NORTH AFRICA-MIDDLE EAST CRISIS:REBELS IN eastern Libya have been locked in a struggle with government forces for the town of Ben Jawwad, just 160km from the key city of Sirte, Muammar Gadafy's home town.
The fighting occurred in the midst of what appeared to be a concerted counter-attack by Gadafy forces. However, despite claims of a string of decisive victories by the government, which yesterday brought gun-firing supporters on to the streets of Tripoli, its gains appeared largely illusory.
Among cities it claimed to have recaptured were Zawiyah, 50km from Tripoli, Misrata, Ras Lanuf and even Tobruk, all of which are held or partly held by opposition forces.
In Zawiyah, a television crew who have been inside the town for several days during two large-scale assaults saw rebels manage to capture or destroy eight government tanks.
At one stage tanks had managed to reach the centre of the town but were driven back by fierce resistance. The Sky TV team reported that tanks were firing directly into buildings. Among the killed and injured were civilians whom they saw at the hospital.
The main focus of the fighting was in Ben Jawwad on the road to Sirte, one of the major objectives of government forces. The anticipated battle for Sirte is likely to dictate the outcome of the conflict.
Rebels captured Ben Jawwad on Saturday, but were ejected from the town yesterday before regrouping to attack it again later in the day. Helicopter gunships are reported to have fired on the rebel force which is advancing west.
The opposition force pushed out of its stronghold in the eastern half of Libya late last week for the first time and has been forcing its way west towards Tripoli.
“We are just outside Ben Jawwad. There are thuds of mortars landing near rebel positions, leaving puffs of smoke, and also the sound of heavy machine guns in the distance,” Reuters correspondent Mohammed Abbas reported. “There’s a steady stream of rebels heading back west towards Ben Jawwad.”
The town is on the road to Sirte, which they intend to attack.
One wounded fighter, returning from Ben Jawwad to rebel-held Ras Lanuf further east, said Gadafy loyalists had ambushed advancing rebels with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Asked what he had seen, he replied: “Death.”
Distraught and bandaged, he would not say any more.
“It’s real fierce fighting, like Vietnam,” said another rebel fighter, Ali Othman. “Every kind of weapon is being used. We’ve retreated from an ambush and we are going to regroup.”
Ibrahim Boudabbous, who took part in the rebel advance, said Gadafy forces attacked with aircraft and shot from on top of the houses.
Doctors and other staff at Ras Lanuf hospital said two dead and 22 injured had arrived from fighting in Ben Jawwad. Witnesses said there were many more dead who could not be reached because of the fighting, including civilians.
The government said it had driven the rebels, who took over eastern Libya more than a week ago, all the way back to their stronghold of Benghazi. But the rebels remained in control of Benghazi and the key oil complex of Ras Lanuf, which they took on Friday. – (Guardian service)