Rebel forces claim victory in key Libyan city

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) — Rebel forces claimed to control a strategically located city in eastern Libya on Saturday, a week after coalition troops began airstrikes aimed at protecting civilians.

Opposition fighters took control of Ajdabiya overnight after allied fighter jets bombed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s tanks that were entrenched at the city’s gates, opposition spokesman Jalal al-Gallal said.

Rebel troops were combing the city’s streets Saturday, looking to see if any of Gadhafi’s forces remained, he said.

CNN was not able to independently verify who controlled the city, and Libyan government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

On Friday, government officials said coalition airstrikes were providing cover for rebels to advance toward Ajdabiya. The city is a gateway to oil-rich eastern Libya and a key stopping point on the way to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

“This is immoral, illegal and it was not authorized by the (UN) Security Council,” government spokesman Ibrahim Mussa told reporters.

Coalition leaders maintained that their mission was enforcing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians.

“When we see regime forces attacking civilians, we will do everything we can to stop those attacks,” said Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command.

Coalition fighter planes in a 24-hour period took out seven Libyan tanks threatening civilian populations, including in Ajdabiya, authorities said Friday.

Opposition and pro-government forces have been locked in a fierce battle over the city.

Libyan state television reported March 15 that “Ajdabiya has been cleansed from mercenaries and terrorists connected to al Qaeda,” and later said Gadhafi’s forces were in control of the city.

Opposition leaders disputed that claim, saying government forces had only taken control of some of the city’s entrances.

Outside the city, displaced residents who fled the violence filled campsites scattered across the harsh terrain.

“We were driving and the rounds were landing around us. Rockets were hitting our roof,” Hussein Othman said. “We saw bodies in the street, but no one can bury them. Even the ambulances were getting shot at.”

Families said they did not want to leave the area, clinging to the hope that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s army will be defeated and they will be able to return home. Parents and children slept on thin mats in hastily built, makeshift huts made from branches and shrubs lashed together.

“We didn’t have the fuel to go any farther. The car stopped when we got here,” a woman named Nuria said, sitting beside her 7-year-old daughter. “We were hearing that the soldiers were searching homes and taking the men away. That’s why we left.”

Meanwhile, Libyan state television reported Saturday that “airstrikes from the enemy” had hit military positions in Tarhunah, about 40 miles (66 kilometers) from the country’s capital.

In suburbs outside Tripoli, officials escorted international reporters Friday to farmlands where Gadhafi’s government claims airstrikes killed civilians.

At the farm site, missile fragments lay scattered about a palm orchard and shrapnel had peppered walls of still-standing farm buildings.

Reporters found no evidence of civilian deaths. But along the way, they saw evidence of other damage from coalition strikes, and signs of how Gadhafi’s forces are fighting back.

Two military bases that had been bombed were still smoldering Friday. Anti-aircraft guns were buried in bunkers along the roadside. Small missiles were hidden under trees.

Gadhafihas been keen to put out the word on collateral damage from the coalition’s airstrikes.

Libyan health ministry official Khaled Omar told reporters Friday that 114 people had been killed during the coalition’s campaign, but he did not specify whether they were civilians.

Earlier this week, government officials escorted international reporters to a seaside cemetery in Tripoli where the funerals of 33 people allegedly killed in airstrikes were taking place. CNN could not independently verify the circumstances of the deaths or who the victims were.

In Tripoli, CNN reporters go on government-organized tours in an effort to do their own reporting; Libyan authorities forbid independent movement by international journalists in Tripoli.

The reports of civilian deaths have been given little credence by coalition forces.

“The only civilian casualties we know of for certain are the ones that the Libyan government itself has caused,” U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney has said.

NATO this weekend is expected to take over control of the no-fly zone from the United States and finalize procedures on protecting civilians.

Not long after allies unleashed cruise missiles against Gadhafi air defenses last Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama told Americans he wanted the United States, which has headed the military campaign, to hand over control of the enforcement of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

The resolution called for the protection of Libyan civilians as Gadhafi attacked the opposition, and the enforcement of the no-fly zone.

NATO, which includes the United States, will lead both efforts.

CNN’s Reza Sayah, Arwa Damon and Nic Robertson contributed to this report.