Zlitan falls to rapid advance by Libyan rebel forces

LIBYAN opposition forces in the besieged city of Misrata captured the neighbouring town of Zlitan yesterday in an offensive that puts new pressure on the regime of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Following rebel advances west and south of the capital earlier in the week, their units in Misrata aim to drive west, completing an operation to isolate the Libyan capital from the rest of the country.

Rebel units say they found stiff resistance from troops loyal to Col al-Gaddafi inside Zlitan, including the elite 32nd brigade, commanded by his son Khamis, wrongly reported to have been killed in a Nato airstrike.

Opposition forces advanced under an artillery barrage and government forces hit back with tank fire. The sound of rocket and artillery shelling echoed from the front line. Medical authorities in Misrata said they were overwhelmed with casualties, listing 31 dead and 137 wounded by mid-afternoon.

Dr Khalid Abu Falgha, Misrata's medical director, sitting in the main entrance hall of the local hospital surrounded by wounded fighters, said: "It's bad, it's too much. The problem is how you can cope with these casualties."

The authorities said some wounded were too badly disfigured to be identified and are seeking DNA testing equipment to help with identification.

Rebels inside Zlitan said they made steady progress battling street by street with government units who had fortified sections of a town still full of civilians.

Several dozen civilians were led out of the town to Misrata by opposition units, and radio stations in Misrata broadcast appeals to residents of Zlitan to stay inside their homes.

Misrata's military council said last night its forces had completed the capture of the town, linking up with Zlitan's own rebel militia which staged an uprising in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Among prisoners the council said they had captured Zlitan's internal security chief, Ali Bin Saleem. If confirmed, the capture of Zlitan breaks the six-month long siege of Misrata and opens the road west to Tripoli, 100 miles distant, marking a rapid change in the fortunes of Libya's opposition forces who had endured weeks of defeat and stalemate. Throughout this week, rebels pushing north from the Nafusa mountains have captured a string of towns, including the military garrison at Gharyan and the vital oil town at Zawiya, denying Col Gaddafi his last remaining oil refinery.

While rebels 300 miles east continue to struggle to capture the oil town of Brega, Misrata's units hope a move westward will allow a link-up with Nafusa fighters.The move, which comes amid heavy Nato bombing of government troops, would leave Tripoli encircled, with all road links cut and the sea and air marshalled by Nato.

Rebel territory is meanwhile awash with rumours that Col Gaddafi may be planning to flee Libya by private jet, with the road from Tripoli now blocked by opposition units.

Government forces seem to be losing central co-ordination. While some units, such as those in Zawiya and Zlitan, have put up stiff resistance, large parts of the front line in other sectors have simply crumbled.

In contrast to the bitter fighting in Zlitan yesterday rebels in eastern Misrata advanced 60 miles south earlier this week reporting almost no resistance from Gaddafi loyalists.