Qaddafi forces in shambles in Western Libya
Image by T U R K A I R O via FlickrThere is much more including reports from inside Tripoli.In the Jebel Nafusa mountains southwest of Tripoli, lightly-armed mountain farmers drove Gaddafi forces out of a string of villages - some of which had refused bribes to support the Libyan leader - forcing them to retreat to within 60 miles of the capital.In Misurata, emboldened rebels prepared to break out of the enclave where they had been besieged for weeks by launching a series of probing attacks on Zlitan, the next town to their west.On Saturday, in a move that startled the government, rebel forces began an assault on the oil port of Zawiya, halfway between the Tunisian border and the capital - leading to the first major fighting in the city since opposition forces there were crushed by Gaddafi troops in March.The coastal road towards Zawiya from the capital was blocked by soldiers and loyalist gunmen with assault rifles, rushing to prevent the rebels from pushing further east.There were rumours that government forces were preparing their own onslaught on the rebel-held border town of Wazin, and Gaddafi troops continued to bombard Misurata in an effort to throttle the rebel breakout, killing 31 in a single day on Friday.
But the rebels confidently hope that eventually they will be able to push into Tripoli, Gaddafi's capital city, where key military targets are being pounded daily by Nato warplanes in their heaviest blitz since the air campaign began.
All over Western Libya – where the uprising was crushed brutally in March – there were signs that the rebels are taking the initiative. They hope that, with Nato's backing, they will soon wear down Gaddafi's forces and eventually bring down his regime.
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I think the mountainous region west of Tripoli was called the Atlas Mountains during the time of the Punic wars between Rome and Carthage. At the time the mountains were green and teaming with game. North Africa was not a desert at that time. The mountains were the home of the now extinct North African elephant, some of which accompanied Hannibal on his march into Italy.
The mountains do appear to be a challenge for Qaddafi's forces. Natives of the mountains are called Berbers. With the forced retreat and the pressure elsewhere in Libya the government forces are going to have a tough time holding out.
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