Libyan revolution fighters make fresh advances

15/06/2011| IslamWeb

Pro-democracy fighters have made fresh advances in both the east and the west of Libya, gaining ground against forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, reports say.

Late on Tuesday, NATO resumed bombing of the Libyan capital with strikes hitting the east of the city.

Libyan state TV said the bombings had struck military and civilian targets in Firnag, one of the biggest neighborhoods in Tripoli, and Ain Zara. It said there were casualties.

In the west of the country, the fighters managed to force Gaddafi troops into retreat from the town of Kikla, about 150km southwest of the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday, news agencies said.

Youssef Boudlal, a Reuters photographer, said that pro-Gaddafi forces had retreated to positions about 9km from the town of Kikla.

The opposition fighters were in control of the town and were setting up defensive positions in case of a counterattack, Boudlal said.

And in the east, they launched more attacks against Gaddafi forces near the oil town of Brega, where fighting on Monday killed at least 25 fighters and wounded dozens more.

The wounded were transferred to a hospital in Ajdabiya, 160km south of Benghazi, the de facto capital of the rebels who have been fighting to overthrow Gaddafi since mid-February.

The opposition fighters have spent months trying to seize the strategic oil hub of Brega, which would open the road to Sirte, the Libyan leader's home town, and from there to Tripoli.

Brega boasts an important oil refinery which, once operational, could supply the east of the country with much-needed fuel to produce electricity.

Libyan troops fired several grad rockets from positions controlled by Gaddafi over the border into Tunisia, witnesses said.

No damage was done, but it could escalate tensions between the neighbors.

"At least five rockets fell on Tunisian soil today in the Mrabeh. It was a heavy bombardment from Gaddafi's side of the mountains," Mohammed Nagez, a local trader, said.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the western town of Jadu, said that opposition fighters were in high spirits as they edged forward.

"We were in Zintan and it was clear, as we wandered around the town a few hours ago, that opposition fighters had taken over," our correspondent said.

Gaddafi forces posted a few miles east of Zintan fired Grad and Katyusha rockets at the town.

Battles were also being fought in the Berber mountains southwest of Tripoli, in nearby Yafran, and at Dafnia near Misurata, opposition sources said.

PHOTO CAPTION

A plume of smoke and fire is seen after an airstrike in Tripoli, Libya, on Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

Al-Jazeera