LIBYA: Forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi bombard rebel positions in Ras Lanuf while rebels launch counter-offensive

Record ID: 375068

  • Title: LIBYA: Forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi bombard rebel positions in Ras Lanuf while rebels launch counter-offensive
  • Date: 11th March 2011
  • Summary: RAS LANUF, LIBYA (MARCH 10, 2011) (REUTERS) EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE WITH DUST AND THICK, BLACK SMOKE RISING INTO THE AIR (AUDIO OF HEAVY GUNFIRE) REBELS WITH MACHINEGUN IN BACK OF TRUCK VARIOUS OF CARS IN STREET ON OUTSKIRTS OF RAS LANUF/ SMOKE AND DUST FROM EXPLOSIONS RISING INTO THE SKY IN THE BACKGROUND (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) REBELS FIRING RIFLES INTO THE AIR MORE OF REB
  • Embargoed: 26th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA6YI8WF4YEWKB7UNTVQUJQMO2V
  • Story Text: Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi bombard rebel positions in the eastern town of Ras Lanuf while a counter offensive is launched by rebels on the frontline of the conflict zone.
    Muammar Gaddafi's forces launched a fresh bombardment of the eastern Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf on Thursday (March 10), rebels and witnesses said.
    Bombs or missiles landed a few km (miles) from Ras Lanuf oil refinery and close to a building of the Libyan Emirates Oil Refinery Company building, a Reuters witness said.
    Reuters correspondents also saw an air strike from a plane over Ras Lanuf. Witnesses said it struck near the town's eastern checkpoint. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
    The front line has moved to-and-fro between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, roughly 550 km (340 miles) east of Tripoli.
    Rebel fighters said on Thursday they were based on the outskirts of Bin Jawad and near the oil complex of Es Sider, also known as Sidrah, which suffered a direct hit in Wednesday's (March 9) fighting, sending black smoke and flames belching into the sky.
    Earlier, rebels fired rockets out to sea after reports that Libyan gunboats in the Mediterranean were blamed for attacking rebel positions on the front line in the oil-producing east.
    A counter-offensive by forces loyal to Gaddafi has halted the rebels' advance along Libya's eastern coast, where they have been forced to withdraw from the town of Bin Jawad.
    Rebels, who have taken swathes of territory in the east and who are becoming better organised, have been stopped from taking the coastal road west to the prized target of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, by tanks and warplanes.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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