Benghazi, Libya: Rebels defended their positions Monday in key western towns in the face of an offensive by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops, holding on to strategic Bir Ghanam but suffering casualties in Zliten.
The rebels admitted they were running low on ammunition as they struggled to hold off an assault by loyalist forces in the town of Zliten, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.
Abdul Wahab Melitan, a rebel spokesman in the port city of Misrata near Zliten, said forces loyal to strongman Gaddafi had on Sunday launched an assault on their positions in the Souk Telat area, killing three and wounding 15.
"The rebels lack ammunition to advance and we do not want to risk losing any ground," Melitan said.
The rebels on Tuesday punched into the centre of Zliten, sparking fierce clashes but later pulled back to the edge of the city. NATO in Brussels said alliance warplanes hit eight targets in the Zliten area on Sunday, four command and control nodes, one military facility, a weapons dump, an anti-tank weapon and a multiple rocket launcher.
The alliance also hit four targets in the area of the eastern oil hub of Brega, including two tanks, and five targets in Tripoli, four of them anti-aircraft systems.
In the capital, Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi told reporters that government troops had recaptured the strategic town of Bir Ghanam to the southwest. "Life is back to normal in Bir Ghanam, and today it is under the full control of the regime," he said.
But rebels controlled the town early on Monday, an Agency journalist said. "The rebels are controlling the checkpoints. There are no shots," the journalist said, adding that NATO warplanes were overhead.
Rebels from the Berber-dominated Nafusa mountains south of Tripoli claimed the capture of Bir Ghanam just 80 kilometres from the capital on Saturday, as they pushed further east.
The rebels have been using the Nafusa as a springboard to advance on Tripoli but have encountered strong resistance.
