Rebels from Misurata pushed into the western Libyan town of Tuarga yesterday to stop rocket attacks by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, as they buried five fighters killed on the eastern front of Brega.
Rebels were rattling the gates of Brega, a strategic oil hub, almost six months after rising up against Gaddafi forces, which a top Nato commander said were no longer able to launch a credible military offensive.
The rebels, inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, launched popular protests against Colonel Gaddafi on February 15. They vowed that in just “a few days” they plan to retake Brega, nestled on the Gulf of Syrte.
Backed by Nato helicopters, rebels have tried for the past three weeks to seize the vital port 240 kilometres southwest of their eastern stronghold of Benghazi.
By late Thursday, after a day of fighting, the rebels said they had taken control of one of three residential zones in Brega. “Every day, we are gaining ground,” said Fawzi Bukatif, a civil engineer and a top commander of the insurrection.
In Benghazi yesterday, the rebels buried five of their “martyrs”, including the commander of a brigade of volunteer civilians, killed the day before on the front line of Brega, an AFP journalist said.
Five coffins draped with the red, black and green Free Libya flag were laid out at the city’s corniche, where thousands of worshippers flocked for midday prayers.
Meanwhile, rebels from Misurata pushed against Col Gaddafi’s troops in Tuarga in an effort to end the barrage of missiles hitting the western town almost daily.
Rebels controlled much of Tuarga yesterday, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
Deep inside the sprawling desert town rebels searched door-to-door for snipers and other remnants of Gaddafi forces, after clearing residential areas in the north and the centre, in an attack that began early Thursday. In a symbolic show of victory fighters tore down green flags that were hoisted atop buildings by Gaddafi supporters, who just hours earlier had occupied the area.
“Gaddafi is finished!” shouted a jubilant 31-year-old fighter named Mohammed.
Shunning any complex close-quarters urban warfare, the two sides exchanged artillery fire that doctors said left at least three rebels dead and as many as 30 wounded.
Nato had softened the ground for the rebels overnight on Wednesday, hitting three command and control nodes and two military storage facilities in Tuarga.
Meanwhile, Col Gaddafi’s regime threatened yesterday to execute anyone found to be using a Thuraya satellite telephone without official authorisation, saying they will be deemed to be communicating with the enemy.
“Any citizen in possession of a Thuraya must hold an authoris-ation to use it in accordance with the laws and regulations,” the official Jana news agency said.