Libya rebels edge closer to Tripoli

Libyan rebels fought fierce battles in two coastal cities straddling the capital Tripoli on Friday, in their drive to topple leader Muammar Gaddafi.

While the rebels claim to have taken several key towns, they are also meeting stiff resistance from forces loyal to the long-time leader.

Sustained blasts from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and anti-aircraft guns rang out from the center of Zawiyah, some 50 kilometers west of Tripoli.

After hours of intense street battles, rebels re-took the city's main square.

They entered Zawiyah earlier this week. The latest clashes came as they tried to consolidate their control on the city and its strategic oil refinery.

On the eastern front, there were bloody street battles in the city of Zlitan. A rebel spokesman says the town has been captured, but at least 32 rebel fighters were killed, with 150 injured.

Meanwhile, rebels are also said to be in control of the town of Surman, which sits on the road between Tripoli and the Tunisian border in the West.

But Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim has denied Surman is in rebel hands.

Recent rebel advances have cut off the Libyan capital from its main supply routes, putting Gaddafi's four-decades rule under heavy pressure.

Dozens Die in Fresh Gadhafi Offensive Near Misrata

At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded, most of them rebel fighters, in a fierce offensive by Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces Friday on the outskirts of Libya's rebel-held port city of Misrata. By nightfall, Misrata's rebels retained control of the farmland area known as Dafniya, some 18 miles to the west. Some rebels said they wanted to advance further west and capture Zlitin, the next regime-controlled town on the highway to Tripoli, with the help of recently deployed U.K. and French helicopters.

Others argued that Zlitin's residents must rise up first against Col. Gadhafi in order not to provoke tribal warfare. A British spokesman said Friday that U.K. Apache helicopters had been in action over Misrata on Thursday, destroying a regime military communications installation and multiple rocket launchers. Rebels said jets from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombed some of the advancing pro-Gadhafi forces Friday, a claim that couldn't immediately be confirmed. Casualties among the pro-regime forces were unknown. But an officer captured by rebels at the frontline said some 120 volunteer fighters were bused by the regime to Zlitin on Wednesday to back up soldiers in the offensive led by the Khamis Brigade, a unit named after and commanded by one of Col. Gadhafi's sons. "We came to Misrata to strike the rebels," the officer said during an interrogation by a rebel leader, witnessed inside a makeshift rebel camp. "They brought us as sacrificial lambs, believe me." A spokesman from the local military council said the fighting was some of the fiercest in the city's long battle against the Libyan government forces. Rebel witnesses said Col. Gadhafi's forces had attempted to retake Dafniya early Friday with several tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers. The tanks were firing at anything that moved on the coastal highway between Tripoli and Misrata, they said, making the road unusable. Many said that most of the casualties among the rebels were caused by artillery fire. Wing Commander Mike Bracken, a NATO spokesman, said Friday the front line near Zlitin is "volatile and unstable." "Whether Gadhafi forces are able to launch a large-scale attack remains unconfirmed," he said. Heavy rocket fire turned some of parts of Dafniya, a scenic area of pine, olive and palm trees, into smoldering fields. In one farm, rebel fighters rested behind earth berms as rockets whizzed overhead and gunfire crackled in the distance. Some fighters ahead launched rocket-propelled grenades in response. One fighter, Lutfi al-Ameen, said his unit was involved in close combat with pro-regime forces stationed five farms away after they tried to enter Dafniya from several areas. Asked if rebels would try to capture Zlitin he said: "It's crucial they [Zlitin residents] move first." Earlier rocket explosions were heard nonstop from early morning in Misrata. By midday, pickup trucks filled with rebel fighters were seen heading toward Dafniya. A flatbed truck laden with ammunition was also seen on its way to provide reinforcements. On a beach on the way to Dafniya, rebels were seen firing Russian-made Grad rockets from a launcher they had seized from pro-regime forces. A heavy stream of ambulances and emergency crews used an old road that hugs the shoreline to bring the dead and wounded to Misrata. Hundreds of people gathered outside Al-Hikma Hospital, which had posted a list of the casualties from the fighting. Doctors at Al-Hikma, which is akin to a private polyclinic, couldn't cope with the flow of casualties. Two triage tents setup in the parking lot were filled to capacity as the bodies of the dead were piled up into the pediatric and orthopedic clinics. "Identity unknown," read papers pasted on two body bags. A man in the hallway sobbed hysterically for his dead brother. Inside Misrata, rebels were on high alert and setting up checkpoints across the city to stop and search vehicles. The latest offensive by Col. Gadhafi's forces is believed to be an attempt to preempt rebels from advancing toward Tripoli, 120 miles to the west, or to Sirte, some 150 miles southeast of Misrata. The rebels appear to be undecided over whether to make an advance on either city, or remain in Misrata to retain control of the city, which they recaptured in May after a long and devastating siege. At a news conference held by the council on Thursday in Misrata, the council's spokesman, Fathi Bashagha, said the rebels wanted to advance toward Tripoli and then to Sirte. However, another spokesman said they needed to be cautious about advancing, and would only move toward the coastal town of Zlitin—the first large town west of Misrata on the road to Tripoli—when there is enough opposition within the town to rise up against government forces. So far, some fighters from Zlitin have joined the rebels in Misrata in their fight against the regime.

