ALGIERS (Reuters) – The difficulty Libyan forces had stamping out small numbers of rebels in the west of the country points to a long, hard and nasty fight when Muammar Gaddafi’s troops reach the main rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Another lesson from the fighting in the west is that an internationally enforced no-fly zone will do little to halt the advance of Gaddafi’s forces because, at decisive moments, they have been beating the rebels on the ground, not from the air.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – The difficulty Libyan forces had stamping out small numbers of rebels in the west of the country points to a long, hard and nasty fight when Muammar Gaddafi’s troops reach the main rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Another lesson from the fighting in the west is that an internationally enforced no-fly zone will do little to halt the advance of Gaddafi’s forces because, at decisive moments, they have been beating the rebels on the ground, not from the air.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – The Libyan army is attempting to drive out loose formations of rebels opposed to Muammar Gaddafi that have seized towns along the country’s Mediterranean coast. Though facing a vastly superior armory of tanks, artillery and aircraft, the rebels are largely standing their ground, controlling vast swathes of the east.

Following are some scenarios for how the conflict could develop, and the clues that could indicate which one of them is most likely to become a reality:

ALGIERS, March 7 (Reuters) – The Libyan army is attempting
to drive out loose formations of rebels opposed to Muammar
Gaddafi that have seized towns along the country’s Mediterranean
coast. Though facing a vastly superior armoury of tanks,
artillery and aircraft, the rebels are largely standing their
ground, controlling vast swathes of the east.

Following are some scenarios for how the conflict could
develop, and the clues that could indicate which one of them is
most likely to become a reality:

ALGIERS (Reuters) – For Libyan rebels advancing westwards along the Mediterranean coast, the city of Sirte, hometown of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and an important military base, could prove a formidable battleground.

Rebel fighters were pushing out from their stronghold in eastern Libya and on Saturday had taken the town of Bin Jawad, leaving them less than 100 km (60 miles) outside Sirte, with little except empty beach and desert between the two.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s grip on Libyan territory was shrinking on Thursday after reports that the area outside his control had expanded from the east and included some towns near the capital.

There are four strategic locations that are likely to hold the key to whether Gaddafi survives or falls: the capital, Gaddafi’s desert home town of Sirte to the east, and the Gulf of Sirte oil terminals Ras Lanuf and Marsa el-Brega.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s cabinet on Tuesday adopted an order to lift a 19-year-old state of emergency in a concession designed to dodge the tide of uprisings sweeping the Arab world, but protesters said it was not enough.

The government also approved a package of measures aimed at reducing unemployment, which is one of the biggest grievances of ordinary people in Algeria.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will fight attempts to unseat him until “the last man standing”, one of his sons said on Sunday after days of protests reached the capital.

At least 233 people have now been killed since unrest started last week, Human Rights Watch said, making Libya’s uprising one of the bloodiest to have erupted in the Arab world over the past two months.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will fight attempts to unseat him until “the last man standing,” one of his sons said on Sunday after days of protests reached the capital.

At least 233 people have now been killed since unrest started last week, Human Rights Watch said, making Libya’s uprising one of the bloodiest to have erupted in the Arab world over the past two months.

ALGIERS/RABAT (Reuters) – After popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, what about the other three countries in the turbulent swathe of land along Africa’s northern coast?

Analysts are now scrutinising whether Libya, Algeria or Morocco could be the next domino to fall.