ZAWIYA, Libya — With residents shouting 'Free, free Libya,' anti-government rebels who control this battle-scarred city nearest to the capital deployed tanks and anti-aircraft weapons Sunday, bracing for an attack by troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Politicians in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, meanwhile, set up their first leadership council in a step that could lead to an alternative to the regime.In the capital of Tripoli, where Gadhafi is still firmly in control, state banks began handing out the equivalent of $400 per family in a bid to shore up public loyalty.
'The Libyan people are fully behind me,' Gadhafi defiantly told Serbian TV, even as about half of the country was turning against him and world leaders moved to isolate him. 'A small group (of rebels) is surrounded ... and it will be dealt with.'
Gadhafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-government uprisings sweeping the Arab world, the most serious challenge to his four decades in power. The United States, Britain and the U.N. Security Council all slapped sanctions on Libya this weekend, and President Barack Obama said it is time for Gadhafi to go.
Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, in an interview with U.S. television, insisted that his father won't relinquish power and that Libya had not used force or airstrikes against its own people.
There were no reports of major violence or clashes on Sunday, although gunfire was heard after nightfall in Tripoli.
The regime, eager to reinforce its view that Libya is calm and under its control, took visiting journalists to Zawiya, 30 miles west of the capital of Tripoli on Sunday. The tour, however, confirmed that anti-government rebels control the center of the city of 200,000 people, with army tanks and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks at the ready.
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