Rebels take key oil town to increase pressure on Gaddaffi

Libyan rebels took control of the oil refinery in the western town of Zawiyah and blocked the main highway south of the capital yesterday, further isolating Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's Tripoli stronghold.

Rebel advances in recent days have cut Col Gaddafi's forces off from their main international resupply routes following a months-long stalemate, putting the Libyan leader's 41-year rule under unprecedented pressure. Confirming reports that, despite their denials, the rebels and Gaddafi loyalists are in negotiations, former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin told a French newspaper he was in the Tunisian town of Djerba on Monday to meet both sides.

"I was indeed there, but I cannot make any further comment because it would compromise the chances of success and the efficacy of these talks," he told Le Parisien. The talks had been "extremely difficult", he added.

Rebel fighters occupied Zawiyah refinery, 30 miles west of Tripoli on the highway linking the capital to Tunisia. A reporter at the plant saw no sign of Gaddafi's troops.

"The battle lasted for two days but the main battle was last night. We took control last night," said Saleh Omran, 31, a rebel fighter from Zawiyah. He said rebel forces fought about 150 Gaddafi troops, who finally fled by sea in inflatable boats.

Rebels also held the town of Garyan, about 50 miles from Tripoli on the highway south.

"We took one tank and an anti-aircraft gun from Gaddafi's forces. Next, we'll go to Tripoli," said a fighter calling himself Mohammed.

Rebel forces advanced several miles north of Garyan later in the day, clashing with pro-Gaddafi fighters. Black smoke billowed from the direction of the fighting and gunfire and rockets explosions could be heard.

A spokesman for Col Gaddafi played down rebel gains and said the government remained in control of the country.

"This is a crisis that will last a few days and then it will be - God willing - overcome," Moussa Ibrahim told the JANA news agency yesterday. "We will push ahead until we liberate the whole country."

Col Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown.

Aided by Nato bombers, assault helicopters and a naval blockade, the rebels have transformed the battle in the last few days after many weeks of stalemate. The United States also deployed two more Predator surveillance drones to the country this week to assist the rebels.

On the eastern front, rebel forces said they had tightened their grip around the oil town of Brega, but had suffered high casualties in fighting over the past several days.

"All of Alargop is now free, liberated," spokesman Musa Mahmoud al-Mugrabi said of the area four miles south of Brega, on a supply route for Col Gaddafi's forces running south.

"Casualties have been very high because it's urban clashes," he said. About 40 rebels have been killed and nearly 100 wounded in and around Brega over the past 10 days, according to a tally of reports from the rebels and hospital workers.Col Gaddafi, 69, now seems isolated, with rebel forces closing in and vowing to enter Tripoli by the end of the month.