Map - Ras Lanuf

The seizure of the refinery was significant as it processes 230,000 barrels of oil a day, and is bigger than any in Canada except for the Irving refinery in New Brunswick. The victory came at a deadly price. Though casualty counts are unknown, more than 20 ambulances were seen racing east. And it came against what appeared to be the imminent fall of Zawiyah, 50 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli, where rebels depleted of ammunition were believed surrounded by pro-Gadhafi forces, having already sustained dozens of dead and wounded in a daylong battle. What began as peaceful protests barely two weeks ago now is by any measure an actual war — the first and by far the deadliest since the cascading series of popular uprisings began coursing through the Arab world. But developments over the past 48 hours, when the Libyan rebels turned back an attempt by Gadhafi loyalists to recapture the eastern oil hub of Brega, seem especially momentous. Since the Battle of Brega the revolt has stormed westward with a vengeance, gaining some 150 kilometres of territory and growing in numbers by the hour. The Star counted more than 700 vehicles Friday in the rebel convoy. Equipped with grenade-launchers, AK-47s and some brandishing nothing more than machetes, the Libyan fighters en route to Friday’s coastal battle seemed badly outmatched. Thundering explosions to the west suggested that pro-Gadhafi forces had introduced heavy weapons, including tank and artillery fire, for the first time. As night fell, the rebel convoy stalled in the desert expanse west of Al Aqaylah, 40 kms short of their goal, where one fighter returning from the front described an onslaught of “Russian rockets” from Gadhafi loyalists who held high ground above the Ras Lanuf airstrip. Dozens of fighters decamped from the vehicles for prayer, kneeling and repeating in unison, “God, please look after our dead, heal our wounded and grant us victory tonight.”