Libyan rebel forces have seized control of a major mountain town which is a strategic gateway on the road to the capital, Tripoli, a rebel spokesman said yesterday.

Gomma Ibrahim said the town of Gharyan fell after brief clashes before Muammar Gaddafi’s troops withdrew. He said residents welcomed rebel fighters as they entered.

Gharyan is about 80km south of Tripoli in Libya’s western Nafusa Mountains. The mountain range is now largely under rebel control, and the town is key because it lies on the road north directly to the capital.

Rebels have launched a major new offensive from the Nafusa Mountains, trying to move into the coastal plain west of Tripoli.

The rebels have been trying for weeks to take Gharyan, and Nato air strikes have hit Gaddafi’s forces in the area several times.

Ibrahim, a spokesman for rebels in the Nafusa area, said rebel fighters clashed for about four hours with the remains of regime forces in the town – mostly young fighters and mercenaries – who then withdrew.

The capture solidifies the rebels’ flank as they push ahead with a new offensive launched from fur-ther west in the Nafusa range, pushing down into the coastal plain where Gaddafi’s forces have been concentrated.

The rebels are hoping to take several cities along the coast before moving on to Tripoli.