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Libyan forces attack rebels in the west

28 April 2011 17:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA.Government forces closed on rebel outposts on Thursday, showering the western mountain city of Zintan with missiles and attacking insurgents holed up near the Tunisian border, according to rebel sources, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.
A rebel spokesman said Zintan had come under fire from Grad missiles, Russian-made multiple-launch battlefield rockets hazardous to civilian areas because of their inaccuracy.
"Today alone, 80 missiles hit the town. We knew they are Grad missiles by the sound they make and we checked what remained of them," the spokesman, identifying himself as Abdulrahman, said by telephone.
"The rebels are preventing the army reaching the city. That is why Gaddafi forces are using missiles to subjugate the town."
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi denies his forces are attacking civilians and describes his opponents as Islamist extremists and foreign-backed agitators who deliberately put non-combatants in harm’s way.
After weeks of fast moving advances and retreats by rebel and government forces along the Mediterranean coast, fighting has settled into a pattern of clashes and skirmishes, with Gaddafi seeking to root out rebel outposts beyond the insurgent heartland around the eastern city of Benghazi.
Battlefield stalemate has stirred unease among Western and Arab states that backed a United Nations resolution endorsing British and French-backed NATO air strikes to protect civilians. Rebels seek stronger action to break Gaddafi while critics say NATO has exceeded its mandate and targeted the Libyan leader.
TUNISIAN BORDER
Pro-Gaddafi forces shelled rebel positions around the Dehiba-Wazin border crossing with Tunisia. A Reuters cameraman said some artillery rounds also appeared to have landed on the Tunisian side. This could not be confirmed.
The rebels captured the border crossing a week ago and had since expanded their control to reach about 10 km (six miles) inside Libyan territory. The counter-attack had been expected.
A Tunisian man close to the crossing point said by telephone before the shelling began: "Everybody is starting to leave the place. The (Tunisian) customs people have been evacuated."
A rebel at the border, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters: "We are in a state of alert. We have information that Gaddafi’s forces are getting closer. We are ready."
Fighting in the mountainous western areas has prompted a movement of refugees toward the Tunisian border. Rebels say use of Grad missiles, which fragment and produce strong shockwaves, has further endangered civilians and added to the flow of refugees.
The Arabic Al Jazeera television said forces under Gaddafi, who has ruled the oil-producer for more than four decades, also clashed with rebels in the remote southeastern district of Kufra, near the Egyptian border. It gave no further details.
Government troops kept up shelling overnight of the besieged rebel outpost of Misrata, where aid ships bring in emergency supplies and evacuate the wounded. A local doctor said by telephone that seven insurgents were killed overnight when a checkpoint came under rocket and heavy artillery fire.
An international aid ship, with 850 migrant workers who were evacuated from Misrata during a lull in shelling, docked in Benghazi on Thursday. The workers, mostly from Niger, were being taken to the Egyptian border for repatriation.
The United States voiced confidence in the Benghazi-based council on Wednesday as the U.S. Treasury moved to permit oil deals with the group, which is struggling to provide funding for the battle-scarred areas under its control.
The order by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control may help to clear up concerns among potential buyers over legal complications related to ownership of Libyan oil and the impact of international sanctions.