Gaddafi forces claim major gains The BBC's Wyre Davies: Machinegun and heavy weapons fire was heard across Tripoli
Libyan state TV says troops loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have made significant gains against rebel forces who have taken much of the country in a two-week insurrection. The TV said they retook towns including Misrata, Ras Lanuf and Tobruk. However, local residents and rebels said anti-Gaddafi forces remained in control in these places. Government officials said heavy gunfire across much of the capital before dawn was celebratory. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi says the government's claims go against all the evidence on the ground, unless there has been a sudden and dramatic swing overnight - of which there is no sign. A rebel commander told Reuter news agency that his forces had pushed on further westward, moving closer to Col Gaddafi's heavily-defended home town of Sirte after taking more territory on Saturday. Clashes were reported on Sunday morning in Bin Jawad, 160km (100 miles) east of Sirte. 'Dancing in the square' The gunfire in Tripoli began at about 0545 (0345 GMT). The picture is still confused. The government line here in Tripoli is that this is celebratory gunfire because they say Gaddafi's forces have made significant gains in the east of the country. One of the towns they claim to have taken is Tobruk, on the Egyptian border, and that has been in rebel hands for quite some time. If the Gaddafi troops have indeed taken Tobruk then that would be a significant gain. But this is a big if, because we know there has been a bit of a PR operation by the government in recent days. But this does appear - given the cars in the streets, given the soldiers firing off guns - these do appear to be celebratory gunfire shots in Tripoli now. The BBC's Wyre Davies in Tripoli said machinegun and heavy weapons fire could be heard across the city. Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said the gunfire in Tripoli was celebratory because the "government forces have in the last 12 hours crushed rebel groups in Ras Lanuf, Zawiya and Misrata." He said there was no fighting going on in Tripoli. "Everything is safe. Tripoli is 100% under control. What you are hearing is celebratory fireworks. People are in the streets, dancing in the square." The city has been his main stronghold as he attempts to reassert control over the country from rebels who have taken much of the east of the country as well as some towns closer to Tripoli, in the west. On Saturday, residents of Zawiya, 50km west of Tripoli, said Col Gaddafi's troops had fired indiscriminately on civilians as they attempted to capture the town. After taking the oil terminal port of Ras Lanuf in heavy fighting on Friday, rebel forces then entered the town of Bin Jawad. map Rebel fighters said they had advanced as far as the village of Nawfaliyah, 80km from Sirte. In their eastern stronghold of Benghazi, rebels formed a 30-member National Libyan Council which claims to now be the country's sole representative. The UN estimates that more than 1,000 people have died in the unrest in Libya, which follows public protests in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt that saw their presidents overthrown. The UN Security Council approved sanctions last week imposing asset freezes and travel bans on Col Gaddafi and his family and aides. The resolution also referred Col Gaddafi and his inner circle to the International Criminal Court for investigation of crimes against humanity. But in an interview with a French newspaper published on Sunday, Col Gaddafi said he would welcome a United Nations or African Union investigation into the violence in the country. ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
