Ajdabiya: Hours after their comrades were ambushed by Muammar Gaddafi's forces, Libyan rebels fighting an increasingly tough battle to retain control of the country's east broke out in raucous laughter as a song mocking the leader blared from a car stereo.
"Hey Gaddafi with the messy hair, your end will come one day soon," said the song, prompting one insurgent to start dancing.
In focus: Unrest in the Middle East
It's been a rough couple of days for Libya's ragtag rebel army as Gaddafi's forces have recaptured several towns in the east, and comic relief is hard to come by in the vast desert where government forces hide behind sand dunes.
Rebels have a tenuous hold on the strategic town of Ajdabiya in the east, gateway to their capital Benghazi which is a two-hour drive away.
With no signs that their desperate requests for heavy weapons from Western powers will be met any time soon, the rebels try to keep their spirits up however they can.
The song that got the rebels laughing appears to be response to a pro-Gaddafi anthem played in his stronghold Tripoli. It has the same rhythm and involves a play on the words Gaddafi used in a threatening speech after the uprising erupted on February 17. In that speech, he vows to wipe out rebels street by street, alley by alley. "Street by street, alley by alley, you will be strangled," said the song.
Peace
"This makes us happy. We need to relax," said rebel Younus Khalil, as he turned up the volume and stacked ammunition.
Another rebel, wearing a black beret and grey sneakers, said songs provided one of the few escapes they had from the harsh realities of the war designed to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
"It gives us some peace and it feels good to listen to it," said Mohammad Abdul Latif, 21, as he twirled a switchblade and manned a rebel-held checkpoint on the edge of Ajdabiya.
For rebels who need more than a song to cheer them up, there's Mohammad Al Tajouri, a caterer-turned self-proclaimed cheerleader and spiritual guide for Gaddafi's opponents.
Day in and day out, he walks around the checkpoint, clutching a megaphone. One minute, he yells the Islamic rallying cry "Allahu Akbar"; the next, he warns the rebels that yelling at each other will only hurt their cause.
Al Tajouri, 53, carries a pistol, just in case Gaddafi's forces suddenly appear, and a blue rope because he says it's the colour of the United Nations.
"These young men are not an army. They have no commanders. I felt it was my duty to come here and help them. I need to calm them," said Tajouri, holding up an umbrella.
