42.

The problem now, said residents, were the pro-Gaddafi elements that remained inside the city. "Most still have weapons, they are trying to terrorise the people. Threaten them and make them afraid," said Mr Rahim.

As night fell, the relaxed atmosphere faded. Residents jumped in their cars and headed home. Rebels with machine guns stopped every car, searching the boot. "They are nervous," said Mr Rahim.

"These days, no-one is yet sure what is going to happen," added Ahmed Birani, 50.

As the cost of the no-fly zone increases and international political machinations complicate its longevity, Benghazi residents wait with bated breath. This, they believe, is their only true lifeline from regime brutality.