Gaddafi's forces make rapid advances, recapture Ras Lunuf

TRIPOLI/WASHINGTON: Capitalising on a slowdown in coalition air strikes, Muammar Gaddafi's troops pounded rebels in the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega as also Bin Jawad, forcing them to retreat as world powers debated arming the ragtag fighters.

Using tanks, heavy guns and rockets, Libyan forces retook the rebel-held Ras Lanuf even as a string of explosions rocked Tripoli.

The momentum of coalition air attacks tapered off somewhat with US and the allied forces unwilling to expose their own forces to the bombardments.

The outgunned and unorganised rebels faced the heat from Gaddafi's forces determined to regain control of the eastern towns.

Having halted the rebels march 100 kms from their leaders hometown of Sirte, Gaddafi's armoured columns chased the rebels right into Ras Lanuf, 370 kms west of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Al Jazeera reported.

Faced by a heavy barrage of shells exploding all round them, the rebel fighters fled on board pickup trucks.

"We can't fight tanks with our machine guns," the Arab channel quoted opposition fighters as saying, as they beseeched for quick and strong intervention by allied war planes.

"Tell Sarkozy and Cameron that we need help and without air strikes Gaddafi will massacre us," the rebel fighters said as Obama administration did not rule out the possibility of arming the rebels.

"I'm not ruling it out. But I'm also not ruling it in. We're assessing what Gaddafi is upto," US President Barack Obama said.

The US President said though the "noose" was tightening around Gaddafi, but they were still no signs that the Libyan leader was seeking to negotiate an exit from Libya.

"Our expectation is that as we continue to apply steady pressure, not only militarily but through other means, Gaddafi will step down," Obama said.

Al Jazeera said several explosions were heard in Tripoli and that rebels were under renewed attack in the western town of Misurata from pro-Gaddafi forces.

Rebels have been forced to retreat from Bin Jawad, 150 km from Gaddafi's home turf of Sirte, the Arab channel said.

Correspondents on the frontline reported the rout of rebels illustrating how much they rely on international power policy.

"Only a day earlier, they had been marching westward, cocky they would take Sirte, Gaddafi's main bastion in Central Libya. They reached 100 kms of the city before they were hammered by Gaddafi's forces, who pushed them back to Bin Jawad," Al Arabia correspondent said from the frontline.