ZAWIYAH – Libyan rebels seized an oil refinery in the city of Zawiyah and took control of Sabratha further west on the main highway from Tripoli to Tunisia yesterday, further isolating Muammar Gadafy’s stronghold.
Some 200 rebel fighters firing guns in the air celebrated the capture of Sabratha about 80km (50 miles) west of Tripoli after a four-day battle with pro-Gadafy government troops.
Fighters said the rebels now controlled 90 per cent of the ancient Roman town of Sabratha, a Unesco World Heritage site. Securing it would tighten the insurgents’ control over supply lines from Tunisia, which were cut at Zawiyah this week.
A local man said the breakthrough came when Nato bombed a military training facility in the centre of Sabratha. After that strike, the rebels stormed the facility and seized weapons.
Rebel advances in recent days have cut Gadafy’s forces off from their main international re-supply routes following a months-long stalemate, putting the Libyan leader’s 41-year rule under unprecedented pressure.
But insurgents in the east, where casualties have been high, suffered a setback when a small number who had been planning to mount an armed uprising in government-held Zlitan were pre-empted by better-armed Gadafy forces.
“There are still bodies in the streets. The situation is very difficult. It was a pre-emptive attack by Gadafy’s forces,” said an anti-government activist called Mohammed.
Four people were killed and five badly wounded in clashes between Gadafy forces and poorly armed local rebels planning to stage a “mini” armed uprising to coincide with a push by Misurata rebels toward Zlitan, he said.
Gadafy forces found out about the plan and moved in. The rebel band ran out of ammunition by midday.
Despite denials from both sides, the rebels and Gadafy loyalists are in negotiations, former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin told a French newspaper.
He said he had “extremely difficult” talks with both on Monday in the Tunisian resort of Djerba.
“I was indeed there, but I cannot make any further comment because it would compromise the chances of success and the efficacy of these talks,” Mr de Villepin told Le Parisien.
After a two-day battle, rebel fighters occupied Zawiyah refinery, 50km west of Tripoli.
“We took control last night,” said Saleh Omran (31), a rebel fighter from Zawiyah. He said rebel forces fought about 150 Gadafy troops, who finally fled by sea in inflatable boats.
Doctors at a hospital near Zawiyah said nine people were killed and at least 45 injured in fighting around the town and at the refinery on Wednesday, most of them rebels. – (Reuters)