{"id":296137,"date":"2011-03-09T18:25:45","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/09\/battle-rages-for-west-libyan-city\/"},"modified":"2011-03-09T18:25:45","modified_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:25:45","slug":"battle-rages-for-west-libyan-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/09\/battle-rages-for-west-libyan-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle rages for west Libyan city"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div readability=\"95.0198336532\">\n        \t\t  <span><br \/>\n    <span>9 March 2011<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Last updated at <\/span><span>13:25 ET<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <!-- Adding hypertab --><\/p>\n<p><!-- end of hypertab --><!--  Embedding the video player --><!--  This is the embedded player component --><\/p>\n<div readability=\"32\">\n<div>\n<div readability=\"7\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"holding\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/ac1be1c609_51604208.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Libyan rebel fighters\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Please turn on JavaScript.<\/strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <!-- embedding script --><\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <!-- companion banner --> <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<!-- END - companion banner --><!-- caption --><\/p>\n<p>Rebels have been fighting in Zawiya and Bin Jawad<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- END - caption -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><!-- end of the embedded player component --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Player embedded -->                      <\/p>\n<p>Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi&#8217;s forces have intensified their campaign to wrest the western city of Zawiya from rebel control.<\/p>\n<p>A fierce battle has raged all day, with government tanks pounding the main square, witnesses say.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Col Gaddafi dispatched a top official to Egypt, and other envoys, reportedly, to Brussels and Portugal. <\/p>\n<p>The government has offered a reward for the capture of rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the ex-justice minister.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of the revolt that began in mid-February to end the Libyan leader&#8217;s 41 years in power appears to be hanging in the balance, say correspondents.<\/p>\n<p>The BBC&#8217;s Wyre Davies in Tripoli says the army seems to be hammering home its advantage over poorly equipped and badly organised rebel forces. <\/p>\n<p>  <span>Rebel retreat<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) from the capital Tripoli, has been battered over four days by government artillery, tanks and snipers.<\/p>\n<p>One insurgent told Reuters news agency that government forces captured the main square on Wednesday, although the rebels were planning a counter-attack. <\/p>\n<p>A doctor in the city told the news agency that at least 40 people had been killed in the day&#8217;s fighting.<\/p>\n<p>One resident told the BBC that buildings had collapsed and people were trying to flee. <\/p>\n<p>State TV reported that government forces were in full control of Zawiya, and showed pictures of what it said were residents staging a pro-Gaddafi demonstration in the city.<\/p>\n<p>A Libyan army captain said: &#8220;Security is at about 95%. There are some rats that could be lying in some alleys and inside some flats. We are capturing them one group after the other.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>With journalists denied access to frontline areas, the rival claims are difficult to verify.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, rebels retreated on the eastern front around the Mediterranean oil port of Ras Lanuf, amid heavy shelling and continued air strikes by government forces.<\/p>\n<p>Huge explosions rocked oil storage tanks in Ras Lanuf on Wednesday afternoon, sending a tower of black smoke billowing into the sky.<\/p>\n<p>There were further major blasts in the nearby town of Sidra and reports that an oil pipeline had been blown up, although government and rebel forces blamed each other.<\/p>\n<p>Col Gaddafi earlier took to the airwaves again to warn his people would take up arms if the international community imposed a no-fly zone, as the rebels have urged.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Turkish TV, he said a no-fly zone would show the true intention was to seize Libya&#8217;s oil. <\/p>\n<p><i>Send your pictures and videos to <b>yourpics@bbc.co.uk<\/b>  or text them to <b>61124<\/b> (UK) or <b>+44 7725 100 100<\/b> (International). If you have a large file you can<\/i> <a href=\"http:\/\/bbcnewsupload.streamuk.com\/\">upload here<\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/talking_point\/2780295.stm#yourpics\">Read the terms and conditions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/ac1be1c609_51604208.jpg-150x150.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Link:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/go\/rss\/int\/news\/-\/news\/world-africa-12693856\" title=\"Battle rages for west Libyan city\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Battle rages for west Libyan city<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> 9 March 2011 Last updated at 13:25 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Battle rages for west Libyan city - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/09\/battle-rages-for-west-libyan-city\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Battle rages for west Libyan city - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"9 March 2011 Last updated at 13:25 ET Please turn on JavaScript. 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