Rebels repel Gaddafi force
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Brega, Libya: Opponents of Moammar Gaddafi repelled an attack by the Libyan leader's forces trying to retake a key coastal oil installation in a topsy-turvy battle on Wednesday in which shells splashed in the Mediterranean and a warplane bombed a beach where rebel fighters were charging over the dunes. At least six people were killed in the fighting.
The assault on the Brega oil port was the first major regime counteroffensive against the opposition-held eastern half of Libya, where the population backed by mutinous army units rose up and drove out Gaddafi's rule over the past two weeks.
For the past week, pro-Gaddafi forces have been focusing on the west, securing his stronghold in the capital Tripoli and trying to take back nearby rebel-held cities with only mixed success.
But the foray east against opposition-held Brega appeared to stumble. The pro-Gaddafi forces initially recaptured the oil facilities on Wednesday morning. But then a wave of opposition citizen militias drove them out again, cornering them in a nearby university campus where they battled for several hours until the approximately 200 Gaddafi loyalists fled, according to a media reporter at the scene.
In the capital, Gaddafi vowed, "We will fight until the last man and woman." He lashed out against Europe and the United States for their pressure on him to step down, warning that thousands of Libyans will die if U.S. and NATO forces intervene in the conflict.
The United States is moving naval and air forces closer to Libyan shores and is calling for Gaddafi to give up power immediately. The U.S., Britain and other NATO countries are drawing up contingency plans to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Gaddafi's air forces from striking rebels. But the idea has been rejected by Russia, which holds a veto-wielding seat on the U.N. Security Council.
"We will not accept an intervention like that of the Italians that lasted decades," Gaddafi said, referring to Italy's colonial rule early in the 20th Century. "We will not accept a similar American intervention. This will lead to a bloody war and thousands of Libyans will die if America and NATO enter Libya."
Opposition members said they believe Gaddafi was pulling up reinforcements from bases deep in the deserts of southwestern Libya, flying them to the fronts on the coast.
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