LIBYA: Brega rebels push their frontline

Record ID: 809262

  • Title: LIBYA: Brega rebels push their frontline
  • Date: 4th March 2011
  • Summary: BREGA, LIBYA (MARCH 3, 2011) (REUTERS) REBELS AND VOLUNTEERS AT BREGA BORDER TO RAS LANUF WHERE REBELS REPULSED AN ATTACK A DAY EARLIER ROCKETS ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN REBEL HUDDLED NEAR A BRICK WALL BREGA BORDER TO RAS LANUF VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS AND REBELS AT THE FRONT-LINE (SOUNDBITE) (English) LIBYAN FIGHTER, FARAJ ALA SHRASH, SAYING WHEN ASKED WHY HE WANTS TO FIGHT FOREVER: "I've got my will. And I've got my beliefs that we have lost a lot in 42 years. I didn't witness all of those 42 years, but I have witnessed enough to have faith and the belief to fight for something - which is our freedom and our rights in Libya." MORE OF VOLUNTEERS MAN LOOKING THROUGH LENS OF WEAPON VARIOUS OF WEAPONS VARIOUS OF BREGA BORDER AT NIGHT
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADA0Q7SDZDV7FMW7H4AAHDFYY4
  • Story Text: The oil terminal town Brega was bombed by warplanes for a second day on Thursday (March 3), witnesses said.
    In the east of Libya runs a strategically vital Mediterranean coastal road which holds oil industry facilities that rebels and national forces have been struggling to control.
    Gaddafi launched a ground and air attack on rebels in control of the eastern oil terminal town of Brega on Wednesday (March 2).
    Both rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces were arming and positioning themselves on Thursday for a longer fight and residents and tribes were being armed as well by both sides.
    Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, said the bombing of Brega, 800 km (500 miles) east of Tripoli, was intended to scare off militia fighters and gain control of oil installations.
    Rebels spearheading the unprecedented popular revolt pushed their front-line against government loyalists west of Brega, where they had repulsed an attack a day earlier.
    The opposition fighters said troops loyal to Gaddafi had been driven back to Ras Lanuf, home to another major oil terminal and 600 km (375 miles) east of Tripoli.
    Rebels were joined by volunteers who spent the day enforcing their control over the border between Brega and Ras Lanuf.
    Fighter Faraj Ala Shrash said he wants to fight for freedom in Libya.
    "I've got my will. And I've got my beliefs that we have lost a lot in 42 years. I didn't witness all of those 42 years, but I have witnessed enough to have faith and the belief to fight for something - which is our freedom and our rights in Libya."
    Both the Gaddafi regime and rebels have said publicly they will not seek to destroy oil infrastructure.
    No damage to oil infrastructure was reported on Wednesday and Thursday, when Gaddafi-loyal air force fighters attacked oil export hub town Brega.
    The town, currently in rebel hands, has passed back and forth between regime and rebel control in recent days.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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