 ‘Swift victories’ by Gaddafi claimed LIBYAN troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched counteroffensives against three rebel-held towns yesterday as the uprising intensified into open warfare. The resilience of Mr Gaddafi’s forces in the face of widespread insurrection and their ability to counterattack stoked fears Libya was heading for a drawn-out civil war and not a swift revolution. Mr Gaddafi’s troops — backed by tanks, artillery, warplanes and helicopters — attacked the towns of Zawiyah and Misrata, to the west and east of Tripoli, and positions near the oil port city of Ras Lanuf, 660km east of the capital. A government spokesman said Mr Gaddafi’s forces won a series of swift victories. But Reuters reporters and witnesses said there was fierce fighting in places and many towns remained in rebel hands. Gaddafi loyalists were jubilant at the state reports and poured into the streets at daybreak. "These are celebrations because government forces have taken control of all areas to Benghazi and are in the process of taking control of Benghazi," spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said, referring to Libya’s second city . While Benghazi remained firmly in rebel hands, government troops pushed the insurgents out of Bin Jawad, which they had captured on Saturday, back to Ras Lanuf. But the rebels regrouped and moved back to the outskirts of Bin Jawad, a small, dusty town sandwiched between the coastal highway and the Mediterranean Sea, 160km east of Mr Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. A fighter returning wounded to Ras Lanuf from the government assault on Bin Jawad was asked what he had seen. "Death," he replied, too distraught to say any more. Rebels surrounded by Mr Gaddafi’s troops near the centre of Zawiyah, 50km west of Tripoli, faced another onslaught yesterday after repelling two major assaults by tanks and infantry a day earlier. "This morning, there was a new attack, bigger than yesterday. There were one-and-a-half hours of fighting…. Two people were killed from our side and many more injured. We are still in full control of the square," spokesman Youssef Shagan said by telephone. Elite forces under Mr Gaddafi’s son, Khamis, also launched an assault on Misrata, 200km east of the capital. "Very, very heavy fighting is taking place now at the western entrance of the town. It started about an hour ago after an attack by Khamis’s brigades ," a resident said. "They are destroying everything they find. They are using artillery and tanks. Revolutionaries are doing their best to prevent them from reaching the centre of the town," he said. Rebels first took Bin Jawad on Saturday, but later withdrew. Army units then occupied local homes and set up sniper and rocket-propelled grenade positions for an ambush. A stream of rebels heading west towards Bin Jawad was met by mortar and heavy machine-gun fire from government forces in the town. Doctors at Ras Lanuf hospital said two dead and 22 wounded had arrived from the fighting. Western leaders have denounced what they call Mr Gaddafi’s brutal response to the uprising, and the International Criminal Court said he and his inner circle face investigation for allegedly targeting civilians with his security forces. The International Energy Agency says the revolt has blocked about 60% of Libya’s 1,6-million-barrel-a-day oil output. The drop, due largely to the flight of thousands of foreign oil workers, will batter the economy and has already forced up crude prices abroad.
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