After the withdrawal of rebel troops from the town of Ras Lanuf, into which, after artillery fire, forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi entered, planes and bomb detonations were heard in the afternoon, a Reuters journalist reported.
The correspondent of the British agency reported that on three occasions he heard planes and then a series of bomb explosions.
He said that the detonations were still heard, but that from his position on the road to Ras Lanuf, it was not possible to specify whether it was a bombardment from an airplane or another type of bombardment.
Before that, the correspondent saw convoys of vehicles with insurgents leaving the front and heading east along the coastal road.
One of the fighters fleeing from Ras Lanuf said that "French planes have come to bomb Gaddafi's forces."
It was not possible, however, to check whose planes were over the city.
The rebels escaped from Ras Lanuf
Forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi recaptured the oil city of Ras Lanuf this morning and forced the rebels to abandon their positions taken over the weekend and to retreat to the east, the journalists of Agence France Presse report. Gaddafi's forces captured the city during the morning and the rebels began to retreat in panic to the city of Brega, which they hold. Ras Lanuf, where the oil terminal is located, fell into the hands of the rebels on March 27 when they started to penetrate from the east of the country to the west, taking advantage of the fact that Gaddafi's forces were weakened by the bombing of the international coalition. That city is located 370 kilometers west of Benghazi, the eastern stronghold of rebels who have been fighting to oust Gaddafi since mid-February, and 210 kilometers from Ajdabiya, the strategic center the rebels captured on March 26. Bolstered by international airstrikes against Gaddafi's forces, which began on March 19, the rebels last Sunday recaptured the oil port of Brega, 80 kilometers west of Ajdabiya. It took the international coalition five days of bombing to destroy the Libyan government's tanks around Ajdabiya, after which its soldiers fled and the rebels entered the city. This victory encouraged the rebels to launch a breakthrough of 300 kilometers to the west, until they reached 50 kilometers from Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, where they were stopped and Gaddafi's forces regained the upper hand.
Fierce fighting around Misrata
Fierce fighting between Gaddafi's forces and the rebels continues today around Misrata, where the US Navy attacked Libyan coast guard ships and destroyed a smaller vessel.
The other two ships were abandoned after a simultaneous attack by US Navy destroyers and aircraft, foreign agencies report.
This action was, as explained by the US Navy, aimed at neutralizing the ships that were firing randomly at Misurata, especially at the part of the city of Az Zawabi, around which, allegedly, fierce fighting has been going on all day.
The rebels depend on airstrikes
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi bombarded the rebel ranks with tank fire and rockets, turning their rapid advance towards Sirte into a panicked retreat after several hours of fighting along the coastal road.
The latest fighting has highlighted the dilemma facing the US and its allies in Libya, as the rebels may not be able to defeat Gaddafi militarily unless the now constant airstrikes on his troops go one step further than clearing the space for the rebels to operate.
Opposition fighters gathered from various sides last night sought airstrikes while fleeing from the position near Bin Jawad, where artillery fire continuously littered the field, raising fireballs and smoke, the AP agency reported.
Such cannonade has not been recorded during previous fighting and some rebels shouted "Sarkozy, where are you?", alluding to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the staunchest supporters of using airstrikes against Gaddafi's forces.
Reports overnight indicated that the rebels were abandoning the coastal towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, which they captured only a few days ago.
This shows how much they rely on and how dependent they are on the intervention and airstrikes of international forces. Just a day earlier, they had stormed along the coast road, hoping to soon enter Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace and a stronghold of his followers in central Libya.
The rebels came within about 100 kilometers of the city before being pushed back towards Bin Jawad by Gaddafi's troops.
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