Witnesses report heavy fighting in northwest Libya

KABAO—Insurgents have fought heavy battles against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in northwestern Libya, leaving dozens dead, rebels and residents told AFP on Tuesday.

The fighting around Kabao on Monday lasted “from sunrise to sunset”, said Nafoussi, a resident of the town of 15,000 people located 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Nalut.

Witnesses said 45 regime loyalists had been killed in the fighting and 17 captured. Two rebels had also been killed and three injured.

“Gadhafi’s forces started attacking the village of Thlath”, 18 kilometers west of Kabao with missiles and anti-aircraft guns, said Nafoussi, who refused to give his last name.

According to Nafoussi and a number of insurgents who also requested anonymity, troops loyal to Gadhafi then turned on the nearby town of Kherba, east of Kabao, where they seized residents to use as human shields.

Hatem, a rebel fighter, told AFP that Gadhafi’s men shot at one another because “some among them did not want to fire on civilians.”

A resident of Kabao said this was the first time the town had come under attack from Gadhafi’s forces since an insurrection against his rule started in mid-February.

By Tuesday afternoon, life was returning to normal, with shops and restaurants re-opened.

Battles between rebels and Gadhafi’s forces have intensified in the west of the country in the past week.

Rebels control Nalut, the last big town before the Dehiba border post in Tunisia, and a key road from the border to Zenten, about 200 kilometers east, despite government forces cutting communications between the towns.

On Sunday night, Gadhafi forces fired rockets on Zintan, killing four people and wounding nine, according to residents.