Gaddafi denies death as Libya claims NATO has killed more civilians

Libyan state TV broadcast a recorded audio message from leader Muammar Gaddafi Friday evening in which he says he is still alive after claims earlier in the day he may have been hurt in NATO airstrikes.

The broadcast also came after the Libyan government accused NATO bombing of killing more people in the oil town of Brega.

Gaddafi called the Western countries "cowards" in his minute-long message.

"You could kill my body but could not kill my soul which lives in the hearts of millions," Gaddafi said.

He also said a NATO airstrike Thursday that targeted his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli killed "three innocent journalist-civilians."

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said earlier Friday Gaddafi may have been hurt in NATO air raid and fled Tripoli, but this was later denied by a Libyan government spokesman.

Frattini said Tripoli's bishop had said Gaddafi was "probably wounded" but Italy had "no credible information" about Gaddafi's whereabouts and health conditions, according to the Italy-based ANSA news agency.

"International pressure has likely provoked the decision by Gaddafi to seek refuge in a safe place," the foreign minister told reporters.

Shortly after the report, Libyan government spokesperson Musa Ibrahim denied Gaddafi was hurt, according to Al-Arabiya TV.

He said these reports were made only to weaken the morale of the Libyan people.

Rumors that Gaddafi was dead have been circulating since his youngest son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren were killed in a NATO bombing almost two weeks ago.

Gaddafi made his first TV appearance since that attack on Wednesday. The video footage showed him meeting with several tribal leaders, which was seen as the Libyan government's attempt to dispel the rumors.

Libya's state TV also reported Friday at least 16 people were killed in a NATO air strike at Brega, a key oil town in the eastern part of the country, which is still reportedly controlled by pro-Gaddafi forces. The television said the air raid targeted a guest house in the city.

The NATO-led alliance, responding to the civilian deaths, said in a statement released in Brussels on Saturday it attacked a military command and control center, 750 km southeast of the capital.

Also on Friday, Libyan rebels held a meeting attended by delegates from 15 cities around the country, a move seen as an attempt to scuttle regional support for Gaddafi.

The 15 cities includes both those captured by the opposition and those still in the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces, including Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi.

Besides courting domestic support, the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC) is also seeking additional international recognition.

NTC chief diplomat Mahmoud Gibril, who is now in the United States, met with U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon at the White House Friday.

Donilon said Washington viewed the NTC as a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people and reiterated U.S. President Barack Obama's call for Gaddafi to leave immediately, the White House said in a statement.

The White House also said Donilon and Gibril discussed how the United States and the coalition could provide additional support to the NTC, according to the statement.

However, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday he did not anticipate formal U.S. recognition of the NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people after the meeting.

"The question of recognition is one of many policy issues still under review, and we're continuing to assess the capabilities of the NTC as we deepen our engagement with the opposition," he told reporters at the White House.

He said the White House was discussing with Congress access to blocked Libyan government assets in the United States, valued at some 30 billion U.S. dollars, for humanitarian purposes in Libya.

Russia also supports release of the assets for humanitarian aid, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Sazonov told a news briefing Friday.

Sazonov said such humanitarian aids should not be politically motivated and should cover all of the nation's population.

He said these actions should be approved by the UN Security Council and international organizations such as UN High Commissioner for Refugees should monitor the use of these aids.

Libya: Bombardment versus air strikes (Foto-Gallery)

Libyan government forces bombarded a residential area outside Misrata on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the rebels are trying to maintain their grip on the city in the face of a fierce onslaught.

Fighting in the port city of Misrata has ebbed and flowed over the past few weeks but rebels gained ground after they broke through a frontline and consolidated their position west of the city.

The latest progress has increased prospects that the siege of Misrata by the government forces can be broken.

The opposition says they have also made gains near the eastern town of Ajdabiyah and are hopeful that accelerated attacks by NATO would enable them to further capitalize on some of their biggest advances in weeks.

On Tuesday, NATO carried out missile strikes against a government command and control facility in downtown Tripoli. NATO says all the targets are military ones, and denies that it was targeting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyan officials said NATO's overnight air strikes in the Tripoli area wounded four children, two seriously, due to flying glass caused by blasts.