Libya rebels losing one city, but take another, as dozens die

TRIPOLI, Libya — After a battle in which at least 30 civilians were killed Friday, forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had cornered rebels and claimed to have retaken a key city near the capital.

The rebels, for their part, claimed to have taken Ras Lanouf, a key oil port, while hundreds rallied in the capital Tripoli against Gadhafi. Live ammunition and tear gas were fired to break up the protest, witnesses said.
Friday's assault on Zawiya, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, appeared to be the strongest yet by Gadhafi's forces after repeated earlier forays against it were beaten back.

An improvised force of rebels had been pushed back to the central Martyrs Square in Zawiya, a rebel spokesman said. "Many people were killed in Harsha, which is now occupied by them," rebel spokesman Youssef Shagan told Reuters by phone, referring to a small town outside Zawiya.
"They shot at civilians. We still control (Zawiya's) central square," he added. "They are four to five kilometres away."

In the morning, troops from the elite Khamis Brigade — named after the son of Gadhafi who commands it — bombarded the city's western edges with mortars, heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft guns, several residents said.
By the evening, they had also opened a front on the eastern side. Armed Zawiya residents backed by allied army units were fighting back.
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"I have been to hospital less than 15 minutes ago," a Zawiya resident identified only as Mohamed told Reuters by telephone. "Dozens were killed and more were wounded. We have counted 30 dead civilians. The hospital was full. They could not find space for the casualties."

Mohamed said the Gadhafi forces used grenade-launchers, heavy machine guns and snipers on the rooftop of a new hotel in the town to fire at protesters while they marched after Friday prayers to demand the fall of the regime.

"People used swords and hunting rifles to defend Martyrs Square. Even mothers used those weapons," he added.
The account could not be independently verified and reports of the death toll in the clash varied widely, with the Associated Press quoting a witness at Zawiya's hospital as saying 18 people had been killed and 120 wounded. Another resident told Reuters that between 40 and 50 people were killed in the clashes.



Video: Gadhafi under increasing local, world pressure (on this page)
The commander of the rebel forces in Zawiya — Hussein Darbouk — was among those killed, Alaa al-Zawi, an activist in the city, told the AP. Darbouk, a n army colonel who defected along with other troops in Zawiya early on in the uprising, was shot to death by fire from an anti-aircraft gun, he said.

State-run TV and a source "close to the government" cited by al-Jazeera reported that the city had been retaken by pro-Gadhafi forces. But other accounts indicated control of Zawiya was divided between the rebels and security forces.
East of Tripoli, meanwhile, anti-Gadhafi rebels were on the offensive, attacking a military base on the outskirts of Ras Lanouf, a small oil port on the Mediterranean, about 380 miles from Tripoli.

Rebels attacked Ras Lanouf on Friday afternoon, feeling flush with victory after repelling Gadhafi forces who attacked them days earlier at Brega, a larger oil facility just to the east. Fighters armed with Kalashnikovs and heavy machine guns were seen streaming in pickup trucks and other vehicles from Brega heading in the direction of Ras Lanouf.

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