Qaddafi Counterattacks Rebel-Held East Libya to Gain Control of Oil Stocks

Libyan rebels dug in after repulsing attacks by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi, increasing the prospect of civil war as the entire United Nations rebuked his regime.

Rebels in Zawiyah, which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the capital of Tripoli, held their ground yesterday at the entrances to the city, Ibrahim al-Hajj, a 58- year-old resident, said by telephone. Many were armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades taken from military depots, said Belgassem al-Zawee, a 50-year-old protester.

Pro-Qaddafi forces reclaimed control of Libya’s western border with Tunisia on Feb. 28 before attacking and failing to recapture Zawiyah. They also attacked Misratah, a city 115 miles east of the capital, according to the Associated Press.

“Libya is essentially split into two, an eastern and a western part,” Mohammed Dangor, South Africa’s ambassador to Libya, who left Tripoli on Feb. 27, told reporters in Cape Town. “This is moving toward civil war, that’s the danger.”

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index plunged the most since November 2008 on concern political unrest in the Middle East may spread to the kingdom. Oil rose to its highest level since September 2008, helping send Asian stocks lower for the first time in four days.

Oil for April delivery gained as much as $1.01 to $100.64 a barrel in electronic trading the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are 26 percent higher than a year ago.

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