Rebel fighters seized a village south of the Libyan capital and another group advanced towards Tripoli from the east on Wednesday in the biggest push in weeks towards Muammar Gaddafi’s main stronghold. Rebels firing their rifles into the air in celebration poured into the village of Al-Qawalish, just over 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Tripoli, after a six-hour battle with pro-Gaddafi forces who had been holding the town.
Rushing through an abandoned checkpoint where government troops had left tents and half-eaten bread in their rush to get away, the rebels ripped down green pro-Gaddafi flags, said a Reuters reporter in the village. Farther north, on Libya’s Mediterranean coast, rebel commanders said they had pushed westwards from the city of Misrata, taking them to within about 130 km (80 miles) of Tripoli. But they were taking casualties from government artillery. The advances came as reports proliferated that Gaddafi —under pressure from a five-month uprising against his rule, sanctions and a NATO bombing campaign — was seeking a deal under which he would step down.
His government has denied any such negotiations are under way, but a senior Libyan official told Reuters on Wednesday there were signs a solution to the conflict could be found by the start of August. The rebel advances followed weeks of largely static fighting. Heavily armed Gaddafi forces still lie between the rebels and Tripoli, and previous rebel advances have either bogged down or quickly turned into retreats. But with Al-Qawalish now in rebel hands, they can advance northeast to the larger town of Garyan, which controls the main highway leading into the capital.
The rebels began firing rockets and mortars towards Al-Qawalish at dawn, sending cries of “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is greatest!” echoing through groves of olive, almond and fig trees with each outgoing blast. Gaddafi’s forces responded with intermittent volleys of Grad tactical surface-to-surface rockets. Clouds of black smoke came from the hillsides where the incoming rounds exploded. Six hours later, the rebels were in the village. About 400 fighters fanned out through the streets, which were otherwise deserted. A group of them broke into a shop and took bottles of soda to quench their thirst.
Six government troops, taken prisoner, sat in the back of a pickup truck. A doctor called Hatim said seven or eight rebel fighters were lightly wounded in the offensive, but none was killed. The previous big advance in the region was last month, when rebels pushed 20 km (12 miles) north from their base in the Western Mountains to the town of Bir al-Ghanam. Near Misrata, rebel commanders told Reuters they had pushed 20 km west overnight, their biggest single advance since Gaddafi’s forces pulled out from the city itself back in May. Reuters journalists were unable to confirm the advance independently because it was not immediately possible to reach the front line.
