By IANS,
Cairo/Tripoli : Rebel leaders in eastern Libya have sought international military intervention to help topple the country’s autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi, a media report said.
They are seeking help in the form of weapon supplies, airstrikes and a no-fly zone in the country, the CNN reported Tuesday.
However, the US military said they have not received any such requests, and also played down the likelihood of the US setting up a no-fly zone.
But some members of a committee formed to run the eastern Benghazi city, the centre of the resistance, said they expected to issue a formal request Wednesday for military help.
In Misurata town, about 120 miles east of Tripoli that is besieged by Gaddafi’s militias, a spokesman for the newly formed committees set up to run that town said residents also want foreign help against Gaddafi.
Anti-government protesters are in full control of the centre of the town, and several thousand held a large and peaceful demonstration in the main square Wednesday, according to CNN.
But militias loyal to Gaddafi have retained control of a portion of the base, and there are near-daily confrontations between rebels and the militias along what has become a front line running through the airfield.
Misurata lies on the coast between Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte and the capital Tripoli, where he still appears to command enough support to hold at bay the popular uprising that has engulfed other parts of the country, the broadcaster said.