ZAWIYAH, Libya, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Libyan rebels hoisted
their flag in the centre of this town near the capital on Sunday
after the most dramatic advance in months cut off Muammar
Gaddafi’s capital from its main link to the outside world.

The swift rebel advance on the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km
(30 miles) west of Tripoli, will deal a psychological blow to
Gaddafi’s supporters and also cuts the coastal highway to
Tunisia which keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel.

ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) – Rebel fighters are in control of the center of the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) west of the Libyan capital, a Reuters reporter in Zawiyah said on Sunday.

The reporter said he could see about 50 rebels near Zawiyah’s main produce market shouting “Allahu Akbar!,” or “God is greatest!” The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop.

NORTH OF BIR SHUAIB, Libya (Reuters) – Rebels in western Libya advanced north to within 25 km (15 miles) of the coastal city of Zawiyah on Saturday after a six-hour battle with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Rebel fighters pushed government troops back about 7 km from their previous positions, fixing a front line about 5 km north of the village of Bir Shuaib, near a diaper factory. They set up a checkpoint on the road and about 150 fighters gathered, some firing weapons in the air to celebrate their advance.

NORTH OF BIR SHUAIB, Libya, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Rebels in
western Libya advanced north to within 25 km (15 miles) of the
coastal city of Zawiyah on Saturday after a six-hour battle with
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Rebel fighters pushed government troops back about 7 km from
their previous positions, fixing a front line about 5 km north
of the village of Bir Shuaib, near a diaper factory. They set up
a checkpoint on the road and about 150 fighters gathered, some
firing weapons in the air to celebrate their advance.

NORTH OF BIR SHUAIB, Libya, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Rebels in
western Libyan advanced north to within 25 km (15 miles) of the
coastal city of Zawiyah on Saturday after fighting a six-hour
battle with pro-Gaddafi forces, Reuters journalists at the scene
reported.

Rebel fighters pushed government troops back about 7 km from
their previous positions, fixing a front line about 5 km north
of the village of Bir Shuaib, near a diaper factory.

SHALGHOUDA, Libya (Reuters) – About 70 percent of Libyans in Muammar Gaddafi’s main stronghold Tripoli still support him and he is in no danger of falling anytime soon, a captured Libyan intelligence officer said Friday.

“For the most part Tripoli is stable. There is some opposition to Gaddafi but I would say he is safe,” said Brigadier-General Al-Hadi al-Ujaili, who described himself as a member of Libya’s all-pervasive intelligence service.

SHALGHOUDA/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels said they had captured part of the oil town of Brega on Thursday while their forces in the west pushed toward Zawiyah, trying to get within striking distance of Muammar Gaddafi’s capital.

Gaddafi is clinging to power despite a near five-month-old NATO air campaign, tightening economic sanctions, and a lengthening war with rebels trying to end his 41-year rule.

SHALGHOUDA, Libya (Reuters) – Rebel forces in western Libya drove their offensive north toward the town of Zawiyah near the Mediterranean coast Thursday, trying to get within striking distance of the capital, Tripoli.

They pushed north to a settlement called Bir Shuaib, taking them within 25 km (15 miles) of their target of Zawiyah, a town less than 50 km from Tripoli, the stronghold of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

BIR AL-GHANAM, Libya, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and Libyan rebels holding the strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam exchanged rocket fire interspersed with verbal abuse on Wednesday.

“You animal, you scum,” one rebel cursed after his comrades managed to cut in on an army radio frequency.

BIR AL-GHANAM, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels planning an offensive on their hometown Zawiyah are still haunted by memories of what they say was a brutal government crackdown against an uprising in the town earlier this year.

The fighters, who captured the nearby desert settlement of Bir al-Ghanam over the weekend, said they witnessed widespread atrocities before they fled Zawiyah and are now determined to free it from government control.