As the NATO air campaign in Libya nears its third full month, forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi are still fighting to suppress rebellions in the east, as well as in the western city of Misurata and the far-west Nafusa Mountains. While the Nafusa rebels have fared well in recent weeks, advancing closer to Tripoli with their seizure of the town of Yafran, they pose no real threat to the capital. Even if they wanted to use Yafran to assault Tripoli — a goal these rebels generally have not expressed — they would face a stark logistical challenge in sending an invasion force over more than 80 miles of roads that often wind through mountainous terrain. A more effective route would be to invade from Gharyan, which is connected to Tripoli by 55 miles of four-lane highway, but this would require taking that town, as well, and the road between Yafran and Gharyan is similarly mountainous. Without significant defections in Gharyan itself, executing and sustaining an assault on that town would itself be a significant undertaking.
