Rebels lose Bin JawadTRIPOLI: Troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched counteroffensives against rebel-held towns Sunday, increasing fears that Libya is heading for a protracted civil war rather than the swift revolutions seen in Tunisia and Egypt. The Gaddafi government proclaimed sweeping overnight victories over what it called terrorist bands. But after what residents said was a day of fierce fighting with artillery, rockets and mortar bombs, rebel forces announced they had fought off Gaddafi's forces in the towns of Zawiyah, to the immediate west of Tripoli, and Misrata to the east. “Today Misrata witnessed the toughest battle since the beginning of the revolution. Horrible attacks,” one resident, who did not want to give his name, told Reuters by phone. “They came from three sides and managed to enter the town from the west and south but when they reached the center of Misrata the rebels pushed them back,” he said. Misrata is the largest town controlled by rebels outside the rebel-held east of the country. If rebel soldiers were able to continue their fitful advance westwards, Misrata could be a stepping stone to reaching the capital, Gaddafi's principal stronghold. Elite brigades under Gaddafi's son Khamis also launched an assault on Misrata. “The brigades tried to reach the center of the town but revolutionaries managed to repel them. They retreated to the airbase,” said a resident who declined to be named. “The revolutionaries captured 20 soldiers and seized a tank. The town is now fully in the control of the youths,” he said. At least 18 people, including a baby, were killed in the fighting in Misrata on Sunday, a doctor told Reuters by phone. Meanwhile, opposition rebel council spokesman Hafiz Ghoga told a Benghazi news conference: “We would like to put the people of this great nation at ease...because the regime is spreading rumors”. “Both Zawiyah and Misrata are secured, liberated cities.” Gaddafi's troops, backed by tanks, artillery, warplanes and helicopters also attacked positions near the oil port of Raslanuf, 660 km east of the capital. Rebels were forced to retreat from Bin Jawad which is on the road to Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, under heavy fire. One fighter returning wounded to Raslanuf from Bin Jawad was asked what he had seen. “Death,” he replied, too distraught to say any more. Gaddafi loyalists had poured into the streets of Tripoli at dawn Sunday firing into the air and holding portraits of the leader. “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, situated in the far east. But the celebrations appeared to be premature as Benghazi remained firmly under rebel control while insurgents stood their ground at Zawiyah and Misrata. Rebels surrounded by troops near the center of Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli, faced another attack after repelling two assaults by tanks and infantry the day before. Rebels first took Bin Jawad Saturday, but later withdrew. Army units then occupied local homes and set up sniper and rocket-propelled grenade positions for an ambush. British team leaves Libya Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday that what he called a British diplomatic team that had been captured in the eastern city of Benghazi had now left Libya. The Sunday Times earlier reported a British Special Air Service (SAS) unit had been captured during a secret diplomatic mission to make contact with opposition leaders backfired.
