Libyan forces attack western town, rebel push in east

A rebel holds an AK47 rifle while standing guard during Friday prayers in Beyda yesterday. Credit: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

AJDABIYAH, Libya, (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s  forces captured part of a town in western Libya on Friday, but  rebels said they had taken the coastal oil town of Ras Lanuf,  extending the territory they control in the east of the country.

A rebel fighter holds a Kingdom of Libya flag and a knife during shelling by soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a battle near Ras Lanuf yesterday. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

The fighting appeared to confirm the division of the  oil-producing desert state into a western area round the capital  Tripoli held by forces loyal to Gaddafi and an eastern region  held by those rebelling against his four-decade rule.

In Zawiyah, a town 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli whose  control by the rebels had embarrassed the government, “dozens  were killed and more were wounded” by pro-Gaddafi forces, said  Mohamed, a resident. “We have counted 30 dead civilians.”  The loyalist forces used grenade-launchers, heavy  machineguns and snipers on a hotel roof to fire at protesters  marching through town after Friday prayers to demand Gaddafi’s  resignation, Mohamed said.

Rebel fighters retreated but were still holding the central  Martyrs Square later in the day, a rebel spokesman said.

A Libyan government official said the town had fallen. “It’s  been liberated, maybe there are still some pockets (under rebel  control) but otherwise it’s been liberated.”

In the east, rebels said they had captured the airport of  Ras Lanuf and later that they had taken the oil town itself,  which lies on a strategic coast road 660 km (410 miles) from  Tripoli.

“We have taken Ras Lanuf 100 percent, Gaddafi’s forces have  all left,” rebel soldier Hafez Ibrahim said from the town. He  did not say who controlled the military base and oil terminal.

A deputy foreign minister in Tripoli disputed this, telling  reporters that government forces still held the town.

Rebels have already seized control of much of the rest of  eastern Libya, the main oil-producing part of the country, in a  popular uprising centred on Benghazi, Libya’s second city.

A rebel fighter takes cover from shelling by soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a battle near Ras Lanuf yesterday. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

The revolt against Gaddafi is the bloodiest yet against a  long-serving ruler in the Arab world, and follows the ousting in  the past weeks of the veteran presidents of both Tunisia and  Egypt — Libya’s western and eastern neighbours.

A rebel spokesman said pro-Gaddafi forces bombed an arms  depot — one of the biggest weapons stores in the region — on  the outskirts of Benghazi yesterday.

“A lot of people have been killed. There are many people in  the hospital. No one can approach, it’s still very dangerous,”  said a resident who would only identify himself as Saleh. Security forces cordoned off the area, and a Reuters witness  said at least eight ambulances were seen ferrying casualties  from the scene. Windows were shattered in suburbs several  kilometres away, residents said. News of the fighting pushed up U.S. crude prices to their  highest levels since September 2008, and Brent crude futures for  April delivery rose $1.36 to $116.17 a barrel.

The International Energy Agency said the revolt had halted  one million barrels per day (bpd) of Libya’s 1.6 million bpd oil  output.The loss, due largely to the flight of thousands of  foreign oil workers, is a big blow to the economy.

POPULAR REVOLT

A rebel holds an AK47 rifle while standing guard during Friday prayers in Beyda yesterday. Credit: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

The upheaval has caused a humanitarian emergency on the  Tunisian border where tens of thousands of foreign workers have  fled to safety. An international airlift is under way, reducing  the number of refugees stranded in tented camps.

The rebels earlier told Reuters they were open to talks only  about Gaddafi’s exile or resignation, after attacks on civilians  that have provoked international condemnation, arms and economic  sanctions and a war crimes investigation. “Victory or death … We will not stop until we liberate all  this country,” Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National  Libyan Council told supporters of the two-week-old uprising.

Western nations have called on Gaddafi to go and are  considering various options including the imposition of a no-fly  zone, but are wary about any offensive military involvement.