Libyan rebels lack leadership, firepower

AJDABIYA, Libya – The nascent rebel effort in eastern Libya, sustained for weeks by revolutionary passion and zeal, has begun to fray in the face of chaotic battlefield collapses and ineffective leadership.

Many of the idealistic young men who looted army depots of gun trucks and weapons six weeks ago believed the tyrannical 41-year reign of Col. Moammar Gadhafi would quickly collapse under the weight of a mass rebellion.

Now those same volunteer fighters, most of whom had never before fired a gun, have fled a determined onslaught by Gadhafi forces that have shown resilience after being bombarded and routed by allied airstrikes just a week ago.

Some exhausted rebels capped a 200-some-mile retreat up the Libyan coast by fleeing all the way to Benghazi, the rebels’ de facto capital, to rest and regroup. Others remained at thinly manned positions at the strategic crossroads city of Ajdabiya on Thursday.

Small groups of rebels stood their ground and fought Gadhafi militiamen who seemed on the verge late Thursday of recapturing the oil city of Brega.

For many rebel fighters, the absence of competent military leadership and a tendency to flee at the first shot has contributed to sagging morale. Despite perfunctory “V” for victory signs, the eager volunteers concede that they are in for a long, uphill fight.

“Gadhafi is too strong for us, with too many heavy weapons. What can we do except fall back to protect ourselves?” said Salah al Chaiky, 41, a businessman.

Retreating rebels paused only to wolf down free lunches provided by volunteers supporting their cause. Two rebels in mismatched military uniforms took time out in Ajdabiya to sneak into a blown-out police post and smoke hashish.

With many fighters headed home, the 140 miles of highway between Brega and Benghazi was only lightly guarded Thursday. But fighters and opposition spokesmen predicted that Gadhafi’s forces would not chase them up the highway for fear of another pounding from allied warplanes.

Rebels surrounded at a checkpoint in Ajdabiya complained that their erstwhile commanders were nowhere to be found. They griped about comrades who had fled to the relative safety of Benghazi, and about a dearth of weapons and ammunition.

They say orders are never issued, except by fellow fighters, which are routinely ignored. Gadhafi family members who control Libya’s cellphone network have cut most cell communications in the rebel-held east, leaving each gun truck to fight on its own.

Several fighters said they are now being charged one Libyan dinar per bullet (80 cents) because rebels have wasted thousands of precious rounds firing wildly into the air.

Few, if any, T-72 tanks and BM-21 rocket launchers recovered from government forces who abandoned the weapons during Western-led airstrikes have been brought to the front.

“These guys weren’t taught anything under Gadhafi,” said Mustafa Gheriani, an opposition spokesman. “He made sure they didn’t know how to operate these kinds of weapons” for fear of a coup.