RABAT: The Libyan government is offering an amnesty to rebels who lay down their weapons, a Libyan state-run television channel said Friday, as its forces take control of a key city near Tripoli. Al-Shababiya channel flashed a news ticker saying “Whoever lays down weapons shall not be punished, and may God forgive them for their previous acts...” Showing growing confidence, Muammar Gaddafi's regime celebrated Friday after retaking a strategic city near Tripoli following days of shelling and strengthening its hold on the capital and surrounding areas. Loyalists celebrated on Zawiya's main square, which had been the center of resistance, amid a heavy presence of pro-Gaddafi troops, tanks and snipers. There was talk of rebel bodies having been bulldozed away, and the dome and minaret of the nearby mosque were demolished, grim evidence of battle after days of relentless shelling by government forces. With Gaddafi's men also on the march against rebels in the east, Western nations appeared in disarray over how to stop the bloodshed. President Barack Obama said a no-fly zone over Libya to protect the civilian population from the Gaddafi regime's fighter jets remains a possibility as “we are slowly tightening the noose” around Gaddafi, but he stopped short of moving toward military action.He cited actions already taken, including getting American citizens and embassy workers out of the country, slapping tough United Nations sanctions on Libya and seizing $30 billion in Gaddafi's assets. But the European Union said any such action would need diplomatic backing from international organizations like the Arab League, which was to discuss situation in Libya Saturday in Cairo. The capture of Zawiya, a coastal city of about 200,000 people that lies 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, seals off a corridor around the capital and solidifies the government's control over the western half of the country to the border with Tunisia. The government still faced a rebel challenge in Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli. The government had claimed victory Wednesday, but the rebels who are seeking to oust Gaddafi said fighting was ongoing. An Associated Press reporter, who was escorted with other journalists into the city Friday, said the city was clearly in government control, with Libyan soldiers manning tanks and trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. The facades of buildings, including banks and hotels overlooking Martyrs' Square, also were devastated, the streets were strewn with shattered glass and several palm trees had been burned or uprooted. A 43-year-old government employee said the shelling of the city started Friday and was nonstop until Wednesday, the day the government claimed victory. “Many people were killed Friday. The youth were marching in the square,” he said. “I don't know whom to blame — the leader, the son of the leader, the government or the rebels. It was peaceful. I don't know why this happened. I never imagined that I would see Zawiya, my hometown, like this.” He said at least 24 of the youthful activists had been buried in the square but the pro-Gaddafi forces had used bulldozers to remove their bodies. The claim couldn't be independently verified, although the area showed signs of having been cleared. Anti-Gaddafi graffiti that had covered walls during a previous visit by the AP also had been painted over. A heavy crackdown by pro-Gaddafi militiamen also apparently has succeeded in stifled attempts at protests in the capital. Gaddafi opponents have attempted to hold protests every Friday for the past weeks in Tripoli, met each time by a fierce retaliation from militiamen. No attempts, however, were reported Friday. Gaddafi's government sent a text message to Tripoli residents, warning imams at mosques against allowing protests after Friday prayers. In Tripoli's Tajoura district — scene of some of the heaviest past protests — police deployed in significant numbers outside the main local Murad Agha mosque to prevent marches after prayers. The main road from Tajoura to downtown was blocked by repeated checkpoints. Pro-Gaddafi forces also appeared to be turning the tide in the country's east, bottling up a ragtag force of rebels at a key oil port in a powerful offensive as the conflict is increasingly shaping into a potential civil war.
