Libyan rebels claim capture of key towns

Libyan rebels claimed to have taken two more key objectives in their advance on Tripoli, and that a former prime minister ostracised from Moamer Kadhafi's regime had fled to rebel-held territory.

“Zawiyah is free,” rebels said as they took up positions in its hospital hours after pounding the centre of this oil refinery town, the last major barrier as they try to advance on Tripoli from the west. The key refinery is the only source of fuel to the capital, and could leave it without critical supplies.

Hundreds of rebels armed with assault rifles had marched from the central square, a stronghold of forces loyal to Moamer Kadhafi, to the hospital decorated with portraits of the veteran leader. Kadhafi snipers were staked out on rooftops as the battles raged, with buildings and streets in the town centre showing signs of massive damage from the warfare.

Rebels have been seeking to sever Tripoli’s supply lines from Tunisia to the west and to Kadhafi’s hometown of Sirte in the east in a move they hope will cut off the capital, prompt defections and spark an uprising inside Tripoli.

Insurgents also said they seized Zliten from Kadhafi's forces, hours after saying they were in the town's centre, 150 km east of Tripoli.

“Zliten is now under the control of our fighters, but the fighting is not finished,” the Information Centre For Misrata Military Council said, adding that 40-50 Kadhafi forces were dead and 12 African mercenaries captured. Rebel forces also claimed that former Libyan prime minister Abdessalam Jalloud, who fell out of favour with Kadhafi in the mid-1990s, had joined them, but they declined to provide his location “for security reasons”.