Benghazi: Rebels fighting forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were in control of the key eastern oil town of Ras Lanuf on Sunday, according to media reports.
Libyan rebels have also retaken the hamlet of Bin Jawad.
Ras Lanuf lies west of the rebel stronghold city of Benghazi and 210 kilometres from Ajdabiya, the first town to fall back into rebel hands on Saturday after a week into allied air strikes. It had fallen to Gaddafi's forces on March 12.
Weapons could be seen abandoned on the road and buildings were partly destroyed, indicating Gaddafi forces had retreated further west towards the Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte.
Rebels advance
Libyan rebels were pushing their advance on Sunday after recapturing two key towns from Gaddafi's forces in their first major victories since the launch of Western-led air strikes.
The rebels, who were in danger of losing their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi before the strikes were launched on March 19, on Saturday seized back Ajdabiya and Brega, 160 and 240 kilometres to the west.
Spurred on by the air strikes, rebels were on Sunday eyeing Al Bisher, a town another 30 kilometres west along the road to Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ebrahim said late on Saturday that coalition air strikes were killing soldiers and civilians along the road between Ajdabiya and Sirte.
"Tonight the air strikes against our nation continue with full power," said Ebrahim.
"We are losing many lives, military and civilians," he added while repeating a call for a ceasefire and an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, which approved military action to stop attacks by the Libyan regime on civilians.
However, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, in an interview set to air Sunday, accused Gaddafi's forces of planting bodies "of the people he's killed" at the site of allied air strikes, to make it look as they were civilian victims.
Rebels recapture key town
On Saturday, Libyan rebels backed by allied air strikes have recaptured the strategic town of Ajdabiyah, signalling that the tide may be turning against Gaddafi's forces in the east.
In the west, France said its warplanes destroyed five Libyan aircraft and two helicopters at an air base outside rebel-held Misrata on Saturday.
Pro-Gaddafi forces had earlier pounded the city with tank, mortar and artillery fire that halted only as coalition aircraft appeared overhead, rebels said.
Western governments hope the raids, launched with the aim of protecting civilians, will also shift the balance of power in favour of the Arab world's most violent popular revolt.
There were signs of heavy fighting at Ajdabiyah's western gate. The decomposing bodies of more than a dozen Gaddafi fighters were scattered on the ground. An abandoned truckload of ammunition suggested Gaddafi's forces had beaten a hasty retreat. "All of Ajdabiyah is free and all the way to Brega is free," said Faraj Joeli, a 20-year-old computer science student-turned-rebel fighter.
Capturing Ajdabiyah, a gateway from western Libya to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and the oil town of Tobruk, was a big morale boost for the rebels after two weeks on the back foot.
Lives saved
US President Barack Obama told Americans on Saturday the allied mission in Libya had saved countless lives.
In Tripoli, explosions were heard early on Saturday, signalling possible new strikes by warplanes or missiles.
The European Union, meanwhile, is considering a request from the African Union for some €260,000 (Dh1.3 million) to help fund an AU bid to attempt to secure a deal to end the conflict in Libya, EU officials said.
