TRIPOLI, Libya — Another high-ranking official has defected and fled the country amid a widening NATO campaign of bombings as well as leafleting and other psychological warfare to persuade Moammar Gadhafi’s troops to stop fighting.
Shukri Ghanem, the oil minister and head of the National Oil Co., crossed into neighboring Tunisia by road Monday, according to a Tunisian security official and Abdel Moneim al-Houni, a former Libyan Arab League representative who was among the first wave of diplomats to defect.
The defections suggest Gadhafi’s political structure is fraying, but it’s unclear whether there is enough internal strife to seriously undermine his ability to fight rebel forces as NATO airstrikes pound military targets. Gadhafi appears to retain the backing of his core of military commanders.
Still, support for Gadhafi seems to be waning in the capital, Tripoli. Pro- regime demonstrations are sparsely attended, even when heavily advertised in advance.
And rebel forces have reported gains in recent days. In Misrata, the main battleground in western Libya, opposition fighters claim they have driven back government troops from key access points and tried to push pro-Gadhafi gunners out of rocket range for the city.
NATO said Tuesday that it would step up psychological-warfare operations to try to persuade troops loyal to Gadhafi to abandon the fight.
Wing Cmdr. Mike Bracken, speaking in Naples, Italy, said NATO planes have been dropping leaflets and broadcasting messages to Libyan forces urging them “to return to their barracks and homes.” Bracken said the messages also have advised pro-regime troops “to move away from any military equipment” that could be targeted by NATO’s strike aircraft.
The U.S. has been using a specially modified Air Force C-130 transport to broadcast messages to Libyan forces in AM, FM, high-frequency radio, TV and military communications bands.
On Monday night, British aircraft bombed the intelligence agency building in the capital as well as a training base for bodyguards protecting members of Gadhafi’s regime, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
Although Gadhafi appears from time to time on state-run television and radio, his whereabouts are a mystery.
“We do not know where Gadhafi is,” said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Fattini, meeting Tuesday in Rome with Nabil Elaraby, the new secretary-general of the Arab League. “We heard some rumors about Gadhafi leaving Tripoli, taking refuge outside of the city, but we had no confirmation at all.”
Meanwhile, Libya said four journalists detained since early April were to be released Tuesday or today.
