WORLD_ Libyan rebels win official recognition as their forces close in on Brega

Libyan rebels win official recognition as their forces close in on Brega
Gaddafi's soldiers come under pressure at oil town but rebels elsewhere say their efforts are hampered by lack of weapons

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Chris Stephen in Misrata and David Smith in Zintan
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 July 2011 22.33 BST
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Libyan rebels cheer with their weapons as their comrades drive towards the Brega front line. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP

Libyan fighters said on Saturday they were close to surrounding the key government-held oil town of Brega, the day after the US and other nations in the Libya contact group officially recognised the rebel administration.

Radio reports said that after three days of heavy fighting, aided by substantial Nato bombing, rebel units had bypassed the town – cutting off the garrison from its supply lines. "Fighters are around the town," said Radio Misrata journalist Alseddiq Abuzaian. "They begin to go around, heading for Ras Lanuf [an oil terminal to the west]."

A rebel spokesman in Benghazi, Mohamed Zawi, said that fighters launched a probing attack into Brega itself on Friday night before withdrawing, but expected to resume this weekend.

Brega is a key oil terminal and has repeatedly changed hands during the civil war. Its capture would be an important psychological boost for the rebels after six weeks of stalemate.

Nato denied claims from Tripoli that it had launched a "land, air and sea" offensive at Brega in support of rebels, but the international alliance's own figures show a sharp escalation in bombing around the town.

On Friday, Nato jets – soon to be bolstered by four extra Tornados from the UK – destroyed 14 military vehicles at Brega, compared with 17 destroyed there during the previous six days.

The rebel push on Brega is one of the most ambitious of the war, with newly trained units launching a three-pronged attack. While a central advance is struggling to clear minefields near Brega, other units have enveloped government forces from the north and south. The rebel forces say 10 fighters have died and 170 were wounded. Tripoli has released no casualty figures of its own.

Further to the west, rebels in the Nafusa mountains say their efforts to advance on Tripoli are being hampered by a lack of weapons or Nato support.

They have made significant gains against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in recent weeks and now have Gharyan, a pivotal gateway to Tripoli, in their sights. But they are relying almost entirely on hardware captured from Gaddafi's fleeing troops, and their momentum stalled last week. This raised the prospect of a stalemate going into Ramadan in August.

Ibrahim Taher, a history teacher turned battalion commander in the rebel stronghold of Zintan, has just one rifle for every two fighters – most of whom are young university graduates.

"The biggest problem we have now is the lack of weapons, ammunition, communication equipment and vehicles," he said. "These 230 fighters have five radios between them. Over huge areas, it's hard to co-ordinate between people. and say 'advance' or 'retreat.' "

Nato has carried out regular air strikes against Gaddafi's army in the Nafusa mountains, but Taher says more is needed. "Nato could turn this situation upside down in one day," he said. "It hits one tank a day and goes home. I don't know why it does that."

As on other rebel front lines to the east, this is an amateur and sometimes amateurish campaign, compensated by courage and will. The battalion has one anti-aircraft gun, seized from Gaddafi's men, which it aims horizontally to target heavy weapons and machinery.

After military training on Friday, young men cleaned the 14.5mm gun with pride on a pickup truck caked in mud for camouflage except for a sticker depicting the red, black and green rebel flag. It is operated by Muftah Fitoure, 33, previously a worker in a youth development programme run by Gaddafi's son Saif.

"The first time I used it, I was scared," he recalled. "My aim was some way off. But the second time was better. They [Gaddafi's troops] are still better than us at firing them."

Fitoure, married with a 15-month-old daughter, has lost two cousins and said he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. "I've heard too many horror stories. It's better to be killed than captured. I heard that in the Qawalish fight the Gaddafi forces cut out someone's heart and killed the others. I have six brothers. If I die trying to reach Tripoli, one of my brothers will reach it in my place."

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