BREAKING: Zawiya still standing. Gaddafi forces pushed back
12:32 BREAKING Eyewitness tells Al Jazeera that the city of Misratah is being heavily bombarded by Gaddafi’s forces right now
12:25 AFP reports that 15 people have been injured in clashes at Bin Jawad this morning
12:15 AP reports that revolutionaries say they have withdrawn from Bin Jawad after clashes this morning
12:01 Reuters reports that revolutionaries have shot down a helicopter, the report does not say where
11:57 BBC A huge explosion has been heard in the rebel-held oil town of Ras Lanuf, followed by the sound of anti-aircraft guns opening fire, an AFP reporter says.
11:52 BBC Libyan rebel forces are falling back to Ras Lanuf from positions further west, firing at a helicopter overhead, Reuters quotes a witness as saying. It follows reports that government forces had attacked rebels in Bin Jawad, west of Ras Lanuf.
11:11 Reuters reports that Gaddafi forces have attacked Bin Jawad. One injured fighter says they attacked with machine guns and RPGs. Another fighter said there were snipers. Ambulances rushed casualties back to Ras Lanuf
Libya: Fierce battle for Zawiyah amid claims Gaddafi's tanks fired on residential areas
Source: The Telegraph http://bit.ly/eVtzc4
Source: The Telegraph http://bit.ly/eVtzc4
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has sent in new forces towards the western town of Zawiyah after Libyan rebels repelled an attack by his soldiers on Saturday.
Gaddafi's forces were driven out of central Zawiyah on Saturday morning, but returned with reinforcements.
They also were reported to have erected road blocks preventing entry to the town.
Youssef Shagan, spokesman for the rebels, said that Gaddafi's forces had earlier been defeated.
"They entered Zawiyah at six in the morning with heavy forces, hundreds of soldiers with tanks. Our people fought back ... We have won for now and civilians are gathering in the square."
Mr Shagan said that earlier on Saturday, Gaddafi forces had fired high explosive rounds in the centre of the town, 30 miles west of the capital Tripoli, and rebel forces had captured two tanks.
"We see many people, many residents fleeing. There is heavy fighting right now," said Mr Shagan.
Rebel forces still controlled pockets of the city and captured two tanks from the army in a shoot-out on Saturday morning, he said.
"They (Gaddafi's security forces) are attacking people, civilians. There is a lot of shooting. They are taking people from their homes. People are escaping to nearby villages."
He said many people had been killed.
Mr Shagan said the military had driven tanks and heavy weapons into the centre of the town, where people opposed to Gaddafi's 41-year rule have been fighting his forces for more than a week, and closed all the roads.
Arabic satellite channels said pro-Gaddafi forces had fired from tanks at residential areas.
"Now with all the artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles, we're seeing battles and killings we haven't seen in Iraq. I consider it total genocide," said one witness who spoke to Al Arabiya television.
The man said more than 15 armoured vehicles and a tank had entered the town. Mosques have announced 'jihad' (struggle) against them, the man told Al Arabiya.
The channel cited witnesses saying several members of Gaddafi's forces had surrendered and said the rebels had blocked an attack by people they said were pro-Gaddafi mercenaries.
One witness told al-Arabiya he saw the corpses of members of the security forces killed in a battle in the central square.
"My own eyes saw the bodies of seven dead who have been brought in from the square and four others have been imprisoned."
Source: The Telegraph http://bit.ly/eVtzc4
Source: The Telegraph http://bit.ly/eVtzc4
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