Gaddafi fights back as rebels advance

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Zawiya says pro-Gaddafi armament no best ascendancy the area.Pro-Gaddafi armament in Libya accept been angry aback at the oil anchorage of Brega as rebels consolidate their authority on key cities either ancillary of Tripoli.Rebels armament who took ascendancy of Brega on Friday fell aback from the eastern town's automated area beneath abundant bombardment, a insubordinate agent said.But the rebels ascendancy Zlitan, 160km (100 miles) east of Tripoli, and Zawiya, 30km to the west.BBC correspondents saw them demography up position in both cities.Reporting from Tripoli, the BBC's Matthew Price says the drive is acutely adjoin Col Gaddafi and his supporters, both militarily and politically.Either his armament accept pulled aback in places like Zlitan in adjustment to adapt for a beginning abhorrent or, afterwards months of Nato air strikes, elements of the army may artlessly be too anemic to action on, our contributor says.Brega, home to Libya's second-largest hydrocarbon circuitous and the abode area the country's capital oil fields augment into for refining, has again afflicted easily during the six-month-old conflict.After visiting Zlitan, the BBC's Orla Guerin said the rebels appeared to accept a close anchor on the town, authoritative the centre and manning checkpoints.