Libya's rebels gained on the diplomatic front on Wednesday by securing China's recognition as a "dialogue partner", but suffered on the battlefield where Muammar Qadhafi's forces were able to shell their stronghold of Misrata. Four months into the uprising, and three months since Nato war planes joined their fight to topple Qadhafi, the rebels are making only slow gains in their march on the capital Tripoli.
But they have made steady progress winning support abroad and isolating Qadhafi on the international stage. "China sees you as an important dialogue partner," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told Mahmoud Jibril, diplomatic chief of the Benghazi-based rebel National Transitional Council, who visited Beijing. The comments were published in a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).
"(The Council's) representation has been growing stronger daily since its establishment, and it has step-by-step become an important domestic political force," Yang said, adding China was worried about the Libyan people's suffering. The comments came hours after Qadhafi's forces landed rockets in the centre of Misrata for the first time in several weeks. No one was reported hurt by that strike, but it undermined a relative sense of security among residents who believed that a siege on the city had been broken last month. Nato and the rebels hope that Qadhafi's diplomatic and economic isolation will eventually bring his government down.
Exports of oil have ceased, depriving Qadhafi's government of the funds it used during peacetime to provide the population with heavily subsidised food and fuel. Petrol queues in Qadhafi -held areas now stretch for miles. In a sign of the increasing impact of the crisis on daily life, Qadhafi's state media issued instructions ordinary people should follow "to deal with the fuel shortage".
They called on people to use public transport instead of cars, avoid using air conditioning when driving and stick to 90-100 kph as the ideal speed. They also asked Libyans to be patient when queuing at petrol stations. At least three explosions were heard in Tripoli on Wednesday but it was not clear where or what caused them.
China is the only veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council that has yet to call for Qadhafi to step down, after Russia joined Western countries last month in calling for him to leave power. The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) - a Saudi-based grouping of 57 Muslim countries - said a delegation arrived on Wednesday to mediate. It would meet the rebels in Benghazi and Qadhafi officials in Tripoli, a statement said.
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