Tripoli, April 11: Over a dozen people have been killed in fierce fighting between Libyan revolutionary forces and troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi near the strategic town of Ajdabiyah.
Medics say at least 13 people have been killed since fighting erupted in and around the frontline town on Saturday. Fourteen others are also reported to have been injured.
Ajdabiyah is a strategic town 150 km (90 miles) km south of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.
The developments come as Pro-Gaddafi forces are locked in battles with opposition fighters near key Libyan towns.
Sources say regime troops and snipers have also killed at least 30 opposition fighters in intense fighting in the western town of Misratah over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Western coalition unleashed a major air campaign against regime forces on March 19 under a UN mandate to protect the Libyan population.
The Western coalition says it has destroyed over 20 tanks used by forces loyal to Gaddafi against the revolutionary forces of Libya.
A NATO official said on Sunday that more than two dozen Libyan tanks have been destroyed in separate air strikes near Ajdabiyah and Misratah.
A delegation from the African Union is in Libya to mediate an end to fighting between revolutionary forces and pro-Gaddafi troops.
Revolutionaries criticize NATO for its failure to prevent the killing of civilians by Gaddafi troops.
They have threatened to ask the United Nations Security Council to suspend the NATO mission in Libya if the military alliance fails to do “its work properly.”
——–Agencies