Tripoli, March 14: Libyan revolutionaries have reportedly regained the control of the strategic oil town of Brega after heavy fighting with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
“We have captured 20 of Gaddafi’s forces and we killed 25. We have forced them to retreat 20 km from the town,” Reuters quoted Colonel Hamed al-Hasi, a spokesman for opposition forces, as saying on Sunday.
This is while the opposition forces had earlier pulled out of the town when they came under heavy shelling.
Fresh attacks by Gaddafi forces come after a spokesman for the Libyan military, Colonel Milad Hussein, said on Sunday they would continue the fight to regain control of cities from what he called “terrorists.”
The revolutionary forces were forced to retreat from the oil-rich city of Ras Lanuf on Saturday following a week of deadly clashes.
The international community has so far failed to take any concrete steps to stop the bloodshed in Libya.
The Arab League has asked the UN to impose a no-fly zone on Libya to protect civilians. However, the European Union has said the initiative needs diplomatic support from international organizations.
Latest reports from Libya indicate that thousands may have been killed or injured in the country as fierce government crackdown on the opposition has escalated.
——–Agencies