"Whether he's able to re-establish control through extraordinarily bloody repression, whether the army boots him out... I think it's really an open question at this point," Gates said in an interview published by the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard.

Gates said that the Libyan military was "fragmenting" and had never been as cohesive as armed forces in other countries, a likely reference to neighboring Egypt where the army took charge after protesters toppled leader Hosni Mubarak.

The US defense chief mused that if Kadhafi were to fall, Libya could return to its structure before 1963 when it was made up of three provinces -- Cyrenaica bordering Egypt, a western coastal region and a section oriented toward sub-Saharan Africa.

In the interview, which the magazine said was conducted Tuesday by several US commentators, Gates indicated that the United States may find it difficult to implement a proposed no-fly zone over Libya.

"The French -- I don't know what the British have in the area -- but the French and the Italians potentially, I suppose, could have some assets they could put in there quicker," he said.

Witnesses say that Kadhafi has turned air power on demonstrators in a bid to crush the uprising, which has killed hundreds of people.

earlier related report
Four Greek ferries to evacuate Chinese from Libya: official
Athens (AFP) Feb 23, 2011 - Some 15,000 Chinese nationals trapped in Libya's insurrection against strongman Moamer Kadhafi will be evacuated by four ferries chartered from Greece, a Greek government source said on Wednesday.

The four vessels -- the Venizelos, Express Santorini, Hellenic Spirit and Olympic Champion -- can each carry up to 1,500 people and should reach the Libyan coast by Wednesday night, the official told AFP.

They are subsequently expected to sail back to the ports of Heraklion and Hania on the island of Crete on Thursday morning, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Chinese will then be repatriated from Crete by plane.

The ferries, which are to be supplemented by additional vessels, are expected to make several trips to Libya and back.

Greece -- whose merchant marine minister is currently in Beijing -- has sought closer ties with China in recent years to bolster its flagging economy.

The Libyan insurrection against Kadhafi erupted on February 15 after the rulers of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were ousted in similar uprisings.

Libya's government has said 300 people, including 111 soldiers, had been killed in the protests and a subsequent crackdown which has been condemned by the international community.

China is among several nations including India, South Korea, France and the United States that are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from the turbulent north African nation.

Greece is also trying to pull out some 300 of its nationals, many of whom work in desert construction worksites hundreds of kilometres from the nearest airport.

An unspecified number of Greeks and other Europeans were to be picked up on Wednesday by a vessel chartered by the Greek government, the tanker Minerva Antonia, at the port of Ra's Lanuf near the city of Sirte.

Athens is also waiting for permission from Libya to send military transport planes to four Libyan airports for additional evacuation operations.

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