ZAWIYA - Libyan rebels hoisted their flag in the centre of a strategic town near Tripoli yesterday after the most dramatic advance in months cut off Muammar Gadafy's capital from its main link to the outside world.
The swift rebel advance on the town of Zawiya, about 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, will deal a psychological blow to Gadafy's supporters and severs the coastal highway to Tunisia which was keeping the capital supplied with food and fuel.
There was no sign Tripoli was under immediate threat of a rebel attack: heavily armed pro-Gadafy forces still lie between Zawiya and the capital. Previous rebel advances have often been reversed, despite help from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) warplanes.
But rebel forces are now in their strongest position since the uprising against four decades of Gadafy's rule began in February. They now control the coast both east and west of Tripoli. To the north of the capital is the Mediterranean and a Nato naval blockade, while to the south is empty desert.
A spokesman for Gadafy's government denied yesterday that Zawiya was held by the rebels, saying it was "under our full control". He did say though that there were small pockets of fighting in two other locations in the area around Tripoli.
Rebels from the Western Mountains region to the south dashed forward into Zawiya late on Saturday, encountering little sustained resistance from Gadafy's forces.
Near Zawiya's central produce market early yesterday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around and triumphantly shouting "Allahu Akbar!" or "God is greatest". The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop, a Reuters reporter in the centre of the town said.
Rebel fighters said there were still forces loyal to Gadafy in the town, including snipers who they said had positioned themselves on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machine gun fire could be heard.
One rebel fighter said Gadafy's forces were still in control of the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiya - a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya. Gadafy's forces depend on it for fuel.
Rebels said the capital was their next target once Zawiya was fully under their control. One fighter smiled as he pointed to a road sign marking the highway from Zawiya to Tripoli.
"I'm 1,000 per cent sure we're going to take over Zawiya today and then move on to Tripoli," said Bin Jaffin Ali (34), a shopkeeper turned rebel fighter.
Asked about reports of rebel attacks in Zawiya, on the border with Tunisia and in the town of Garyan due south of Tripoli, Gadafy government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said these locations "are under our full control". He said there were minor skirmishes involving small groups of rebels in Surman, on the coast west of Zawiya, and in Qawasim, about 80km south of the capital.
The coastal highway between Tripoli and Tunisia was still open, Ibrahim said in a telephone interview, but foreign reporters were not being allowed to use the route for now "to save them from any bullets here or there".
In the Tunisian capital, where many Libyans have fled from the fighting in their home country, Libyans came out on to the streets late on Saturday to celebrate after hearing unconfirmed rumours Gadafy and his family had fled.
But there was no indication of any change in Tripoli. State television said Gadafy's supporters were heading to his Bab al-Aziziyah compound to show their support.
In Brussels, the Nato alliance said it was monitoring what it called a "fluid" situation on the ground. "Pro and anti-Gadafy forces have been engaging each other. Nothing is certain yet and there is no confirmation about who has control of Zawiya because the situation changes every day," a Nato official said.
In the east, rebel forces clashed with Gadafy's soldiers in the oil town of Brega, but there were no reports of casualties yesterday, a rebel spokesman and a hospital volunteer said.
"There are engagements, but we're going slowly. This is our strategy because we want to avoid casualties," said Mohammad Zawawi, head of the rebels' media centre in their stronghold of Ben-ghazi, eastern Libya.
Sixteen rebels were killed and about 50 wounded over three days of clashes in Brega up yesterday. At least six of Gadafy's soldiers were also killed.