Defection is small cheer to Libyan rebels demoralised by series of defeats

Attack: A Libyan rebel shells pro-Gaddafi forces as they move heavier weaponry towards the oil town of Brega and try to regroup against the army
Oliver Poole12 April 2012

News of the defections by up to 12 senior Gaddafi loyalists gave a desperately needed morale boost to Libyan rebel soldiers today after a series of military setbacks.

As they continued to be held by government forces at the oil town of Brega just 50 miles west of Ajdabiya, foreign minister Moussa Koussa's flight to Britain was seized upon as a sign that the regime was fragmenting, despite its troops recapture of a series of coastal towns in recent days.

"He is a big loss to Gaddafi," said rebel fighter Bastt Mohammed, 55, of Mr Koussa's resignation. "The battle is going to and fro but his departure is a sign that we are still making progress."

His message was echoed by members of the provincial council in Benghazi, the de-facto capital of the uprising. Idris Tayeb Lameen, a foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition, said the defection showed even Gaddafi's most trusted advisers now know the regime was doomed.

"They are getting out while they can as they realise it is only a matter of time until this tyrant is forced from Tripoli," he said.

How long that time is, however, remains far from clear. Despite coalition air strikes, the rebel fighters have been pushed back hundreds of miles since Monday and at this point do not look able to recapture the lost ground.

In Benghazi, the debilitating impact on the civilian population of the uprising, which started more than six weeks ago, is increasingly clear.

With the economy paralysed, many have been living off their savings, which are now starting to run out as food prices rocket due to shortages. Rice is up by 88 per cent and vegetable oil 58 per cent.

Moreover, the agitation and uncertainty is exerting its toll on public health. Benghazi psychiatric hospital has been flooded with patients affected by the unrest. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Atef Agila, 41, said that every one of its wards is full and they have had to start turning people away.

"People are frightened and scared," he said. "Many have developed chronic post-stress disorders, some because they have witnessed shelling and others because of all the rumours about what Gaddafi will do next. They believe he will destroy Benghazi. We had one six-year-old who had a panic attack every time he saw Gaddafi on the television.

"The situation is exacerbated because we are very short of drugs. Also many of our doctors and nurses have fled. Normally we have 40 nurses but today we have 16. Of our 18 doctors, only six are left."

Behind a locked door in the men's ward, one patient was screaming through the grill: "Gaddafi will murder us all." Dr Agila explained: "He suffers from acute persecution disorder and is locked in here for the other patients' safety. He was admitted after he took a gun and started attacking people as he believed they were Gaddafi men sent to kill him.

"Such a response is extreme but many we treat believe Gaddafi wants to punish them personally. They hear him speak and believe he is directly threatening them. These are, sadly, very troubled times."

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