Libyan rebels pushed deeper into government-held territory south of the capital today, but their advance came as strains began to emerge in the Western alliance trying to topple Muammar Gadafy.
Fighters in the Western Mountains, a rebel stronghold about 150km southwest of Tripoli, built on gains made in the past few days by taking two villages from which pro-Gadafy forces had for months been shelling rebel-held towns.
The rebels are still a considerable way from the Libyan leader's main stronghold in Tripoli, while their fellow fighters on the other two fronts - in Misrata and in eastern Libya - have made only halting progress against better-armed government troops.
"The revolutionaries [rebels] now control Zawiyat al-Babour and al-Awiniyah after pro-Gadafy forces retreated this morning from the two villages," a rebel spokesman in the nearby town of Zintan, told Reuters.
Libyan TV said today a Nato bombardment had killed 12 people in a convoy in Kikla. A Nato official denied it.
Ties are becoming strained in the alliance, with some Nato members complaining that others have been reluctant to commit additional resources needed to sustain the bombing mission in the coming months.
Adding to the pressure, Republicans in the US Congress are pressing President Barack Obama to explain the legal grounds on which he was keeping U.S. forces involved in Libya without the authorisation of Congress.
Speaking in London after meeting Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, British prime minister David Cameron reiterated that time was running out for Col Gadafy and that the alliance was as determined as ever.
Yesterday, the rebels tried to advance in the east, setting their sights on the oil town of Brega to extend their control over the region, epicentre of the four-month rebellion against Col Gadafy's four-decade rule.
In a sign that Col Gadafy's forces may be getting stretched, the rebels seized the town of Kikla, 150 km southwest of Tripoli. They also pushed several kilometres west of their Misrata stronghold to the outskirts of government-held Zlitan.
Reuters